Ankor Wat... No Battery??

Excuse the very much over used pun, Wat??, but it had to be done.

Lets see now. The 6th March, I had arrived in Cambodia the evening of the 4th March. It had been a surprisingly long journey from Nong Khai having left on the 3rd at 1820 and arriving in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 24 hours later.

This was a combination of overnight train from Nong Khai to Bangkok, followed by what was supposed to be a nice comfortable bus to Aranyaprathet (thai side border town), then a swap to a smaller, even less comfortable bus in Poipet (Cambodia side border town), for the continuation of the journey to Siem Reap.

The comfort thing I really don't mind at all. I find that often I am able to switch off on journeys, or simply accept that it is a necessity to get me from A to B. The reason why I mention it is because when I booked the ticket I actually chose to go through one of the booking agents in the Bangkok train station. I would usually make my way to each individual point by means of local buses etc but after my train journey I wanted a little bit of simplicity and the fair was reasonable for the distance covered and the work on my part removed.

Not that it is important but there was a picture of a VIP Bus on the advertised ticket that I purchased. These buses are pretty swish and so I kind of got my hopes up for a nice cormfortable 4 hours to the border.

Oh how they lied with their fancy pictures and words..... but with a non-refundable ticket in hand and a care free attitude to go with it; on to the adequate bus I got.

This journey could be a story itself, though I don't think it warrants it, and so back to the 6th March.


Reunited with Tom and Tim, it was today that we were off to visit the world famous Ankor Wat site. We set off nice and early in the morning around 8 am I seem to recall. We had intended to get there in order to see the sunrise but altered our plans and opted for seeing just the sunset, agreeing that we would be more than satisfied with this and no doubt quite happy for the extra time in bed.

We hired bicycles for the day. Charming rickety, old things. Just the way to view a historic site.

Many a person will say take a tuk-tuk with guide but for me, I feel that cycling the site was the way to do it. It meant that we could choose our own pace, our own path, and interpret our own perceptions. Not only this but we also gained a greater sense of achievement and perhaps a more personal connection.

The site, as anyone who has visited will tell you, is incredible. It truly is awe-inspiring. No doubt about it but despite these things being very much true, I was, hmmm, not disappointed, but, well, perhaps, not as impressed as I had hoped to be.

How can I say such a thing? A wonder of the world. One of mans most amazing achievements and here I am saying that I was not as impressed as I had hoped.

I think this is due to a couple of things. Firstly, though it was to be expected, the amount to which the site is a tourist trap. I had expected it. In fact I was not too bothered by the amount of people, mostly children, who seemed to continually try to sell their wares, though wish they had of done so just outside of the temples. I think in terms of how tourism had spoilt it was evident at the famous temple that most know due to the movie Tomb Raider. I think for each of us this was a disappointment as board walks had been erected and a very linear path was put in place with what was essentially a stage for photographs next to the iconic tree. I realise that such things are put in place to help protect the aging ruins but it did take away some of the majesty of the site.

Secondly I think that the temple I visited in Phi Mai, Thailand was perhaps my favourite. This, however, was just one temple and really can not compete with the vastness of the Ankor site.

Admittedly it does struggle to compete with the main Ankor Wat itself. An absolutely magnificent wonder to behold, especially when bathed in the light of the fading sun.

We had toured the whole siteand ended with the main Ankor Wat (Wat being Temple) , in time to catch the sunset. Truly Awe-Inspiring, breath taking, and many, many other cliched words of description still may not do it justice.

Though I would maintain that one day is enough to see the site and experience a great deal, many would say 3 days is what's needed, I would definately go back and with a dedent camera I think I could spend a week there taking hundreds of photos.

This time, however, it was not to be and sadly the camera that I am using on my trip ran out of battery.

What kind of fool would travel to one of the most historic sites in history and not take a full battery.

...... Oh....... that would be me.

A fool, but a fool with vivid memories.