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Day 32- Temples and a quad bike

A 4:45 start could only mean one thing... watching a sunrise! 

The plan was to be down at Angkor Wat which is a temple complex which is also one of the largest religious monuments in the world. The temple was originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu but was transformed into a Buddhist temple at the end of the 12th century. Angkor Wat took 75 years to build and its hard to believe that is all after looking around! Angkor Wat became largely neglected after the 16th century but was never abandoned. Angkor Wat became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1992. Watching the sunrise was pretty spectacular as it glowed behind the detailed silhouette of the temple.










Inside the temple itself it was just as stunning with hand engraved carvings and towers in the shape of lotus buds.










After Angkor Wat we went to a second temple. This temple was called Ta Prohm. This was originally called Rajavihara and was built in the late 12th and early 13th century. This temple has remained mostly in the same way that it was found with the jungle having destroyed it and trees growing out of the ruin after being neglected in the 15th century. This again was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. In 2013 the archeological survey of India has restored most of the temple installing ropes and wooden walkways to protect it from damage caused by tourists. This temple was also used as a location in the film tomb raider.









On our way to the final temple of the day we stopped at the moth gate to Angkor Thom. This beautiful gateway is in great condition and provides an excellent example of the smiling stone faces which were popular in our final temple.






The final temple was The Bayon. This temple was built in the late 12th or early 13th century. It has a multitude of smiling stone faces which are still in excellent condition. There are a total of 216 giant faces around the temple. Scholars believe these faces are of Jayavarm VII who was the Mahayana Buddhist King. Following his death the temple was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their religious preferences. 






So you now may be asking. What do you do after being up since 4:45 to see temples? Quad biking of course! As my mother will tell you I am not a natural driver. It took a lot of patience from mum and 3 tests to get me through my UK driving license so I don’t know how responsible it was to allow me on a quad bike. I did a test run and was immediately flagged down as someone who would need a guide. Again not a natural talent. We drove around the Cambodian countryside and saw the sunset. I also did not die. Always a bonus!








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