Day 2: The Temples

After a fantastic night’s sleep we awoke to a massive buffet style breakfast, complete with Pho bar, omelet bar, dried and fresh exotic fruits, and coffee from around the world. We had some of the best Pho I’ve experienced in years and met up with our guides So and Rhett. They were excited as we had agreed to meet with them early to beat the tourists and they ushered us away quickly to get our park passes for the day. The itinerary was to visit 4 major temples without dying of heat exhaustion. So wanted to provide us with the unique experience of walking through the jungle and coming upon one of the hidden gates to our first temple.  With a daypack full of water and sunscreen we set out into the jungle. The air was thick and sticky with the slowly rising heat and humidity. But the sensation of being cooked alive was drowned out by the thunderous cicadas. It was like walking through a forest of jet engines. So had to yell to be heard. As the sun rose so did the temperatures but we pressed on and arrived at our first wonder. Ta Prohm, featured in Tomb Raider, is a temple deep in the jungle slowly being reclaimed by aggressive octopus-like trees, strangling vines, and nature’s own torments.    Our first glimpse into this spectacular temple started with its isolated northern gate. As the jungle cleared we came upon this ancient stone masterpiece. Rays from the rising sun struck the four faced Buddha a top a semi-collapsed structure.  Emily, myself, and our guide were the only ones present that early and we each stood in silence taking in the magical scene. Once through the gate we hiked to the main temple were there was a smattering of tourists from around the world.  So enlightened us with the rich history and culture of the temple as we climbed over and around various parts stopping only to take note of specific historical Easter eggs.    It was a surreal experience climbing over 1000+ year old ruins and seeing massive trees slowly overtaking the solid stone walls. It was all iconic to say the least. What I enjoyed most was being able to witness the amazed and bewildered look on Emily’s face as we rounded corner after corner revealing even more extraordinary sights.  

After our first temple we went next to temple #2. This was a fascinating temple as it was surrounded by a moat with giant ornate gates for entry. The bridges crossing the moat were adorned with large stone demon statues playing tug-o-war with a massive snake. We passed through the first gate then walked along the outer wall, high above the moat, to see the other gates in their various states from well maintained to completely taken over by the jungle.   The high sun and blistering heat of the jungle forced us to take a break midday so we returned to our hotel for a siesta. 

 

Angkor Wat, the pride and jewel of Cambodia, was incredible. A towering monument to religion surrounded by a massive square moat two football fields across, was our next stop. The temple was built with 3 inner areas, each rising precipitously and signifying our journey towards heaven.  The sheer magnitude of this structure and the knowledge that it had been built by hand with minimal tools was astounding. We circled the whole complex multiple times reading/following the stories etched on the walls.   We learned much about the Hindu religion and by the end So, Emily, and I just sat in quiet contemplation staring out at the landscape. 

Finally the sun was setting and the terrible heat was lifting giving us a brief reprieve from the sweating. This occurred just in time for a hilly hike to our final temple, Sunset Temple. This was a pyramid-like temple perched on the tallest hill in the area. The views were incredible but the temple was relatively plane.  So we packed up our gear and called it a day. As the sun was setting we decided to go out for some snake fish curry and try one of those fish foot massages which turned out to be an hour of tickling torture. Exhausted but happy we crashed shortly after.