Siem Reap, Cambodia

Today started with a 400am wake up call to be in the lobby by 430 am. It was still pitch black with no power driving to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise over the famous temple. Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious monument and one of the seven man made wonders of the world. It covers a 10x10 km square area surrounded by a moat. The main temple, Angkor Wat, is the most well preserved with the most money coming in to restore it as well. This temple has six libraries and a main monastery which we watched the
Angkor Wat actually means city of temples. Within the grounds there are 20 temples that were created within 37 years of each other. All done in stones carried by elephants to the site. It was heavily influenced by Hinduism with slight hints of Buddhism. You can see Hindu legends and gods all over the temple with Buddhist statues surrounding them. Quite the juxtaposition.  The sunrise is red in this part of the world. It was spectacular but way way way to early. After the sunset, I climbed to the third story of this temple which has 260 stairs at a 70 degree angle. They are steep and high with no protection if you fall.

After a four and a half hour nap, the group headed back to Angkor Wat to see the Bayon Temple. The Bayon Temple is primarily a Mahayana Buddhist temple. Each of the corners and all around the temple is surrounded by a column with four heads facing each direction of the compass. It still has 126 faces standing and visible. The French discovered it in the 13th century and numbered each stone as it fell. Today, you can still see the etched in numbers on the restored areas. Cambodia is actually restoring this temple under a grant from the Italians. In Khmer beliefs west is the direction of bad and east is the direction of good. This is due to the sun patterning and thus being attacked in the dark from the West (Thailand). The four directions mean:

• North - embodies hope
• East - embodies happiness
• South - embodies peace 
• West - embodies protection for all 

Jumping on tuk tuk's, the next temple within Angkor Wat was Angkor Thom. It means big city. This is the Lara Croft temple. It is in shambles and being restored by the Indian government. You can actually see the trees over taking and destroying the temple. I might have climbed one of the trees to get some spectacular photographs. It's one of the best temples that I saw due to the ability to climb and having to maneuver the entire time. It's a smaller temple than you would believe. It is maybe 400 feet by 300 feet. It was originally all painted red but due to oxidation is green currently. A few of us lost the group when we were monkeying around and saw what we believe was Angelina Jolie and her kid from Cambodia, Maddox. A guard was telling people around her that anyone who took a photo would have their entire cameras erased so I didn't venture anywhere near her. It might not have been her but still a neat experience. No pictures will do this temple justice ever.

Dinner was a full tour group for once on Pub Street, the famous restuarant street in Siem Reap. I had lemon chicken over mango rice and a Mekong Midget drink. The names of drinks were hilarious and creative - Slippery Spermicide, Temple Torture, Cambodian Cock Fighter, and Mekong Midget. It was white out night. Everyone in the city wears white on the Friday that we landed on. You get massacred with sharpies and highlighters then head to the neon bar in town. It was called the Angkor What?? bar. It is a mirror image to the Cabo Wabo in Cabo, Mexico but in Cambodia. It's got UV lights, no heating, and a playlist that could rival any Canadian city. I left the bar at 6 am to pack and get on the 745 bus to the airport. Sleep deprivation has been the game of the tour. It will catch up to me eventually.

I would totally do another Contiki tour. It was an amazing experience with tons of interesting people. I'd bring more granola bars and less electrolyte solution next time for food. Backpacks are not opitional, suitcases suck balls. I doubt I will ever do Cambodia or Thailand again. I loved Laos and would consider coming back to the country. Looking back I wouldn't change anything.

AFN