Off To An Early Start
At 04:00 my cellphone kindly requested me to get out of bed. So I did.
In the main lobby everyone was sleeping, not for long, as I spooked a dormant doorman with a dramatic entrance thanks to the lack of light present in the room. Anyway, it turned out that bikes weren't available before 05:00 , so I killed some time on the very same computer this entry is being typed on.
At 04:57 I had my bike presented to me and off I went. It was somewhat challenging maneuvering my way onto the street and eventually making the right turn which would, eventually, lead me to Angkor but I got to the ticket office without causing accidents. There my picture was taken and I was asked on two separate occasions if I was 'all right' riding my bike all the way out there. I wasn't the only one riding a bike, but my vehicle excelled in the 'Looking Rather Shabby' department and I was sweating like a pig. An eager pig, but a pig none the less.
After working my way past the routine I headed for Angkor Wat, which is the biggest temple of the Temples of Angkor. It's also the largest stone religious building in the world. Here I joined the circus of experiencing the sunrise over this magnificent structure. That plan went south pretty fast as it was quite cloudy and the sun was having a hard time breaking through, so I skipped the crowds and headed into the temple.
Here I resist the temptation of describing every single thing I've done so far and skip to the part where I give some kind of opinion on the whole experience of my first day, with a little bit about the itinerary. So if you're planning to come here yourself and would like it to be a pure experience without any foreknowledge, stop reading. If you're still on the fence and/or would like to read my opinion, read on, but beware of SPOILERS AHEAD. You might also skip ahead to the In Retrospect part.
The Dead Battery
Before moving on, open this map in a separate tab in your browser. There Angkor Wat is labeled 'Angkor Vat', look for it in the south. That was my starting point, from there I did the opposite of all the tuktuks, taxi's and motorcycles and headed north-east to Ta Promh, which is a temple that is literally consumed by the jungle. The first thing I saw when I got there was a huge crane and about 30 people running around in construction outfits. Turns out that there is a huge Indian-sponsored effort under way to reconstruct the temple. The disappointment was tangible. Luckily there's a way around the temple to get to the somewhat more rugged parts, which I had to myself. I wandered around for a while and ended up one a separate construction site, of which I seemed to have used the back door, judging by the faces of the construction guys once I emerged from the jungle. There, as if to shove my face in the dirt, my camera battery went dead. This gave my day an interesting twist and had me changing priorities where I would explore as much as possible, so I could figure out where I'd return the following days.
After Ta Promh I turned around and went to Sra Srang, which isn't on the map, but it's next to Bantaey Srei, to the west. Sra Srang is a big pool that used to be the king's personal bathtub. Here I ended up in Sra Srang village, while looking for Prasat Bat Chum to the south. There I saw a part of Angkor that not many people bother to see, I think, because I was asked on multiple occasions if I was lost. In between the temples are small villages that consist of farmers and the people who try and sell you things when you're in a temple. I got there thanks to a farmer who was urging me to go on, sitting behind his two cows and chewing his pipe. Angkor doesn't have an image of red dirt roads, cows and a lot of chickens, but they're all there.
After a quick stop at Bentaey Srei, where I bought a painting, more on that when I get it home in one piece, I hopped on my bike and headed to Angkor Thom, the main complex, home to the epic sounding Terrace of Elephants and The Terrace of The Leper King. Here more tourists emerged, as well as all sorts of things-sellers.
When I headed to the Bayon temple to the south, I had to make a run for it after a wall of rain came rumbling my way, all that needed was some vintage John Williams music and it would have been a Hollywood blockbuster. When the skies cleared, I headed back, rounding up the about 25 kilometers of road traveled after a quick stop at a restaurant to have the painting wrapped in plastic.
In Retrospect
This place is a mixed bag. I'd recommend anyone that comes here to do it at your own pace and at your own leisure. Doing it on a bike is not to be underestimated and requires some stamina, as well as adaptability to the climate. Guides have amazing stories and tuktuk drivers will be sure to show you all that's there to see, but the magic lies in what's not to see. You'll come across plenty of groups with guides, and you'll pick up some of the info along the way. I got myself a book here at my hotel that contains all the info I need to know about what's going on, or has been going on for the past 900 or more (!!!) years. Get lost, get really, really lost in this place and have the time of your life. I do check the temples off of my list, same as everyone else and now I've seen Angkor Wat, the eighth world wonder and looked on as the sun rose, but that wasn't magical. It was mandatory.
At 04:00 my cellphone kindly requested me to get out of bed. So I did.
In the main lobby everyone was sleeping, not for long, as I spooked a dormant doorman with a dramatic entrance thanks to the lack of light present in the room. Anyway, it turned out that bikes weren't available before 05:00 , so I killed some time on the very same computer this entry is being typed on.
At 04:57 I had my bike presented to me and off I went. It was somewhat challenging maneuvering my way onto the street and eventually making the right turn which would, eventually, lead me to Angkor but I got to the ticket office without causing accidents. There my picture was taken and I was asked on two separate occasions if I was 'all right' riding my bike all the way out there. I wasn't the only one riding a bike, but my vehicle excelled in the 'Looking Rather Shabby' department and I was sweating like a pig. An eager pig, but a pig none the less.
After working my way past the routine I headed for Angkor Wat, which is the biggest temple of the Temples of Angkor. It's also the largest stone religious building in the world. Here I joined the circus of experiencing the sunrise over this magnificent structure. That plan went south pretty fast as it was quite cloudy and the sun was having a hard time breaking through, so I skipped the crowds and headed into the temple.
Here I resist the temptation of describing every single thing I've done so far and skip to the part where I give some kind of opinion on the whole experience of my first day, with a little bit about the itinerary. So if you're planning to come here yourself and would like it to be a pure experience without any foreknowledge, stop reading. If you're still on the fence and/or would like to read my opinion, read on, but beware of SPOILERS AHEAD. You might also skip ahead to the In Retrospect part.
The Dead Battery
Before moving on, open this map in a separate tab in your browser. There Angkor Wat is labeled 'Angkor Vat', look for it in the south. That was my starting point, from there I did the opposite of all the tuktuks, taxi's and motorcycles and headed north-east to Ta Promh, which is a temple that is literally consumed by the jungle. The first thing I saw when I got there was a huge crane and about 30 people running around in construction outfits. Turns out that there is a huge Indian-sponsored effort under way to reconstruct the temple. The disappointment was tangible. Luckily there's a way around the temple to get to the somewhat more rugged parts, which I had to myself. I wandered around for a while and ended up one a separate construction site, of which I seemed to have used the back door, judging by the faces of the construction guys once I emerged from the jungle. There, as if to shove my face in the dirt, my camera battery went dead. This gave my day an interesting twist and had me changing priorities where I would explore as much as possible, so I could figure out where I'd return the following days.
After Ta Promh I turned around and went to Sra Srang, which isn't on the map, but it's next to Bantaey Srei, to the west. Sra Srang is a big pool that used to be the king's personal bathtub. Here I ended up in Sra Srang village, while looking for Prasat Bat Chum to the south. There I saw a part of Angkor that not many people bother to see, I think, because I was asked on multiple occasions if I was lost. In between the temples are small villages that consist of farmers and the people who try and sell you things when you're in a temple. I got there thanks to a farmer who was urging me to go on, sitting behind his two cows and chewing his pipe. Angkor doesn't have an image of red dirt roads, cows and a lot of chickens, but they're all there.
After a quick stop at Bentaey Srei, where I bought a painting, more on that when I get it home in one piece, I hopped on my bike and headed to Angkor Thom, the main complex, home to the epic sounding Terrace of Elephants and The Terrace of The Leper King. Here more tourists emerged, as well as all sorts of things-sellers.
When I headed to the Bayon temple to the south, I had to make a run for it after a wall of rain came rumbling my way, all that needed was some vintage John Williams music and it would have been a Hollywood blockbuster. When the skies cleared, I headed back, rounding up the about 25 kilometers of road traveled after a quick stop at a restaurant to have the painting wrapped in plastic.
In Retrospect
This place is a mixed bag. I'd recommend anyone that comes here to do it at your own pace and at your own leisure. Doing it on a bike is not to be underestimated and requires some stamina, as well as adaptability to the climate. Guides have amazing stories and tuktuk drivers will be sure to show you all that's there to see, but the magic lies in what's not to see. You'll come across plenty of groups with guides, and you'll pick up some of the info along the way. I got myself a book here at my hotel that contains all the info I need to know about what's going on, or has been going on for the past 900 or more (!!!) years. Get lost, get really, really lost in this place and have the time of your life. I do check the temples off of my list, same as everyone else and now I've seen Angkor Wat, the eighth world wonder and looked on as the sun rose, but that wasn't magical. It was mandatory.
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