Angkor

I couldn't leave South East Asia without making a dream of mine come true: visiting the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, a 50 km square territory containing more than 300 amazing Khmer temples ruins.

Angkor has always been to me those kind of images you look on magazines or on telly with wonder, telling to yourself this is a place youd love to go without really believeing you ever would.

That's why going there is the very first idea that came to my mind when I got to know i'd spend some time working in Laos, and as of today, I still cant believe I hit the Angkor ground, for real.

So I flew to Siem Reap on sunday the 31st, and stayed there 3 days. Before leaving, I made arrangements through email with a french speaking Cambodian tuktuk driver called Kosal. Kosal came to pick me up at the airport and drove me through the Angkor temples the whole day.

Angkor temples are spreaded onto a 50 km wide territory, so being driven by a tuktuk driver seems to me to be the best option. If I had more time, I reckon i'd have had eventually rent a bike, but 3 days gives you just enough time to see most of the site if only you're on a motorbike or a tuktuk.

Kosal knew all about Angkor, and was happy to give me any details i wanted to know about the temples. The thing is, I actually dont wanted to know much, since my mind was so busy just enjoying the vision of these stunning temples. The temples were speaking for themselves, it was for me an emotionnal time, more than a nerdy time so I kept on turning down Kosal, which was kinda funny ("do you have any questions?" would he asks me, and me to reply :"hmm...no"...He probably thought I was an arrogant get thinking i'd know everything already hehe)

The highlight of this first day in this out-of-time paradise was definitely Ta Prom, with these temples completely trapped in huge trees roots, as you can see on this picture:



This is absolutely amazing to see how nature got completely over the temples, this is something incredible to see. That's actually another thing about Angkor; the location of the temples, even though only a few km away from the city of Siem Reap, is in the middle of nature. So when you walk through the temples, you can either enjoy the ruins, or have a nice walk in the jungle, experiencing the sounds (or should I say the silence...) and the smell of Cambodian nature. I was lucky enough to experience this without having to encounter much human presence, since that was low season so not too packed with tourists.

I spent the following day with Phirom, who was a guide recommended to me by Kosal. We drove the whole day together on his motorbike, parting our time with visits of temples, and random drive through the Cambodian villages and rice fields. I finally seen that day the famous "Angkor Wat" with my eyes, and I can tell you it is as ABSOLUTELY AS BEAUTIFUL as the goddamn postcard pictures.

Angkor Wat surroundings

I was there early in the morning, so that I could avoid the masses, and that was a good move since I've been able to be sit there, right where the picture above has been taken, for a long while with absolutely no human presence around. I could imagine I was lost on a 'yet-to-be-discovered ground', or just fantasize I was the queen of the castle :)

Well, as for the rest, this few pictures will speak for themselves I guess...