Today we woke up early to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, one of the wonders of the archaeological world!
Angkor comprises of the magnificent remains of the various former capitals of the Khmer empire. The temple complex was built in the 12th century as dedication to the Hindu god, Vishnu. However since Buddhism became Cambodia's dominant religion in the 14th century, it has since served as a Buddhist temple. Unfortunately in the early 15th century armies from Thailand captured the city and it was left abandoned by its citizens only to be claimed by the vast forest until it was rediscovered at the end of the last century by French explorers.
We arrived in darkness, the viewpoint was already crowded with people in the prime photography positions. Luckily we managed to find quite a good spot. Angkor Wat is architecturally breathtaking, it's difficult to describe how spectacular the sunrise was, it is better illustrated in a photograph. If you ever get the opportunity to go there, take it!
After sunrise we headed back to our hotel for breakfast before we explored the city and it's temples.
The first temple we visited was Bayon, situated within the walled city of Angkor Thom, and famed for it's enigmatic faces.
The second temple we visited was Ta Prohm, which is slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. Trees grow through and on top of ruined walls. It was used as a set on the Tomb Raider film.
The third, and last we visited was Angkor Wat.
In the evening we took a tuk tuk to a Cambodian BBQ restaurant and had some delicious food. Later we headed on to pub street and danced the night away in Temple Bar. After a few buckets I lost all coordination and fell over as I went to jump on a podium, I grazed my leg in two places and almost took off the end of my toe. Yukkkkk! ...Still a brilliant end to a fantastic day!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment