Today, we had a tour guide take us to the more popular temples including Angkor Wat. Our guide, Saron, formerly worked at the United Nations as a translator. He is now self-employed as a tour guide and also on the board of directors for tour guides. I.e., he was the cream of the crop as far as tour guides go. He was also name dropped in the SF Chronicle and gets lots of California tourists. Usually you have to hire him a month in advance - we got lucky. 
Saron and his driver picked us up in an air-conditioned van at 9:30am. Our first stop was Ta Prohm (where they filmed Tomb Raider). Our tour guide got to see Angelina Jolie running through the temple. The temple is really cool with huge trees growing all over parts of the temple. They have been worried about rotting trees falling on the temple so a lot of care is taken to monitor the trees and build scaffolding to prop up trees or cut them down.
Saron and his driver picked us up in an air-conditioned van at 9:30am. Our first stop was Ta Prohm (where they filmed Tomb Raider). Our tour guide got to see Angelina Jolie running through the temple. The temple is really cool with huge trees growing all over parts of the temple. They have been worried about rotting trees falling on the temple so a lot of care is taken to monitor the trees and build scaffolding to prop up trees or cut them down.
After Ta Prohm, we went to Ta Koe, which required a climb up some steep stairs, Victory Gate and the Ancient Bridge, which had demons on one side, gods on the other battling in a tug of war. According to legend, the Gods and Demons were fighting to "churn the milk" in order to produce an elixir that promises eternal life. However, according to legend, before the elixir came out, out sprung a three-headed elephant and five-headed horse. We see these figures everywhere in the architecture. 
Last stop before lunch was the Terrace of Elephants, which was the king's court where the king watched polo matches, acrobatics, and other forms of entertainment.
We took a lunch break near our next stop, Angkor Wat. We had bok choy, grilled pork ribs and grilled corn with baby coconut milk. Better lunch than yesterday and it gave us the energy to tackle the the popular Angkor Wat.
We took a lunch break near our next stop, Angkor Wat. We had bok choy, grilled pork ribs and grilled corn with baby coconut milk. Better lunch than yesterday and it gave us the energy to tackle the the popular Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is surrounded by a huge moat! When we initially saw it, we thought it was a natural lake. It's amazing how they built these massive temples 8-,9-, 10-centuries ago. Luckily, when we went, it wasn't too crowded. Saron told us that tour groups show up at 3pm, so we beat the crowd (It seemed like tourists visiting temples mainly just go to Angkor Wat). Angkor Wat definitely lives up to the hype. It was quite impressive, everything from the five towers to the detailed engravings. Saron told us that before they guarded the ruins, there were a lot of looters that took gems, Buddha heads, and other statues from the temples. At Angkor Wat, you can see remnants of a shoot-out between two rival looting groups.
There are bullet holes in the walls and gouged out stones where looters thought treasures were hidden in the walls. Most of the original Buddha heads have been stolen, and most of the remaining have been sent to Siem Reap for storage. Only a few originals are left in the temple, the rest are replicas.
There are bullet holes in the walls and gouged out stones where looters thought treasures were hidden in the walls. Most of the original Buddha heads have been stolen, and most of the remaining have been sent to Siem Reap for storage. Only a few originals are left in the temple, the rest are replicas.We then headed into Angkor Thom - and at the center of Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple. It is Saron's favorite and we could see why. There are large faces everywhere on the towers. One face was used on the 200 Riel currency. The engravings were the most interesting as you could understand the stories being told. Some are quite humorous - a man giving a dirty look to a woman who poked him in the butt with a turtle. We had a lot of fun with the faces, as you can see in our pics.
Last stop was Preah Khan. The highlight of Preah Khan were the infinite doorways, they got smaller and smaller as if you were Alice in Wonderland. Even Theresa had to watch her head when entering. There was also a two tiered building with round columns, nicknamed the Acropolis of Cambodia. Like Ta Prohm, there were large trees growing out of the structure.
We were very satisfied with Saron's tour. He was very informative and he really knew
the perfect spots for pictures. The service was first class. We were given umbrellas whenever it rained or got too sunny. Each time we returned to the van, the driver provided us with cold wet naps and bottled water. Much needed in this type of weather. We highly recommend his tour. It was informative, fun, and just very comfortable.After a quick break at our hotel, we went back to the Old Market for dinner at a French/Cambodian restaurant called Le Malraux. We were craving more western food this time, opting for tagliatelle bolognese and a club sandwich (not Cambodian or French). It hit the spot. We could now sleep peacefully.
For the pictures of the day, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/theresang1977/CambodiaSiemReap2?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXZ0aOmos-H1gE#5391749126757436370
Wow! What amazing pictures! I love all of the huge trees at Ta Prohm, all the door frames (totally trippy!), and the Bayon Temple looks amazing. Great pictures and descriptions. I feel like I'm there with you.
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