Angkor Wat

I slept well last night. Had a quick breakfast and rented a motorcycle driver for the day.

The temples of Angkor are beautiful! I've left the main Angkor Wat (wat=temple) for tomorrow morning at sunrise, hoping to leave the best for last.

I saw four temple complexes so far. The first was Angkor Thom- actually an entire walled ancient city. Inside its walls are a number of ruins that you can walk around and explore. The first structure I saw had beautiful carved murals all round its exterior. The murals depicted warriors and political figures and the like. My favorite moment, however was standing on a pavilions along the main square. The leper kings and elephant's pavillions are large raised areas along the side of a huge grass courtyard (maybe 800 m long). The earth that make up their bulk is contained by carved retaining walls that provide an impressive sight from the courtyard. I could imagine being a Khmer king sitting on the pavilion watching troops monks and elephants parade by (or some other majestic vision giving a grandiose feeling).

The second complex I visited was actually never completed. My driver suggested that if I climbed to the top of the thing that I could see the jungle well. I'm glad I did it now, but I wasn't glad by the time I got to the top... The stairs were really steep, and even though they were quite sturdy and I was in no danger, my fear of heights kicked in. T felt like I was gone die and I sweated buckets.

The third temple that I visited was the only one "left to the jungle". Everything was covered in moss and enormous trees sprouted out of walls and rooftops. Being there was like being in Indiana Jones or tomb Raider or something like that. The atmosphere was amazing.

The last temple I saw was quite a ride to get to. 30 km on the back of a small motorbike can be a bit rough. The ride was worth it however, because the temple had the most detailed carving of any in Angkor. It is known as the Women's temple because apparently the carvings are too delicate to have been made by he hands of men.

Now that I am back in town, I'm gonna get some food and go to bed early to get an fresh start tomorrow.