Our driver, who we later discovered was called Wan (or something similar), was very knowledgable when it came to the whole of Angkor, even though he was only 21. We set off, first stopping at Pre Rup, a temple which has a lot of height. As the first place we visited, it definitely impressed us. The amount of stone was pretty incredible, especially since it's over a thousand years old.
We wanted to visit a temple called Banteay Srie which is about 30km out of Angkor but on the way we stopped at a butterfly sanctuary. It cost $4 which I thought was a little steep but a guide showed us round the little netted area, opening up boxes with caterpillars and cages for the young butterfly. It was quite lovely being surrounded by hundreds of butterflies. A sweet place. We didn't stay for too long though, wanting to get back on the road. It didn't take long to get to the next temple but by that time it was super hot. Banteay Srie is apparently a favourite of the people of Siem Reap as the carvings in the stone are more beautiful than even Angkor Wat (the biggest and most spectacular temple in Angkor). They were pretty amazing, just how they've kept their appearance after so many years. This temple was smaller though so we felt a little disappointed; I think our expectations were too high.
Heading back into the central part of Angkor, we hit a temple called East Mebon. I'll be honest, I can't remember what it looked like. I feel that means it wasn't one of the best. But straight after we went to its neighbour, Ta Som. Because it was one of our driver's favourites he managed to walk round it with us, explaining things about some of the carvings and how many of the gods and kings that were carved had their heads removed by the Khmer Rouge so they could sell the stone. Ta Som had a wildness about it which I loved. Even a large tree was growing out of the end gate.
Less than a kilometre down the round from Ta Som was Neak Pean. This temple was supposed to be encircled in water but as its only the start of rainy season it was dry and therefore didn't look the best. There was a long walkway leading up to it but the trees either side had been either cut down or burnt and I have no idea why. Even Wan didn't know (or he didn't understand what I was asking).
By this point I was very hungry and feeling a little weak but we had one more stop before lunch: Preah Khan. I regret that I didn't take in the incredible expanse of this temple as I was too focused on food but the symmetry was very noticeable; all four sides had the same corridors leading out.
We had lunch at a restaurant that Wan showed us. I knew the food would be expensive but I was still a little shocked at the prices ($5 for a plate of rice which in Cambodia is a lot). However, we felt we had no choice as our stomachs ached with hunger. Afterwards our energy levels were sky high. This meant that two small temples we looked round after eating impressed us massively and even more (and rightly so) was the magnificent Bayon, the large temple inside Angkor Thom. I was rather awestruck. The size of it grabs you first, then the complexity of all the stones and after looking closely you notice the many faces that are carved into different sections. I could have stayed and stared at it for hours, wandering around the many different levels. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Angkor Wat is meant to be even better so my socks are most likely going to be blown off!
Wan wanted us to see the sun set from the 'mountain'. It's called a mountain but really it's a five minute walk up a hill which has an average temple on it. From the top you can see quite far but trees block the view of all other temples so I didn't think it was very impressive. We stayed there for almost an hour to watch the sun set but cloud came over just before anything good was going to happen. A bit of a waste of time.
By the time we were back in the tuk tuk and heading for Siem Reap it was gone six so we asked to be dropped off at the night market so we could get some food. We ended up going to the same restaurant as last night as we couldn't find anywhere as cheap. I had Lok Lak as it had been so good last time I had it. It wasn't as good but it was edible. I left nicely full however the sight of pancakes distracted my fullness. I bought a banana and chocolate pancake, thinking the chocolate would be Nutella and was utterly disappointed when the girl put Hershey's chocolate sauce on it! Hershey's is awful! Somehow it still tasted nice and I ate eat.
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