Siem Reap – Part 2

On the 2nd days in Siem Reap, we started as early as 4am in the morning. We left our guest house somewhere around 4.40am and reached at the Angkor Archeological Park ticket counter sharp at 5.00am. The ticket counter open exactly at 5.00am and all the staff are getting ready for the big crowd. Ya, its sunrise time! Things not to be missed when you are at Siem Reap! Passes are sold at the price of USD 20 (for 1 day), USD 40 (for 3 days) and USD 60 (for 7 days). We bought the 1 day pass since we gonna departed to Phnom Penh on the next day. Always carry your pass around and it will be checked upon each park entry and all the major temples. The passes are printed with our photo on which has been taken immediately during the passes purchase. Smile! You’re on camera. We only managed to cover only the major temples as mentioned by other bloggers and forumers due to the tight schedule and budget constraints. You can always choose to ride a bicycle in the Angkor park, but it’s way toooo big for me! Mau kejang otot dibuatnya nanti. Hehehe.

Our first location of the day is Angkor Wat. Yes! To witness the sunrise. As mentioned by our Tuk Tuk driver Nasir, on last 21st March the sun rise exactly on the main tower and it was such a breathtaking moment for him. This is something that he couldn’t forget for the rest of his life.

The entrance of Angkor Wat.

He reminded us a few times that the best spot to watch the sunrise is at the northern reflecting pool just in front of the temple. Once you entered, you can see the whole crowds there. The sun will rise just behind the Angkor Wat giving the effect of an silhouette. We spent about 2 and 1/2 hours there just to witness the sunrise and to walk around the temple. Angkor wat is the centrepiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor. The walls are covered with the finest Apsara carvings in the Angkorian era.

The sunrise.

Inside of the Angkor Wat

On the way out to the entrance again.

Oh ya, you can have your breakfast here as well. We brought our breakfast with us this time, kuih given by our Tuk Tuk driver. Sedap gile! Don’t even know how to describe it. A lil bit sweet but i definitely love the texture. Baik betul hati Nasir tolong bekalkan kuih nie.

We spent almost 2 and 1/2 hours here. Its time to get to another temples! But wait, the view outside are awesome!

This is the typical view that you can see in the Angkor Archeological Park. The place is super clean! If we’re not mistaken, there are Angkor Wat Marathon conducted every year. Ramai juga Malaysian yang join in. Everytime we passed by the area, we definitely impressed on how Fatt (backpackerbusuk.blogspot.com) rode her bike here! Tabik gile lar!

Later, you’ll reached the Angkor Thom. There are 5 entrances (gates) to the city. South gate is commonly the first stop of a tour. It’s a 3km walled and as mentioned by Nasir,it’s the last capital during the Angkorian era. During the visit, you can see a lots of the statues are currently in restoration process.

We then headed to Bayon. This is our 1st pit stop after the South Gate. We reached here somewhere around 9am with empty stomach. Apa lagi, we had our pre-packed breakfast (packed by our hotel, Neng from Surabaya) before we started exploring Bayon. Makasih Neng! Sedap Bangat! Bayon in overall was seriously tore down especially at the internal area. Currently, it’s under restoration funded by Japan.

Next are the Terrace of the Elephant, the 2 1/2 metre long carved with elephant and garudas.

Terrace of the Leper King is just next to Terrace of the elephant.

We then moved to Victory Gate where all the statue heads had been cut down. Kindly do some research why all the statue are without heads here. We only received verbal explanation from Nasir but he reminded us several times that it’s just an assumption made by local. This is another gate of Angkor Thom besides north, south, east and west gate. victory gate will lead you to the Royal Palace area.

Later, you’ll passed by Spean Thma where it’s a stone bridge and it sits just to the side of the river. Next will be Ta Keo where Nasir explained that it once called as an unfinished temple by local since there are no carving shown on the walls. It’s plainly decorated and it has stopped several times during the construction due to excessive lightning. No photo were taken here. We just passed by via our Tuk Tuk.

The next highlight of the Angkor Park will definitely the Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is the set of the famous movie Tomb Rider starring Angelina Jolie. This temple was actually dedicated by Jayavarman VII’s to his mother. During the ancient history,it’s believe that this place host about 3000 villagers, thousand of staff, a place that they store jewels and golds. The best fact is that, Nasir mentioned that in the past 2 weeks, the restoration workers had found a crown during the excavation works. The whole process of restoration works is now funded by the India.

Passes checked again!

Welcome

Restoration works in progress at Ta Promph temple. Currently, the whole process of restoration works is now funded by the Government of India. See how they need to arrange the whole stone again.

The temple with all the big trees!

We completed the whole trip in Angkor Archeological Park in 7 hours time. Oh ya, with our official footwear on, Crocs! Hahaha.

Simply us,
Zara AB & FF
The Province of Chroma