It has been a full day today. I woke up around 5am and talked with Cindy for a while before meeting Mike for breakfast in the dining room of the Jasmine Lodge. Our car arrived at 7:45am and we were on our way to the temple complexes of Angkor. As we drove through the main entrance, we were first greeted by a popular mode of transportation for some of the temples. We opted to hike in spite of the incredible heat and humidity (what were we thinking?).
After playing with the elephants, we walked toward our first temple of the day…but not before having the opportunity to meet the Welcoming Committee.
The morning itinerary was really tight with stops to see the giant faces of Bayon, the South Gate of Angkor Thom, and Baphuon (the site for the movie “Temple of Doom”) before eating lunch. Nothing “interesting” today on the menu – banana flower and chicken salad, yellow curry chicken, and fresh fruit. After lunch, we wandered over to some of the little shops that surround the complex. Mike picked me up a copy of a great book on ANGKOR from one of the kids pitching on the corner. Unfortunately, it’s in Italian – but the pictures are amazing.
Together, Mike and I have over 720 pictures just from today’s visit to the temple complexes. The jewel – the biggest and most impressive – of all the ruins is Angkor Wat. This is the one I had been waiting for all day. The others were spectacular but Angkor Wat is mystical and magical.
It took close to two hours to get through this complex and that was at a quick pace! I could have easily spent an entire day here wandering the tunnels, looking at the many buddha’s, and climbing the massive spirals. Around every corner is another mystery, carving, or story.
We wrapped up the day hiking up one of the temple mountains – Ta Keo – to check out the view. Our guide did not join us on this hike. He just waited for us at the bottom of the mountain. What e didn’t know there was actually another temple up there but, much to our surprise, the path opened up to yet another set of amazing ruins.
They look huge because they are! We climbed all the way to the top and stood among the spirals. The view was spectacular, overlooking the valley and the distant Angkor Wat complex. It was an inspiring way to end the day. Our driver and guide dropped us off at the Jasmine Lodge where we couldn’t wait to get out of our sweat soaked clothing and into a cold shower! Diner is yet to come….