Angkor Wat

Few films have touched the hearts and minds of the film going public as much as the ground breaking Tomb Raider. With some of its key scenes based in the Temples of Angkor it has always been my dream to visit this place and see first hand the location that helped to make this film rise to the lofty heights of greatness (but sadly not an Oscar winner!) For those that have not seen the film it starred one of the greatest actresses and humanitarians of our time Angelina Jolie. Being a massive fan of hers and having the chance to be in the same place that Ange once walked, to eat in the same restaurant that she once ate will be something to tell the grandchildren (Editorial Comment: get on with it Codd!!)

When planning our trip to Angkor we read in the book that you needed at least 3 days to see this place and a week to really explore it. “Really? Once you have seen one temple you have seen them all” we both commented - oh how wrong we were.

We were advised to hire a Tuk Tuk driver as the temples are spread over a large area and the thought of cycling in the extreme heat was not to be contemplated. Our Tuk Tuk driver (Mr Phal) had obviously done this many times before and he had a route that packed in the most temples a person could possible take in a day.

Our 2 day temple fest was to start the night before with a visit to one of the temples built on one of the only hills in the area to watch the sunset. We climbed up the hill with great anticipation of the spectacular view that awaited us and with thousands of other tourists of like mind. On reaching the summit, sweating and panting to catch our breath we looked out to the amazing vista just in time to see the thunder cloud roll in and it get dark!! Oh well, better luck tomorrow as we were due to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat (the largest religious building in the world).

To achieve this, we had to be up at 4am which despite three alarms going off was still a challenge. We walked into the vast complex in darkness unable to fully appreciate our surroundings but we didn’t have to wait long. As we sat next to one of water pools that overlooked the famous five towers of Angkor Wat we were treated to the most amazing free and natural light show as the dawn broke and the sun rose over the silhouetted outline. It more than made up for the failed sunset.

After spending some time taking in the sights at Angkor Wat once in light we then carried on to visit a number of other temples of equal magnificence but completely different in style. The top two being Bayon where there are massive stone faces pointing in different directions but all seem to be looking at you and Ta Prohm which has been swallowed by the jungle and massive trees sprout up through the buildings. There is something about this place that is truly magical and ethereal. Even if you are not particularly religious, you can really feel why they were holy places.

The second day saw a relatively sensible start with Mr Phal picking us up at 7am (Emma was still not happy) and exploration of some of the temples further out. This provided us with an opportunity to get to see some of the local Cambodian villages and countryside on route. There were large areas of farm land surrounded by bamboo huts built on stilts to avoid damage from the floods in the rainy season and every so often in between the huts were brick or concrete houses (also on stilts) denoting a family that had come into wealth and therefore the ability to rebuild their home more luxuriously.

The final temple we visited was guarded by a single policeman and with few people being around he offered to give us a guided tour (for a nominal fee of course!) As he led us around explaining what the temple was for and pointing out some of the subtleties of the design, it really became clear just how advanced this ancient civilisation were. The area up until its discovery in the late 1800’s was basically jungle and what you see today had to be re-exposed. This temple, like Ta Prohm, also had a tree growing from the stone roof of one of the buildings. Our guide (or should I say policeman) said that the tree was over 400 years old, with the temple dating back over 1000 years. As with Ta Prohm, it was amazing to see how nature will find a way no matter what man has put in its way.

Over the two days we visited over 10 temples and never once got bored or felt like we had seen it before. Any single one of these temples would have been impressive enough but with so many all in one place it definitely jumped to number one of the most impressive things we have seen list - ever.

As you know its not very often that we (Editorial Comment: you) are lost for words but this time is one of them, so here are some pictures that will hopefully portray what we are unable to say.

P.S. For those that don’t know me, I was joking about Tomb Raider (but not about Ange…!)

Next: Phenom Penh and the story of the Khmer Rouge.