From our idyllic island in Vietnam (Phu Quoc) we were suddenly surrounded by noise and pollution in Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon as the locals call it. The motorbikes are everywhere and have even less rules on the road as in Thailand. Stop for a few seconds in a taxi and you're surounded by them instantly, Honda has a lot to answer for in Asia. 

     Then it was time to explore the wonders of the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and we weren't disappointed. The town itself is very touristy and has cashed in on temple fever, but who can blame them for that? The new airport is the most attractive one I've seen and the road into the town is lined with super smart looking hotels, new ones springing up en route. When you reach the town, it has a very friendly atmosphere and a host of eating places to choose from. Imagine our delight to find "Molly Malone's" in a central location! They served excellent curry as well as a delicious Irish Stew.

     Angkor Wat is the main temple, a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride from the hotel. It's surrounded by a huge moat which is very impressive at a quarter of a mile wide. Then it's another quarter of a mile or so before you're in the actual temple. All the 4 main cloisters are covered with bas-relief depicting a diary of different events of the time so it takes a while to interpret them. We hired Mr Sa Muk as our driver for the temple experience. He was brilliant, dropping us off at a convenient place and looking out for us when we emerged from different entrances. We also felt we could appreciate the countryside around the temples more from an open vehicle.



     Bayon Temple is probably the next most famous one. It was my favourite  as it consisted of many smiling faces. I've never seen anything quite like that before. Hopefully it was a happy place to worship in. We took an elephant ride around it so that we could view it from a higher perpective. 



     After that, there are a dozen or more different temples to view at your leisure and numerous ruins to ponder over. The earliest date back to the 6th century, the latest date back to the 12th century. It's not obvious where everyone came from to require temples of this number and size. Even now, there aren't any big cities nearby. Many of the temples are in a fragile state as sandstone seemed to be the main material used. Several countries are involved in restoration projects around the area which is good to see.

     We found the whole complex truly amazing but no-one tells you how exhausting temple hunting is. We never managed a full day, by around 13.00 we would start to feel "templed out" and ask Sa Muk to take us to Molly Malone's for a cool Tiger beer!

    

 

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