February 2, 2013
starting the day early again but this time for the little circuit tour at the Angkor Archaeological Park with our guide, Kia
our first stop: Baksei Cham Krong
we only got to see this temple from afar yesterday, so it was good to have a chance to see it up close naman
I'm not afraid of heights but I have to say I had jitters climbing up the temple. it was quite steep plus ang liliit pa ng steps so you really had to be extra careful in climbing up
when we got to the top there was a reclining image of the Buddha inside the temple
we went down on another side and visited a nearby temple which wasn't too significant according to Kia. haha. our 2nd quick stop was the Prasat Bei temple
we also had a side trip by the water reservoir where they had grand gondolas that came in the form of birds
from there we then walked towards the South Gate of Angkor Thom. Kia actually told us about the gates and how these had its own corresponding purpose. I couldn't remember lang all the details but in times of war and they were defeated they would enter via a certain gate, and when they won naman they would enter thru the victory gate, and so on.
at both sides of the walkway towards the gate where huge figures seemingly pulling big logs. we walked inside the gate and climbed up the entrance tower. here we had a closer view of the faces on the tower
the next temple on our itinerary was Bayon and from the entrance we had to ride a tuk-tuk pa to get to the site
just before entering the temple, we had photos taken muna with the elephants. this has been the biggest temple we've seen so far and is probably the next most popular temple after Angkor Wat
a distinct feature of this temple were the stone faces on the towers and we sure had a blast in taking photos
after Baphuon we passed by Phimeanakas and the royal palace area. Kia showed us a hole in the ground which was the toilet in those days. we also got to see the royal pools--there was an olympic size one which was meant for the kings's wives, while an adjacent smaller pool was for the king exclusively
from there we reached the terrace of the elephants which was more like a stage. it had carvings of elephant heads, thus the name
and that completes the little circuit tour we had on our 3rd day in Cambodia. we still had a day left from our pass but we may likely just go there on our own since it was kind of pricey to have a guide.
since we've only been able to book for the first 3 days, we went out to find another guesthouse where we can stay in for the remainder of our trip.
on the way we chanced upon this stall just across the street from our guesthouse selling these exotic snacks
not too sure what they were but i'm pretty sure majority of these are insects, haha
we also got to try some of their local beer to down some junk food we bought from the grocery. and no, we did not have the beer with the exotic snacks as shown above, haha.
After Bayon, we then moved to Baphuon--a really amazing sight especially from afar, across the pool of water
I actually enjoyed the complex more than being inside the temple. though the view from the top was quite nice even if it wasn't as high
from there we reached the terrace of the elephants which was more like a stage. it had carvings of elephant heads, thus the name
that was our last stop just before heading for lunch.
Kia brought us to the Khmer Angkor Kitchen which was still within the Angkor complex
still two temples to head to and our next one was Banteay Kdei which was a preview daw of Ta Prohm, another well-known temple because of the trees it had within the complex
we didn't stay too long there since we were really looking forward to getting to our next temple
and so we come to the last stop in the tour: Ta Prohm
this temple complex was distinct because of the trees growing out of the ruins thus making it one of the most visited sites daw and was actually used in the Tomb Raider movie
the trees and the ruins were really a sight to behold. sayang lang there was ongoing restoration kaya there were scaffolding in some parts and all. I would really love to go back here once they've completed fixed up the site
and that completes the little circuit tour we had on our 3rd day in Cambodia. we still had a day left from our pass but we may likely just go there on our own since it was kind of pricey to have a guide.
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| saying our thanks and goodbyes to Kia for the wonderful tour |
on the way we chanced upon this stall just across the street from our guesthouse selling these exotic snacks
not too sure what they were but i'm pretty sure majority of these are insects, haha
we also got to try some of their local beer to down some junk food we bought from the grocery. and no, we did not have the beer with the exotic snacks as shown above, haha.
the rest of our Siem Reap to follow in my next blog!
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