Our final day in Siem Reap. Today we left the room at 5.30am and hired a couple of rickety old bikes so that we could cycle the 'grand tour' of temples, some of which we had already seen, but starting off with Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building. Unfortunately we went east out of the city instead of north, tripling our 5km journey to Angkor Wat. We arrived after sunrise which we had planned to see, but still the temple was quiet and the light perfect for getting some great photos. This temple is massive, too big to comprehend. The near vertical climb to the upper tier is rewarded with great views and some beautiful stone work.
After this we had some breakfast at a nearby stall before heading off on the 24km round trip arond the temples (in the oppresive heat). Still, it was good to do some exercise, even though I couldn't use the saddle after about 2km because it hurt so much! At lunchtime we haggled a cheap lunch and a couple of hammocks to have a bit of a read and a nap at the roadside, before continuing all the way round back to Angkor Wat, where we stayed for the sunset to get some good pics. A long and tiring day! We've just bought our boat tickets which will take us to Battambang tomorrow, about 6-8 hours depending on the water level. The only down side is the 6am pick up from the guest house...
I've really enjoyed this place. I guess the main downside is the feeling that with time, these temples are going to be ruined by the influx of tourists and rapid growth of the nearby town. Seeing coaches full of Japanese tourists zooming past does detract from the beauty and definitely the feeling of remoteness and adventure, but I'm glad we've managed to travel out and explore some places off the beaten track. To be honest I'm ready to leave, if I hear 'you want postcard?' or 'you want nice laaaaady' one more time I'm going to scream.
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