Day 2: Angkor Wat
It was only 9.30am when we arrived at Angkor Wat, but it was already pretty warm. Luckily for me, I love the sun. We were competing to see who would be the first to whinge about the heat or about all the walking. G lost. He “commented” on the heat before we even got into the van at the airport carpark to go to our hotel!
Angkor Wat is surrounded by this beautiful moat, which I like even better than the temple itself. Of course you could always count on some ignorant prick to litter – I have this major peeve with people who litter and men who spit all over the place.
The bridge across the moat to Angkor Wat. Love these big stones.
And behold… Angkor Wat. It’s mindblowing when you realise we’re walking in the exact same paths others walked way back in the early 12th century, probably with same sense of wonder.
A closer view. It’s actually really commercialised. Signs everywhere, ongoing maintenance… and all us curious tourists.
The entire structure is just covered in carvings. Luckily for us, lots of really talented people had lots of free time on their hands back then..
There are heaps of corridors just like this one too – the walls all covered in carvings that speak of the myths of a long, long time ago. Like this:
To be honest, we didn’t have the patience (or interest) to listen to every single one of the stories. I think our guide was rather disappointed at our lack of enthusiasm for his spoutings.
Another part of Angkor Wat. The place is massive!
A pony all dressed up for the cause of one (or two) dollars.
There are the boys with our guide, the only person in long-sleeves and proper pants. He’s a 23-year-old who just finished high school and recently passed his exams to become a certified tour guide. He wants to go to university next year. He also really likes J.
