Thursday 26th May
The highlight of my trip to South East Asia – travelling around Angkor Wat. Or more precisely the Siem Reap province because there Angkor Wat is just one of the many temples here.
I started off by hiring a tuk tuk (aka a remork from the French remorque). I could have got a scooter but I wanted to start off with an organised trip so I could organise tickets, etc. Then off visiting temples.
I decided to go to the Roluos group of temples. They predate Angkor Wat and show the origins of how the temples were designed and built. They are mainly Hindu but the later ones are Buddhist.
However, it’s kind of in the same direction to go see the floating village of Kompong Pluk. Unfortunately, whilst it’s now the monsoon season there’s actually been a drought (the dry season) so the water is at very low levels. Which means that the floating village is an 11km ride further along some very bumpy roads. I doubled up cushions by using the one on the seat opposite (one advantage of travelling solo!) and even then it was pretty bone jarring!
Next on to the first temples. Prasat Lolei, Preah Ko and Prasat Bakong. The first two are the oldest and least impressive. However, they’re a great starter. Here are a few pics from Bakong.
and this was at the foot of Bakong:
A theme for today has been electricity. I’m working on my blog in a cafe in Siem Reap and suddenly everything goes black. Turns out this happens regularly in the rainy season.
And it happened again later in the evening. Seems like some businesses are more prepared than others.
Look forward to reading and seeing more! ⭐️