Siem Reap and Angkor

Siem Reap is at first sight an interesting place to stay. The city is not as big as the others we have visited and has a more open and easy going pace. We found a great place to stay near the centre, the room is spacious and the place has a small pool and is very friendly.

We were very tired after the almost 9 hour long boat trip here, so we ate some food and crashed out in the big bed very early.
Our first full day here was spent fixing some bicycles to borrow from the hotel and buying our 3 day pass to the vast temple area (40 USD each for this!). The bike ride to Angkor Wat takes about 45min. but in the heat it seemed much longer. Angkor Wat is as they say, quite stunning in terms of its size. The scale of the temple and it symmetry are impressive to say the least. We spent a few hours just walking around and taking pictures. We had a picnic with us, which we ate in the shade of some trees, and chatted to some Cambodian visitors.

We then went on to see the the second major site at Angkor Thom and the temple called Bayon. This is a majestic temple where most of the larger towers have four large faces which look out in each direction. The site is quite damaged, but still has large parts in good condition and you are allowed to climb over most of the site and enter the impressive central temple building.

We have at least 3 more days in Seam Reap and plan to see much more of the Wats, Temples and other Angkor sites.