Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is Cambodia's most famous ancient temple and deservedly so.  It's absolutely epic in scale and is unbelievably well preserved, as its never been left to ruin.  Its full of beautiful carved figures and its so large that its possible, even in busy times, to find quiet chambers to just be.  I visited Angkor Wat three times; its the kind of place you can never grow tired of.  

Blessed on the 2nd go with a beautiful pink sky.

Climbing up to the upper sanctum of Angkor Watt.

The upper chambers and courtyard were very peaceful when I got there.  A wonderful place to meditate.

Boeung Mealea - the lost temple

Boeung Mealea is one of Angkor’s lost temples, a mirror image of the mighty Angkor Wat, but totally and utterly consumed by the jungle.

The temple lies about 70Km from Siem Reap.  I went there by tuk tuk with my wonderful driver friend and loved the views of Cambodian rural life on the way.

We left very early and I'm so glad we did.  The experience of exploring this vast, mysterious jungle temple with almost no one around was an unforgettable experience.  There were some very dark tunnels along the way and I was very lucky I had my i-phone torch to show the way.  It was a real Indiana Jones type experience although I'm sure he would poo poo the i-phone torch !!

Temples we visited on the way home

My wonderful tuk tuk driver

He doesn't speak much English but we beamed at each other constantly.  Such a lovely, lovely guy.

Bayon Temple

Built in the12th-century, Bayon, is the mesmerising, if slightly mind-bending, state temple of Jayavarman VII. It epitomises the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. Its 54 Gothic towers are decorated with 216 gargantuan smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara, and it is adorned with 1.2km of extraordinary bas-reliefs incorporating more than 11,000 figures.

I loved this temple, one of my favourites.

Temple monkeys

Angkor Wat has some beautiful resident monkeys including the cutest baby.  These monkeys, as one would expect of monkeys in a Buddhist temple, are full of love for each other.  They spend their days giving each other beautiful massages.  When it comes to humans however, they are rather unscrupulous, always looking to steal a morsel from bags.  Their favourite item of theft is plastic water bottles which they then drink with gusto.

Oooooh, what heaven to have a monkey massage.  This, by the way, was done as part of post coital bliss.  Mr and Mrs Monkey had just given us a very explicit view of some monkey business !!

Monks of Angkor Wat

In one of the inner chambers of Angkor Wat, some monks are available to give their blessings for a small donation.  They chant some words and sprinkle you with water, and then tie some orange thread around your hand.  

I loved the orange  of the monk's garments against the stark temple walls, so very photogenic.