originally , I was scheduled to leave Cambodia on the 18th and Shay as well. then the following occurred, Moti and mom moved their flight to the morning of the 17th and shay in retaliation also changed his flight to the same time, leaving me for a day + in Cambodia solo. that is usually ok, but we assess that we have a good coverage of the sites already and day 3 would be an over kill.
now the debate begun, what to do with a day of travel, go where...? Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, china are all within my booking finger tips. Thailand as well, to spend another day with the family was a front runner but the internal debates with a new destination won after a coupe of decision less hour as we had our last meal together in an Italian place with great lasagna.
we woke up a little bit after four am, packed and got on a tuk tuk to ANgkor Vat , THE temple, to watch the sunrise, even at 5 am the coldest tie of day , i am starting to sweat. tourist swarm on the place looking for the ideal sunrise shot, but since they all morning flights, we didn't wait for the sun and walked in. this temple as a single unit is by far the grandest, and the most complete, it has large grounds of grass, outer walls and 5 towers. inside the long corridors you will find massive carving of ancient battles with elephant ridden bowman. the site is impressive, but some how not as pretty as some of the less known ones, perhaps it is the tourist swarm, or perhaps since several areas are off limits and i cant explore or maybe since this is day two, but this site was not my favorite, thought i did take my share of photos, respect for the world wonder candidate after all.
then it was time to go, for them, while i stayed for a few more hours.
the next temple was on a hill with a tiring climb followed by many stairs. temple from which Angkor vat itself peaks from the jungle canopy. at this pyramid, i noticed a sweet spot for my trade mark photo and now the question is who will take the shot. a handful of tourist nearby and i am approached by a Chinese girl wanting me to take her shot (standard view shot) and then i get my legs in the air photo, and for the next 2 hours we walk the temples together. she is a Chinese teacher in Laos, a destination i will not be heading to today.
the next temple is the most impressive in my opinion. , the site Bayon. behind large walls. this is the largest grounds area with several temples inside, usually there is one in every site, this one has several. the first, bayon itself is a Buddha frenzy place. there are 48 towers, each one has a Buddha carved on every corner, as you walk up and down in this place, Buddha is always smiling at you. after this impressive ruin where we tried to find shots with ore and ore Buddha's in them we exited and move to the next temple that should be known as hell on stairs.
these ancient Cambodians, build high pyramids, with narrow and steep stairs, in over a 100 degree weather. crazy nation. we climb up and down, resting a little now and again in the breeze and taking photos of symmetric corridors, unique carving and jungle views. it is not even 9 am and i finished 2 liters of water. at another temple we light the incense and pay the 1$ fee to ensure that Buddha listens. then walk on a long terrace with countless carved elephants.
at this point we go our separate ways and i continue tempelling, pass a coupe more then reach the last of today. i need to find the name, but this is a temple claimed by nature. huge ficus trees are growing from within the stone, in some areas they just break through and some they engulf the stone in a more impressive manner. i take lots and lots of shots before heading out.
at lunch time, i say good bye to Cambodia with a not so great Cambodian steak, but with a banana shake and a pine apple shake, so cool and yummi. then i head to the airport.
at this point after being soaked through the bone with sweat and i sticky and not qualified for plane travel, but there is no hotel here, lucky the Cambodian have a hose in the shower used for number two and i use it for a refreshing shower. the cleaning lady outside keeps banging on the cell door, since the device is not meant for showers and water goes everywhere. now much refreshed i am waiting in the lounge boarding in 45 minutes...
and Cambodia makes 57.. + world wonder candidate check.
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