Sunrise Tour of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia 🌅

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

4am Wake-up Call for Angkor Wat

It was still dark outside when we woke up this morning for our tour. But our tuk tuk driver was right on time, waiting for us at the entrance to our hotel. We climbed in and took off down the dark (and somewhat quiet) streets toward the famous Angkor Wat temple.

Our tour consisted of 4 sites in total, starting first with Angkor Wat which is the primary reason that more than 50% of international tourists visit Cambodia each year. One of the temples we saw today (Ta Prohm) was used in the movie Tomb Raider which even our tuk tuk driver knew about.

We arrived at Angkor Wat and walked across the ancient moat surrounding the complex, finding a nice spot along the water facing the temple.

Once the sun was fully up in the sky, we decided to venture in further. I have SO many pics of this place but unfortunately my internet here will only allow me to upload so many before it crashes my Steemit draft. But I'll try to add as many as I can below.


Buddhist monk offering his blessing

The intricate details carved into the temple walls makes this one of the most fascinating ruins I've ever explored. What's crazy to think about is these temples were created 300 years earlier than the Inca cities I visited last year in Peru. Although impressive, the Inca had nothing on the artistic skills of the Khmer Empire.


Did I mention there were monkeys?


Fresh watermelon juice is a great way to cool off and hydrate out here!


Bayon Temple


Terrace of the Leper King

After about 6 hours on our feet, walking 8 miles through temples, and in 98 degree (90% humidity) heat, it was time to head on back to the hotel. If you ever plan on visiting Cambodia or the neighboring countries, I would suggest not coming during the hot and rainy season. The weather is... should I say?... very unforgiving!

The Rest of the Day

All day I thought about that beautiful pool at our hotel. I couldn't wait to get back and jump in. How refreshing would that be?..

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Uhh, yeah... that didn't happen LOL. We got back to our room in the cold A/C and zonked out on the bed for a little bit. We woke up about an hour later and went up to the restaurant for some lunch.

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We still haven't made it to the pool but the day is still relatively young. My cough/cold seemed to be getting much better this morning but this afternoon its come back with a vengeance. I must've pushed myself a little too much today, or perhaps it's the fumes we breathed in out on the road. Not sure, but I really need to take it easy the next few days... and relax by that pool!

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Riding in that tuktpuk must be really fun. The view of the temple is fascinating and the carving on it looks really nice, the artist sure did a great job, I can only imagine how beautiful it was before it got ruined.

Yeah, I know. It was all done on sandstone which is very fragile. I'm really surprised at how much has survived this long. I can only imagine the beauty it held over 900 years ago.

Over 900 years? Wow, its quite older than I had thought!

Intriguing pics... keep 'em coming!

Thank you, I'll keep them coming. I wish I could upload them all to my Steemit posts lol

Yummm watermelon juice!

The food must be legendary.

That's the worst thing for me about traveling. I know I should be paying attention to the sights and sounds....But the food gets me. Ever. Single. Time LOL

I think Anthony Bourdain was onto something when he talked about the importance of eating local cuisine while traveling. You really can't experience a place without sitting with the people, and eating their food.

Do as the monkey do ... take it easy, unless you are raising a ruckus. Great shots, Brandon:)

Thanks, and no ruckus here today. Definitely taking it easy. And I finally found some REAL medicine! :)

We will find out tomorrow how it worked:) I imagine there is not finding Fisherman's friends:)

Hey @muzakirsufie, if you need to reach me concerning my upvote service, please reach me on steem.chat @brandonfrye. But I can see that you're in the current voting round by going to www.steembottracker.com and clicking Details next to my bot. Thanks!

For me it would be a journey of life, you are so lucky to have been there. Cool wall sculpture, I like it , looks so old and great. It had to be very warm and pleasant there, I would play with these monkeys :) . Visited Egypt twice , but to visit Asia ohhhhhh

I think my worst fear is realizing one day, on my death bed, that I hadn't taken chances or traveled the world to see what all it had to offer. That's what drives me to continue exploring new areas. I would love to visit Egypt. My girlfriend and I were going to go there a couple of years ago but there was too much violence going on at the time. We hope to get there one of these days. I can only imagine how cool that would be.

Great trip and photos , I was just watching your videos about steemit On youtube , cheers

Thanks @tea-man! Love that name; you'd probably love it out here bc there's tea everywhere! :)

really great experience, do you really like to travel?

If you like Cambodia so much, you will love Bali and Yogyakarta in Indonesia. You will find temple, statue like in Cambodia and all beautifull view.

If one day you decided to go to Indonesia just make sure you visit all the island. Have a nice trip and don't stop sharring ^ ^