Siem Reap – the jewels of the Angkor Empire

The six hours of bus trip with full blast Khmer karaoke videos were definitely worth it. Siem Reap is a relatively big city and quite touristy given its proximity to Angkor, the old capital of the Khmer empire, which experienced its splendour between 802 and 1432 DC. As soon as we arrived we arranged good bicycles, Cambodian style hats and a three day pass and we were ready to explore the area.

Day 1: Angkor Wat, Bayon and the city of Angkor Thom

It couldn’t have been any other way; our excursion started in the great temple of Angkor, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest religious building still standing and it is not only its sizes that surprise: Angkor Wat is truly spectacular. Our first encounter with Angkor Wat was really pleasant. Having prepared ourselves to fight against herds of tourists, we found it relatively empty and quiet, so we took the whole morning to explore it leisurely.

In the afternoon we explored the city of Angkor Thom, a wall complex of 10 square kilometres which in times of its creator, the king Jayavarman VII, it may have supported a population of around a million. Its walls, avenues and buildings, and in particular the building of Bayon, with its 54 towers and 216 faces watching you from every angle are truly impressive.

Having walked around some of the most emblematic temples of Angkor, given the early start and the hours cycling under a scorching sun, we dropped dead in bed…

Day 2: The big tour of Angkor

We dedicated the second day to exploring temples and buildings that, although smaller, were not less spectacular. We spent the day around the big tour of Angkor, 30 Km trail through tropical jungle and full of buildings, temples, reservoirs…. And many stalls of food and souvenirs run by the local population. It is odd to contrast the grandiosity of the temples with the houses of the local population, which have probably not changed substantially in the millennia since the splendour of the Angkorian Empire.

To end the day we sat to read in one of the old libraries of Angkor Wat, from where we could observe the sun set over the temple….All very pretty and quiet until a bunch of ants decided that we were not in the right place!

Day 3: More temples and some famous people

With accumulated tiredness and a certain overdoses of temples, the third day we found it hard to jump out of bed. Nevertheless, by ten we were already running around new temples and revisiting some of our old favourites.

To finish the visit, we decided to look for a quiet place in Angkor Wat where we could seat, read and see time go by while observing the building, undisturbed by either tourists or ants. A difficult task in Angkor, but we finally found what appeared to be the perfect place, with a good shade, a spectacular view of the temple and very quiet… Quiet? Well that was the case until a group of policemen escorting the delegation of the Vietnamese government invaded the area. We were so well placed that the president of Vietnam, very smiley, offered us his hand for a handshake creating an absurd situation in which Matthew, with books in his hands, said the president “sorry, but I have no hands”. Given that the president continued to offer his hand and his smile, and in order to avoid and new conflict in the area, Matthew finally found a free hand to offer.

Well, finally, a bit of peace and quiet… but only for some minutes! Who interrupts us now? It’s the sultan of Brunei with his courtier! Maybe warned by the president of Vietnam, the sultan decided not to shake hands with us to avoid further conflicts…

We may not have found the quietest place in Angkor Wat to spend the afternoon, but it was definitely the most entertaining!