Into the Jungle

After a quick flight to Bankgkok then a 1 hour connection to Siem Reap, we found ourselves in the middle of the jungles of Cambodia. The name Siem Reap literally means the 'Defeat of Siam' —Siam being what we know as Thailand today —and refers a struggle that lasted for centuries and is commemorated in stone in the bas relief carvings of the monuments we visited. You literally could spend weeks in Cambodia and the temples of Siem Reap, but we only had 4 days, and Paul wanted to go temple touring to which we did. I was just excited to be back in nature. We enjoyed spectacular food since we really love dim sum, noodles, pork, and fresh vegetables. These seem to be the common types of food available where you go, so we were quite happy. The climate is hot and sticky, but a nice pool back at our hotel made the afternoon very relaxing and easy to cool off.

The first temple we visited was the enormous Angkor Thom, which is actually more like a city than a mere temple. It is 10 square kilometers in size, and in particular we spent most of our time at the temple Bayon. Angkor Thom was by far our favorite place we visited. Below you will see the entrance to Angkor Thom along with the carvings in relief.

These Hindu temples we eventually converted to Buddhist temples as you will note the 'Smiling Buddha's' below. . .

Tiny doorways . . .

A Hindu goddess . . .

The Elephant Terrace . . .

Bayon from a distance . . .

Now, off to lunch! We shared steamed pork spring rolls along with chicken and noodles!

We hopped back over to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool to cool off after lunch before heading out to Bantea Srei. Bantea Srei is about 25 kilometers away from Angkor Thom, but is the temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Shiva. It is also believed despite its small size, the intricate carvings reveal that women solely carved the reliefs due to the detail displayed in comparison to the other temples. Below is Paul's favorite image . . . Shiva eating the demon. Yikes!

A walk through the lily pads before we head back to the car to catch sunset . . .

Cambodian sunset from high atop a temple . . .

Hot and exhausted its time to head back to the hotel to freshen up!

On the way, we decide to check out the local junk food. So gross, American ham and cheddar and shrimp flavored chips.

The next morning we visited the most well-known temple, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world, and its sheer size is impressive. It is really so big we could not figure out how to capture the entire premises on film.

Three Cambodian brides take photos for their wedding day . . .

Our tour guide was really driving us bananas. So we ditched him and decided to walk the grounds ourselves. Good thing we did as it led us outside to this old gate that used to be an entrance for people coming to the temple.

Up we go . . .

This path leads to the Buddhist monastery . . .

Taking a break in the shade . . .

Time for lunch. Today, we visited Cafe Sophea which was written up recently in The New York Times for its casual atmosphere and lovely French food. Paul had the fish and I had fois gras au canard. Though I am not typically a huge duck fan, Paul and I really enjoyed this dish the best!

Back to the hotel for a quick dip and a snooze, and then off again, this time to Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is most famous as it was filmed in Lara Croft Tomb Raider, and it really is the temple that makes you respect the jungle. Literally, the jungle is growing up, around, and through this temple which is amazing to see.

Where's Paul?

A little tree here... a temple door there...

I really thought Paul was big until I saw this photo . . .

Pretty flowers decorate the door . . .

We headed out to Cafe Indochine for some lovely Cambodian soup for dinner. Then, back to the hotel for a good night sleep. The next morning we headed out to buy some silk as souvenirs from our trip, then back home to India. Wow! I had forgotten in 4 short days the spectacular sights while driving through Mumbai traffic--a truck, horses, motorbike, and rickshaw!