Siem Reap (Day 2)

Alarm was set at 4.30am. Really early. But still, rolling on the bed for few minutes. At last we head out around 5.30am. I realised when I woke up there was a motorcycle sound at outside. And yeap, those were our tuktuk drivers waiting at outside at 4.30am. The sun is already slighty came out. Hoped on a tuktuk and ride to Angkor Wat. Such a cool breezy morning. There will be officers stationed at the entrance, doing inspection on the Angkor ticket. We headed straight to Angkor Wat. Amazing view of sunrise. We still managed to photograph some amazing shot of sunrise over Angkor Wat. There were not many people at that time, and can see people already leave the temple early.

Angkor Wat Entrance

The highest point of Angkor Wat

We were there for like 3 hours. Mainly taking pictures and appreciate the architecture and carvings. There are a lot of carving on the wall which will tell you stories about the Angkor Wat. There were a lot of tourist guide. There were 3 levels at the temple. So you need to do a lot of climbing, especially the top level. The staircase, although they modernised it, still it was so steep. But once you are up there you can see the whole of Angkor Wat.

Next up, Bayon temple. The temple site was under conservation and renovation due to some structures are already collapsed. This one is a bit easier than Angkor because it is smaller but the staircase, still so steep. Like my architect friends said, this staircase will fail if get inspected by fire and safety department!

After an hour at Bayon, we move to the next temple,  Ta Prohm temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. This is the temple where there are a lot of growing trees inside of the temple. They are not only taking care of the temple but also the trees. Tuktuk will drop you off at West Gate, then you need to walk for 500m to reach the temple. Along the way there were landmine survivors playing musical instruments to support themselves as they are handicapped. Upon reaching the temple I was amazed at how the tree can grow on the temple. Those trees are huge. At that time it was at noon and there were a group of tourist arrived at the same time with us. After one hour there, we have to walk to another exit at East Gate. Another 500m walk to the gate. Same as West Gate, we saw a group of landmine survivors playing musical instruments in a bid to sell their CDs. As soon as at the gate we quickly get on to our Tuktuk. Back to Siem Reap for lunch.

We had our lunch at Cambodian Muslim Restaurant at Siem Reap. We tried Lembu Naik Bukit, which they will cook it at your table. Its like a steamboat and grill thing. There were six of us. So there were 3 dishes, lembu naik bukit, sweet and sour fish anddd can't remember another one. To be honest it was nothing special but the fish, ikan kerapu (grouper fish) was sooooo crisp like sooo delicious. Love it! But you need to try lembu naik bukit too because it was made in there.

Since a friend of us just arrived in the morning and he missed the Angkor Wat, 4 of us decided to follow him to the Angkor Wat. We entered the Angkor Wat again, but at that time, 4pm, the weather was so hot. Not recommended to wear jeans. Wear those Cambodian pants is much better. You can look for it around the market. At the end we just wait for him to finish walk around the temple. Luckily I have a bottle of drinking water. You have to bring at least one big water when touring the temple. At 5pm we got out of the Angkor Wat, thought of seeing sunset at Phnom Bakheng, but as soon as we get there, 5.30pm, it was closed to the public. So sad. That was the temple which has so many visitors and can climb up by hopping on the Elephant for USD20. Frustrated, we decided to go back to our Guesthouse.

At 8pm, we went our again for dinner. This time we cycled to the market. The market is not that far. Navigation was not a problem because you just have to remember the river and there are signage to the market. We ate at a Malaysian restaurant next to the market. Really couldn't recall the name. The owner is a Malaysian who stays there for 10 years already. He was a banker in Malaysia, transferred to Cambodia and now decided to open a restaurant in Siem Reap. Again, they ordered naan. Homemade mint was so delicious until the owner have to top up again. Then we walk around the market again. After awhile we cycle to our guesthouse, had a shower and booommmm! Sleeptime...

....to be continued