Angkor Day 1 (8 Sept 02): Climbing Temple Ruins
Posted by Stuart at 07:33 AM on August 11, 2002After a 30 minute flight and a 30 minute line for the Cambodian visa at Siem Reap International Airport, Mark and I were on the backs of motorcycles headed for our hotel. Right away we could see that a great revitalization was going on -- everyone seemed to be working on building construction. Most of the new buildings were hotels that lined the road from the airport to the "downtown". In fact, it seemed as if every single building that we saw was built in the last two years. We later learned that our observations were correct.
Our motorcycle drivers offered to show us around the ruins at Angkor Wat for $7 for the day, so we took them up on it. It turned out to be a wise decision, as the same two guys drove us around for the next 3 days.
The entire rest of the day was spent climbing over the ruins of temples from the 11th - 13th century. Mark and I tried to think of what one word would describe what we saw: Unbelievable. Awesome. Fantastic. Phenomenal. We finally decided on "Un-imaginable". The shear scale (in number and size) of the ruins were mind-boggling. It was without a doubt one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
That night we went to bed early, tired from scrambling over huge carved boulders, with anticipation of seeing the actual "Angkor Wat" the next day.
PHEW! You have worn me out!! So much action and climbing and seeing and figuring out the best way to describe your visit. I'm waiting for many more pictures.
Love you!
P.S. This is so much fun.
Don't be depressed BFSF... just start planning your own trip. It's a must-see for everyone in the world, in my opinion.
I just got back from Philly,PA and after looking at the pics from Angkor Wat, I got depressed. The pics are amazing... makes me feel like I am actually travelling with you.
:-)
PS thanks for taking me with you.