Siem Reaping The Benefits Of An Early Start

The journey from Don Det to Siem Reap in Northern Cambodia was another big one – and with various delays it ended up taking the best part of 16 hours. I was getting used to these mammoth journeys! Myself, Emma, Andy & Helen all booked the same trip out of Laos but Emma was only coming with us most of the way. She would be heading to the capital, Phnom Penh, while the rest of us were heading further north to explore the temples of Angkor Wat. I wasn’t sure when I’d next see her but as it turned out I didn’t have long to wait.

After a very late arrival caused by apparent unneeded waiting around, even more unneeded stoppages and a rip-off tuk-tuk ride, we made it to the accommodation Andy & Helen had booked. As normal I hadn’t arranged anything as it’s good to have a look round when you arrive. I didn’t expect we would be quite so late! Luckily their place had a room for me which was pretty nice and very reasonably priced. We all got our heads down and arranged to reconvene in the (late) morning.

The bulk of the afternoon was spent having a wander around and getting to know our surroundings. It was clear that with the temples on its doorstep, Siem Reap is fully geared up for the tourist market. We definitely felt liked we’d moved off the backpacker trail and fully into the world of mainstream tourists. Our main objective of the day was to find a driver to take us to the temples – which we managed by getting a deal from one of the guys from our hotel. The only other thing of note to happen that day was that Emma was on her way north – she had done everything she wanted to in one day in Phnom Penh. A very quick reunion was on the cards. We then tried to get a very early night.

Our day at Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples involved getting up at 4am, getting in a tuk-tuk driven by a Cambodian bloke proclaiming to be called ‘Rocky’, and setting off in the pitch black to the unofficial 8th wonder of the world. We stopped off to buy our passes and had to pose for a photo. This cheesy smiling shot then appears on said pass – oh dear. We then arrived at the Wat and had to bumble about in the dark (none of us thought to bring a torch), up some stairs and along a walk way. In the near pitch black we could just about make out a small lake and we settled onto the stone embankment. Gradually as we moved towards dawn, we could just about make out the outline of the famous building. Over the next hour or two its full splendour began to emerge from the darkness, until the sun finally crested behind it and bathed it in gold, yellow and orange light. The silhouette was reflected in the lake in front, giving perfect photo opportunities. I must have taken about 60 variations of this one! We felt very lucky to have such an amazing sunrise – we’d heard many stories from people who had cloudy mornings and clearly not as spectacular a sight.

The rest of the day was spent checking out Angkor Wat and about another 8 or 9 temples. Highlights included the Bayon which has 216 faces carved into it (an achievement of construction in any era, never mind 1000 years ago) and Ta Prohm which has trees growing through and over the ruins of the temple. It appeared in the Tomb Raider movie as any guide will be itching to tell you! Myself and Andy were in our element and happily clicked into the roles of photography geeks. Andy knows what he’s talking about a lot more than me, so I was happy to pick his brains and try a few different shots out. We also enjoyed clambering to the top of the highest structures we could find. Helen didn’t enjoy this quite so much. The very steep (not to mention uneven) stairs added to a fear of heights wasn’t a great mix for her.

It’s a long day at the temples and after being up for a mere 14 hours and having the dustiest, dirtiest feet you could possibly imagine, it was time to head back to Siem Reap. Our trusty driver Rocky sped us back to our lodgings and we met up with Emma. After a brief catch-up, showers and the like, we headed out for some dinner and beers. It was to be a very tame affair – the three of us were exhausted and Emma had it all to look forward to the next day.

Today’s tune of the day is Daybreak by The Stone Roses:

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