Before dusk fell we headed out on a tuktuk towards Angkor to see the temples during sunset. Our first glimpse of the majestic Angkor Wat, the largest religious stone-constructed building in the world, simply took our breathe away. Turning to the
tuktuk next to us, we saw that Katie and Will were stunned too. The imposing entrance was reflected in the moat making it seem even bigger and the temple's towers rose behind to give us a tantalising peek at what we could expect at sunrise in the morning. We continued, passing other ruined remnants within the central Angkor Thom route until we arrived at Phnom Bakheag Wat. The hill climb was daunting and many of the (sensible!) tourists were taking a leisurely elephant trip to the summit. We however climbed (scrambled would describe our ascent more accurately) and suffered distinct flashbacks to the Inca trail as our feet struggled to find footholes in the sandy rock, but it was worth it when we arrived. The temple stood proud, shrugging off the ruined areas by holding its intact towers proud and we all watched as the burning sun set over the jungle landscape below. As darkness began to fall we all cracked over cans of Angkor Beer and drank to the ancient Cambodians who had built such a magical place. Another evening of Angkor beer, delicious Khmer food and the company of Katie and Will followed and we all got a late night ready for our 5am start the following morning.
The tuktuk ride in the early morning was a chilly affair and certainly blew away the cobwebs that had settled from the night before. We headed straight for Angkor Wat to see the sunrise and battled our way through the hordes of tourists to the causeway beyond the entrance. Even in the dark there was no mistaking the serated
edges of the five towers, making a statement on the landscape which has stood the test of time and the ravages of war since the 11th century. We felt privileged to see such a site and humbled in it's presence - without a doubt the most incredible man-made sight we have ever seen. We settled in front of the 'northern reflecting pool' for sunrise and watched in wonder as the rising sun cast pinks, yellows and reds over the towers which reflected their glory in the water. It was a such a magical moment and the world seemed to stop spinning as we drank in the colours of the incredible light show and stunning backdrop. Thousands of photographs and a steaming hot cup of coffee later we saved the delights of exploring Angkor Wat for later and headed to the next Wat called Bayon. The second most famous next to Angkor Wat, Bayon was also spectacular with at least 20 remaining towers each with a stone Buddha face carved in each side and looking out in each direction. We climbed through the ruin exploring the maze of corridors and higgeldy-piggeldy architecture that saw walls overlap and intricate bas-relief (stone carvings on the wall) hidden amongst pillars and towers. Meeting an elderly woman in the centre we joined her in lighting incense sticks and thanked her Buddha statue three times in Khmer (ou kuoen Buddha), English and French. She covers all her bases we suppose!
From Bayon we visited a host of other temples, all beautiful in their own right, including the Terrace of the Elephants featuring the most intricate of carvings and three-dimensional models of elephants; The Terrace of the Leper King with dancing
bas-relief and a rare naked Buddha - the alleged Leper King - surrounded by a hundred Japanese tourists clicking away as if their lives depended on it. The highlight of these secondary temples was Ta Prohm which is recognisable as the temple featured in TombRaider. The ruined temple itself was similar to others we had seen but it was the influence of nature that made this one so special and introduced a different dimension of beauty. After the first near-destruction of the temples centuries ago and then the dark Khmer Rouge years where they robbed the people of hope by preventing Buddhist worship at the temples, the jungle truly took hold of Ta Prohm - both splitting it open and holding it together. As the branches have grown through the temple they also wrap around the stones to hold it in place and withstand the test of time. It was a beautiful place and despite the crowds of tourists, there was still space to quietly contemplate in the twisting mazes that lined the centre. The compulsory Lara Croft style photos were taken here but without the hotpants, gadgets and Lucozade of course!
On our way out we listened for a while to a band busking - no ordinary group but victims of landmines with horrible scars, some blind, other maimed. It was heart breaking to see but they were making lovely music in an attempt to live their lives again after the Khmer Rouge regime that spared not an inch of the country and very few people. We fought our way through the children selling books and jewelry all with the same pitch: "where are you from sir?". "England" we would reply only to be told the population, the capital and the name of the Queen followed by an expectant face and up-turned hand. We couldn't help but admire their entrepreneurship but after the 30th approach it started to wear thin and we started claiming we were from the North Pole which flummoxed them long enough for us to escape!
At sunset we sat in the same place as we had 12 hours previously and supped some well deserved beer before taking more photographs of Angkor Wat in a very different light - this time the towers cast green and blue shadows over the pool as the sun set in the opposite direction. As we left the complex of the ancient temples, we were sweaty, exhausted and covered with sand from head to toe but somehow felt rested as if the imposing temples had cast a spell over us. As we waved goodbye to the temples we knew the sight of sunrise at Angkor Wat would stay with us forever - with or without our beautiful photographs.
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