April 18 Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat

We rose early, had a good breakfast-not only the usual omelet and fruit, but also some oriental green beens, fried rice, noodles, and some other oddments, but a very substantial meal.  Then we met Wamie and Cham, his friend the guide, and took off in Wamie's 1983 Toyota taxi.  We had paid $40each for a 3-day pass to all the sites in the area. The area designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Sight amounts to 401 square kilometers, and contains several hundred temples, many completely unrestored and hidden as yet.

Our first stop was the huge complex at Angkor Thom, which was built near the end of the Kymer Kingdom's era of greatness, roughly 1200 AD. In the switching between Hindu and Buddhist dominance, this was a period of Buddhist dominance, marked however not only by smiling Buddha images, but also assimilating many of the Hindu dieties, so they appear in the same temples. The temple called Bayon in Angkhor Thom was one-square kilometer in size, and within a larger complex of temples and facilites that covered about 9 sq. kilometers. We were climbing up and down steps in the temple as it got warmer and warmer in the sun, then covering other areas such as the Terrace of the Leper King and the Terrace of the Elephants. We had a lunch at a local restaurant but decided that we needed a rest and some AC before going on to Angkor Wat, as it was pretty hot and humid.

After a couple of hours' snooze, we again took off in our ancient Toyota and saw the magnificent ruins of Angkor Wat, considered the centerpiece of the Eighth Wonder of the World.  This temple also involved a lot of climbing, and one area had been closed for several years after some tourists fell to their deaths.  However, the third level was open with a double handrail provided to go up and down, and we were able to get to the top on the last batch of tourists before it closed for the evening.  The views were well worth the heat and the climb, and the size of the interior was surprizing.

We were dropped off by the main market to look for souvenir trinckets, and walked from there to Pub Street for drinks and dinner.  This was quite a good local BBQ with wine, and we stopped for dessert at an ice cream place, then walked back to the hotel.  It was so hot that we worked up a good sweat just with a 10 - minute walk. We watched the relevant (Angkor Wat) portions of Lara Croft -tomb Raider again to remind ourselves of the places we had seen, then dropped off to sleep.