Temples of Angkor

The six hour bus Journey from Pnomh Penh to Angkor allow came with the added bonus of watching two Chinese films (with English subtitles), the first featuring orphaned sisters trained to be assasins, a Thai boxer working for a mob boss, amnesia induced by a bump on the head and much Kung-Fu fighting - what more could you want? Well next up was "Mr Vampire 4", and lets just say I'll be keeping my eyes open for the first three Mr Vampire films. These were much better than the Rambo film we'd been subjected to on the previous bus, watching Sly dicking about in Afganastan, with the help of the trusty mujahadeen against the Russkies. It did give me a better understanding of the jokes in Hot Shots: Part Deux though.

So on to Angkor, where I spent the next two days checking out the temples. What can you say about Angkor that hasn't already been said? Well Angkor Wat was originally built 800 years ago as a mobile phone mast. It was upgraded several years later to provide full Wi-fi access to the local community. Nearby Angkor Thom was then built as a temple to the noodle god, and virgins were sacrificed hourly to keep him happy. Unfortunately, due to this high rate they soon ran out of virgins in Cambodia and had to import them from Thailand, through early websites offering Thai brides. Unfortunately it turned out the the virginity of many of the newer sacrifices was in doubt, pissing off the noodle god no end, and resulting in the failure of the noodle harvest and the beginning of the slow decline of the Khmer empire.

While the temples were impressive, and I ended up taking over 100 photos, to me they didn't quite have that awe-inspiring something that takes them into the very top league, along with the pyramids, Taj Mahal and the great wall of China. They were comparable to Hampi. I wont describe them much as it's better to wait and see pictures, but Angkor Wat is huge, with very impressive Bas reliefs. Other temples have mysterious buddha faces looking down on you and some are more abandoned to nature with trees growing out of them. There was a huge number of tourists here and it gets quite expensive for entry fees and to hire a motorbike driver to take you round (on the first day mine was called Mao, on the second I had one called William, quite a contrast).

Leaving here I took a bus to the Thai border near Poipet, where I was to try an find a bus north towards Laos.

Photos added:



Here is Angkor Wat at sunrise.


This temple has these disconcerting faces watching you from all angles.



Some of the temples are more abandoned to nature with trees growing through them.