Kbal Spean

What an amazing walk! We happily climbed the 1400 meters from the information center to the top of the Kbal Spean river through a lovely track set in the middle of the luxurious and varied vegetation that covers Kulen mountain an hour away from Angkor. This place is known as the river of the 1000 lingas and the riverbanks and stones bear stunning carvings of figures, animals and gods that date back from the 11th Century. The aim was to bless and purify the water in order to fertilize the downstream rice fields of Cambodia.

Ta Prohm

How to describe the experience? We should marvel at how Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom are well preserved but yet the desolation that is Ta Prohm steals the magic from the here before mentioned temples. It must be the way the nature and mostly the enormous kapok trees literally swallow the terraces and walls of this maze like temple. It is mystical. I can only imagine being there without the crowds (even though apart from a few huge Asian groups the place was more deserted than what I was expecting). To make a long story short, if there a temple not to be missed while visiting Angkor it is this one.

Angkor

The morning was spent exploring Angkor Thom. We started through the Bayon, checked a couple of other temples around, were amazed by the bas-reliefs on the enclosing walls and astounded by the Terrace of the Elephants. Being Saturday and still during the high season the place surely was very crowded but we kind of made our way in order not to feel too oppressed. With the heat and exhaustion we decided to go back to the hotel for lunch and a well deserved shower and nap. It is all refreshed we beat the heat after 3 pm to finally visit Angkor Wat. It was the realisation a long life dream for the three of us.

Siem Reap

Even though Siem Reap is not too far from the Singapore, we took the long way through Da Nang in Vietnam before reaching Cambodia late afternoon. Therefore, most of the day was spent travelling after having relaxed a bit in the morning around the swimming pool. As a result there is not much to visually report apart from an entrance view of Le Meridien Angkor we are staying in. Just a 5 minutes walk from the main temples, and a relaxing place after the hustle and bustle of the city outside, without feeling too out of place nor exclusive.