And we discovered Popeyes after unenthusiastically feeding our bodies hotel provided croissants.
But, mashed potatoes are not ready that early in the morning so we left without it 😭 about 20 minutes before gates close, and about a 10 minute walk from our gate, we encountered the security checkpoint we suddenly realized we never went through. But it’s fine, it’s fine, we made it 😎.
FIRST LOOK
▾ Play video’s!
LODGING @ LUB.D Hostel
We arrived pretty early in the morning, before 9:00, so we couldn’t check-in, but we quickly changed into lighter clothes and shoes and stored our luggage. As it goes with most hostels, it seems like a dynamic place for a younger crowd. We’re young, right? RIGHT???
▾ Play video
Some ground rules here that I think they’ve found a perfectly effective way to enforce:
We grabbed breakfast and multi-tasked to quickly get our bearings and agree on some rough plans so we could get a full day’s worth of tourist-ing!
TEMPLES & SITES
We partnered up with Saweng, our tuk-tuk driver for the day!
1. Temples
2. Shower
3. PTFO
Just kidding - I have more details to share, just exhausted. Let’s be real, a whole day of stone temples under the hot sun and humidity, and everything starts to blur together.
But also for real, these temples are BEAUTIFUL and awesome. And I mean “awesome” in the actual sense of the word, not in the American-hyperbole sense.
We followed the suggested “short” route with a few modifications based on Stefan’s research and Saweng’s input and hit these sites (in order). We saw a lot, so one of the next entries will have more photos and thoughts of the temples!
Ankor Wat Temple
This is The One everyone comes to see. It’s also the most popular spot for tourists to get their sunrise fix - millions show up in the high season. The Corona Virus 🦠 is not a good thing. Obviously. But we did see that we did not have to deal with many crowds and throughout our travels so far, we are learning from locals that tourism and jobs are very much affected.
▴ See how sprightly we are at the first stop? It will not last.
Tonle Om (South) Gate
When the Khmer Rouge came through, they made a pointed effort of beheading all the Buddha’s they came across. I guess these ones were un-beheaded, restored, or just lucky! Whatever the case, I think it’s the grandest gate in Siem Reap.
▾ Play video’s!
Bayon Temple
▴ “Bayon” means “smiling Buddha”, according to one of the locals who was just hanging out there. How many can you spot?
By the way, this is one of the ways they beg for money, and they got us a few times before we had to harden up a little to say “no”. They offer you some tidbits of information and history, and sometimes, they will pull you to a hidden corner or easily bypassed spot to point out something that could easily be overlooked. When they are done and you thank them for sharing, they will ask for money or donations.
Baphuon Temple
From the Bayon Temple, we walked across a bridge, where we saw a monkey fight. And since live wild monkeys never get old, have a video:
Across the bridge, we found ourselves at another temple. Saweng told us to keep an eye out for a Buddha, so we did, but we didn’t know what we were looking for... something in the distance? Something at the top (that was off limits for restoration)? Carvings on the walls?
▾ Can you spot it?
We were so close to it, we didn’t see it. It was like a magic-eye deal (Dutch people: have you heard of it?) We kept walking around trying to figure it out and actually gave up and sat for a bit zoning out and started noticing how strangely the stones were curving.. and then Stefan figured it out. I’m not allowed to say “we” because STEFAN called it out.
If you still can’t see it, it’s a reclining Buddha! The head is to the left. It is definitely more obvious at certain angles.
After we basked in the success of discovering the reclining Buddha, we headed down to the base of the temple and started to walk back in the direction we came from, but along the outskirts of the temple.
▾ There weren’t many signs telling us what we were looking at, but the general area looks like it might have been a huge complex, and as we walked the perimeter we saw more ruins that were more overgrown with the surrounding nature.
Elephant Terrace
So turns out the only picture of this one I have is in my brain, but it’s a beautiful facade of engravings of elephants that are on low walls surrounding the area of the two previous temples.
See! I wasn’t on my phone the whole time!
Lunch Time!
We were getting super hungry, so we opted not to stop for other nearby temples, but we got a glimpse as we drove by.
▾ Play.
▾ We went through the East gate where the Buddha’s are, this time, missing most of their heads.
▾ Not a bad view for lunch.
Saweng helped us order some authentic Cambodian dishes.
▾ The curry looking thing is called amok, which we ordered with chicken (you can also pick beef or fish), and the plate of greens are morning glories.
▾ And we had this one who decided they would dine with us. This is only cute because I was done with my food. Don’t try this at home.
Ta Keo Temple
We headed into (or is it onto 🤔) the temple we had lunch in front of. The sun is past its peak and the way it hits the temple is 👌.
This one is most memorable for the climb to the top. It’s high.
Ta Prohm Temple
And now for the other one everyone comes to see. The Tomb Raider one. But it’s been so long since I’ve seen that movie I wouldn’t have known if everyone else wasn’t referring to it that way. This one was one of my favorites but reasons for that in that later post because sleep.
You would think this temple would be the epic way to end temple touring. But we are ambitious tourists on our first day in a country we’ve never been to before. So, it’s not the end.
Sunset & Pre Rup Temple
We’re pushing limits so we jump back into our ride and race to see the sunset. It’s a race because in the dry season, the sky gets hazy and cloudy so the sun will likely disappear and we don’t know if or when that will happen.
But we passed a beautiful view and had to stop for just a few minutes to enjoy..
.. and then back into our frantic tuk-tuk ride to then frantically climb to the top of the temple to catch the disappearing act juuuuuust in time. In the moment, it really feels like we’re in the jungle..
.. and then the climax is over so you come back to your surroundings, which include a bunch of other Western tourists 😂. But at the same time it’s nice to be in that silence with strangers who all had the same idea to enjoy the same beautiful sight.
We took our time at the top since we put in the cardio.
And at the bottom we also took a moment because we were so concerned about catching the sunset that we forgot to look at the massive thing we had to clamber over.
And then we were showered and in bed by 7:00PM. Well, Stefan was. I went to bed at like a grown-up time, like 9:00PM.
Saweng was amazing and we’ve asked him to join us again for our last day. More on tourism in Cambodia also in a later entry.
💩SO POOPED. But good, productive first day!
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