4 am the alarm went off and we rolled out of bed to get ready for our sunrise tour to Angkor Wat. We met our driver Oun and our tour guide Mr Neang. I think we struck gold with Mr Neang, I had decided we should have a guide for our first day in Angkor just so we could learn some history and developed some understanding of the culture. However we learnt so much more. Mr Neang lived through not only the Vietcong occupation and War in Cambodia but he also lived through Pol Pot regime - Khmer Rouge (Khmer Rouge was the Cambodian genocide of mass violence that saw between 1.5 and 3 million people killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge) I am not going to go into it here but it was eye opening listening to his stories of childhood and just listening to him talk about Cambodia now. He really loves his country and that was very evident in all of his stories and history.
Anyway 5am it was pitch black and we were in the back of a Tuk Tuk going through the jungle. We arrived at Angkor Wat. Walking in the dark through a 900 year old temple you can not see at all is a strange experience. We walked down to the pools and started watching the sky change colour and reveal Angkor Wat it was so beautiful. There were so many people here but it didn’t even matter. After it had lightened the sun came up over Angkor Wat and made it beautiful. It was worth the early wake up call.
We then explored the site Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world and the perfect blend of symbolism and symmetry. It was built as the earthly representation of Mount Meru, the Mount Olympus of the Hindu faith, and the abode of ancient gods. The carvings and details are outstanding. This temple is just part of the Great City of Angkor and the largeness of this is beyond belief for something that was built so long ago with no machinery. We climbed to the top of the tower which is meant to represent Heaven. So many of the statues and motifs have been stolen between wars and occupations which is sad. Mr Neang also showed us where to take some selfies in the absolute centre of the temple. He called it the lucky spot. On the way out of Angkor Wat we had to walk over this floating bridge which I think was the highhlight of Anthony’s day it was so bouncy.
We stopped for a quick breakfast before making our way to the South Gate of Ankor Thom. Angkor Thom, which translates to “Great City” in English, was the capital of the Khmer Empire it was build by the greatest king of the Khmer King Jayavarman VII and includes many other temples and buildings inside it. There is a huge most around Angkor Thom and the road leading to the south gate is lined with statues angels to the west, demons to the east. Mr Neang also explained to us about the wars back in the Khmer Empire and explained that the name Siem Reap means “defeat of the Siam (Thailand nowadays)”. This gateway was amazing to walk through. We were picked up on the other side and driven to our next stop which was the Bayon temple inside Angkor Thom.
The Bayon temple is known for its 54 Gothic towers that are decorated with 216 gargantuan smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara. We walked through and looked at all the detailed carvings of life back when this was built. It’s showed everything down to the Khmer and the Chinese have gambling during Rooster fights. The details are phenomenal. Entering the actual temple you are greeted with all the beautiful smiling faces. There is a fair bit of restoration work being done here mostly by donations from Japan. This was an awesome temple although from the outside it looks must more like rubble but when you get in close and explore it is stunning. This also the centre of the Angkor Thom city.
We got to walk to the next temple of Baphuon and got to check out the monkeys. They were so chill and cute. There was quite a few little baby ones and they were happy just chilling near us. We spent a bit of time with the monkeys. We walked around Baphuon which was cool as you could see the monkeys playing on it. We continued walking to the Elephant terrace which is next to where the old wooden royal palace was. It was then back in the car and then we were picked up for our last stop which was Ta Prohm Temple.
To get to Ta Prohm Mr Neang decided to take us through the jungle, which was pretty cool as there was no one there. We appeared in the centre of the temple. We also saw these huge millipedes.
Ta Prohm is probably the most known temple after Angkor Wat. This is the tomb raider temple. The temple walls and ruins are beautiful but is also taken over by some of the giant trees that have put their roots straight through the buildings. This place is stunning. I would have liked more time here to explore but we were running out of time. We got some pictures with the trees and then it was time to get some lunch and head back to the hotel. We were so lucky to have such an amazing guide and driver. i have so much information which I obviously cannot tell you all of it but it was definitely worth every dollar spent.
We both had a nap and then it was time for our last activity of the day. We went to a cookie shop first as the girls from Denmark had said we should go there. It’s was pretty good and then we headed to the circus.
Phare is the Cambodian circus and it is important to know how this started because this is peak ethical travel. Nine young Cambodian men founded parent company Phare Poneu Selpak in Battambang in 1994, after returning home from a refugee camp after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. At the camp they took drawing classes and found art to be a powerful tool for healing, so when they returned home they began offering free drawing classes to street children. They went on to open a school offering formal education and professional training in visual arts, theatre, music, dance, and circus skills to the students for free.
To fund this school Phare: The Cambodian Circus opened in Siem Reap in 2013. They perform nightly in a big top stage with profits going back into the school. Most of the students here are from low socio economic families and this is an amazing way to get and education and gain skills in the arts to use in later life.
Now for the show. We saw Same same but different which is day to day lives with a focus on a difference between tourists and Cambodians. They have comedy combined with circus tricks and it was outstanding. As someone who loves Cirque du Soleil I would say this was better then anything I have seen there. It’s was funny, touching and you just felt all the emotions their skills and tricks are amazing too. I would recommend. I think this has nearly been one of my favourite travel days of all time. What a joy.
