Woke up at 6.30 to go and meet my new friend George in the foyer. At 7am our Tuk Tuk driver was awaiting us and climbing aboard we set off for Ankor Wat.
Some background info on Ankor Wat:
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Ankor, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.
(Of course I wrote that myself.)
During the day we viewed Ankor Wat, and several other temples in the surrounding areas. I was surprised at the huge number of temples in the area. Visitors to Ankor Wat should be aware of the sheer number of beggars and street sellers that attempt to get your dollar. Oh by the way the main currency of Cambodia is the US dollar as their currency isn’t really used much.
George exclaimed how he’d be a rich man if his sales men were that persisstant in the US. I couldnt agree more except they wouldnt be very popular….
I actually didn’t have enough money on me and had to borrow money from George. So all the beggars and craft sellers who were desperate for my money all got told the same thing. “Sorry I don’t have any money” No one belived me and they just tried to haggle harder reducing their prices. Crazy thing is they probably had more money on them than me! Unless you count Singaporean…
My impressions of the temple were marked by a little frustation caused by my lack of knowledge about the sites I was viewing. I would strongly advise any travellers heading here to research the area before viewing. Some places can be ‘winged’ and visited without any prior study however visiting Ankor Wat, I really felt like I couldn’t fully appreciate the history of the site. No matter how much research one does, it is impossible to imagine how much time, effort, lives and inspiration were required to creat the temple complexes. Surrounding some of the temples where thousands of blocks that had been knocked off the temple. Different countries around the world are trying to rennovate and protect the temples however, to carry but one of these blocks is a huge difficulty. I couldn’t even lift one! But yet there are thousands that need to be carried and lifted around.
Talking with George, I realised that if a country such as UK or USA, with all the money and resources was to try and build something like the temples at Ankor, it would costs Billions upon Billions of pounds/dollars. Even with all the technology we have today it would be a truely massive undertaking. I have no idea how they managed it all nearly 1000 years ago. Apparently they did it out of devotion to their king. A story I don’t really believe…
We viewed temples until 5pm and afterwards went back to the hotel via a travel shop. Bought a bus ticket for tomorow for $ 12. This was $4 more than the Indonesians paid although the travel agency woman assured me the bus would be a lot more comfortable and worth the money. (What happened in reality was a completely different matter!)
George paid for my fee for the tour guide. I’ve had a lot of freebies on my travels (and not just this time). One day when I have more money I hope I don’t forget peoples kindnesses to me and I can give to others what others give to me now. If I make it that far!
I saw so many temples that come 11pm as I was going to sleep, I had temple ruins burned into my retinas and couldn’t get temples out of my head as I was trying to sleep. Felt a little eery but didn’t last long as I was so shattered from the days activity in 5 minutes I was sleeping like a log…
Man seems like cambodia was a pretty short and sweet stay, but you never mentioned whether you ate any tarantulas =P