This afternoon we flew from HCMC to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We arrived on time and our tuktuk driver was waiting for us.  We stayed at the Rose Apple Boutique Hotel.  It was a lovely little place with a pool and restaurant and breakfast was included.

After we settled in we went out for a walk to explore the area.  Just down the street we found many restaurants and street markets as well as many tourists.  We had decided to purchase a three day pass to the temples of Angkor so we were not pressed for time.

We booked a tuktuk driver for the next morning at 5am so we could experience the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the most famous temple of the city.  The hotel packed us a take away breakfast and we set out in the dark.  As we arrived into the parking area we realized it could be a challenge to find our tuktuk when we were finished as there were hundreds of similar bikes all over the place.  Oh well off we went in the dark in the direction Sarong told us was the best spot to watch from.

The sunrise was not spectacular but it was a very cool experience to sit in the dark and watch a spectacular temple emerge as the daylight came.  Once it became light enough to see we wondered through the temple for a few hours until the crowds started.

We managed to find out tuktuk and we set off for the next temple which was Bayon.

Bayon was also amazing.  It is best known for the stone smiling faces which look out in all four directions.

 

My favorite of the day was Ta Prohm.  The twisted trees that grow over the ruins give this temple a very eerie feeling yet they are beautiful at the same time.

Each temple was very different from one another and completely unique.  The architecture and vision of the people that created this city was unbelievable and the fact they are still standing is incredible.

By about 2pm the crowds were growing and we were getting hungry so we asked Sarong if we could take him for lunch at a local restaurant where no tourists would be.  He agreed and we went to a small local place and he ordered food and beer.  This is where we learned that you could win free beer if the tab of your beer can had a certain picture on it.  We were not lucky that day.

After lunch Sarong took us to meet his wife and son.  His two room apartment was just around the corner.  It consisted of  large bed the four of them slept in and fridge, tv and dresser and bathroom.  It was very basic but he was very proud of it.  He was a great young man, struggling to make a living.  By 3pm we were done and headed back to sit around the pool to relax.