Ankor Wat, Angkor Thom and some more temples

Yesterday was a fantastic day of site seeing. We had previously arranged for a private guide to show us around Angkor Wat. Being basically devoid of knowledge on the subject of the Cambodian people and these temples, it was decided this would be the best way to glean the most interesting experience of our time in Siem Reap. We also hired a tuk tuk for the day to drive us around, starting at 5:45 am so we could get the most out of our one day at Angkor Wat.

Although the beat down of the 13 hour bus trip from Saigon to Siem Reap was weighing on us, I insisted on waking up for the sunrise at Ta Prohm Temple. This particular temple has not been restored and the jungle is slowly retaking its place all over this temple. There is a magnificent tree on top of one part that shimmers like silver (I stole that line from the tour guide). Furthermore, to add to the jungle atmosphere, since we arrived at 6 am, we were two of the four people exploring the temple. It was so quiet and it felt like a little spooky like we were discovering a new place. After our jungle temple exploration we headed back to the guesthouse for breakfast and to pick up our guide for the day.



Here's a picture of our tour guide explaining to me about some bas relief in the temple. Speaking of bas relief and more bas relief was what our tour guide liked the best. He had gone to University for archaeology so he was extremely knowledgeable about all of the carvings throughout the entire Angkor Wat complex but after awhile, I think Chris' eyes started to glaze over. I was also worn out with his extremely detailed explanations but we both learned a lot about the Hindu and Buddhist religions.



After a lunch, we headed to Angkor Thom. We visited Bayon where it started to rain. Did we mention it is the rainy season now? Well, it rains pretty much everyday here and usually in the afternoons. It continued to rain while we visited the elephant terrace (sure wish that terrace could have been restored) but the rain stopped by the time we climbed to the top of Phimeanakas. It was pretty darn scary up there and the stairs were insanely steep so I let Chris go to the highest part and get the best pictures. We ended the day at Preah Khan which is similar to Ta Prohm but in much better condition as they are slowly working on restoration.

Here's Chris in a short video of Preah Khan


Since we had started our day at 5:30 am we decided to make it an early night, but not before we enjoyed the city of Siem Reap. By the way, Siem Reap actually means "Siamese Defeated", hardly the most tactful name for a major city near Thailand! We had a drink at the Angkor What? Bar before dinner at the Red Piano. The Red Piano is in an restored French era building, reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans.



Our last four days had been early for vacation so this morning we took it easy. I signed up for another cooking class today. It was on par with the Thai cooking class we took together in Chiang Mai.

Snakes....I am very very afraid of snakes. After being in Southeast Asia for two weeks, I had resigned myself to just avoiding the whole snake thing they put on for the tourists (i.e. taking a picture with a snake during the Mekong Delta tour, or buying a snake preserved in alcohol in a glass bottle). Well, I have to admit, I never EVER thought mu closest encounter would come during a cooking class but today, ladies and gentlemen, it did. Yes, that is right, during my cooking class today, I was upstairs chopping away the vegetables for my fish amok (a Cambodian dish) when a man brought up the stairs, a 12 foot skinned boa constrictor. I just about lost it when they gutted it right before my eyes and then started hacking it to bits. After the shock and horror subsided, I asked for what dish did they use snake (in my head I was praying she wasn't going to say something I had eaten already) and she said....Cambodian Barbecue. OK, check that off the list!! Anyways, after they were finished I was able to focus on my dishes only to realize that the man brought up another one after they were done with the first! Luckily, I had almost finished my dishes and could go downstairs and try to eat what I had prepared. Shockingly, my appetite had waned after the whole snake butchering spectacle. Chris ate the rest of my leftovers. Sorry but I accidentally left the camera at the guesthouse for the cooking class so there are no pictures of the snake being hacked up for human consumption.