into the night
This was the big day, I could barely get sleep partly because of the weed and the karaoke throughout the night, but also because I was so excited to finally go to Angkor Wat.
I had gotten to know so many of the temples around Siem Reap for the past few days and decided to save the best for last so it wouldn’t outshine all the rest and so we could get mind-blown every day.
At around 3:30AM, I woke up Jasper since I was getting too impatient and got him hyped up. This was it, we got our stuff ready, I took my shower and got the day’s necessities all in check.
The sun wasn’t out and it was pitch black outside. We pushed our bikes out towards the gate and unlocked it and then we were off.
It was definitely a different experience riding out into the darkness.
I had to be really careful with where I was going, using the headlights smartly and watching the road with eagle eyes to not get into an accident from any stray potholes.
Jasper was trailing behind me.
The cold wind brushed against my skin and whistled as we made twists and turns. The streets were empty with just a couple of street lights showing us the way but soon we were in the wilderness with nothing but our headlights to keep us going.
It was so exciting and a bit scary but it was truly one of the best and most memorable highlights in the Cambodia adventure (aside from getting lost in the jungle). We managed to arrive at the familiar moat surrounding Angkor Wat and parked our bikes in a nearby parking spot before following the crowds to one of the bridges leading to the temple grounds.
angkor wat
It was closed and much to everyone’s confusion, we decided to try out another entrance. We got in line and showed our worn-out tickets to cross the moat and somehow we got in front of the crowd and they ended up following us instead.
One of the ladies asked me if I knew where I was going and I told them I was going to the reflecting pond so they were all in consensus to just follow me.
With some pressure on my back, I managed to lead everyone to the supposed pond except that it was fenced off. We transfered to the adjacent pond instead where we took our places and prepared for the sunrise. With how the weather was looking, I wasn’t too hopeful in getting a magnificent sunrise.
We did get the quintessential reflection silhouette shots of Angkor Wat so there’s that.
We stayed for a long time in front of that pond, trying to get as many angles as we can. Even though it was cloudy, it was still a pretty magical moment. The temple actually wasn’t open yet so we hanged around the bridge for awhile.
From the distance, I saw some people going in through a backdoor route so I prompted us to do the same.
Entering the actual temple was a different experience than all the other temples. There was something about the day itself. The weather played a vital role in creating such a forlorn ambience and added so much mood and drama to the photos I took that day.
The temple itself was one of the most ancient and holy places in the whole park and I definitely felt that energy. It was huge, with a lot of corridors and empty spaces of what once was. It was truly a testament to the ingenuity of the Khmer and Cambodian culture.
The only remnants were a lot of statues showering us with blessings with the Abhaya Mudra.
We went up to the top main square where the famous towers of Angkor Wat stood. It was surprisingly still empty despite already being the most popular temple in Cambodia, we were beyond lucky to be able to have such a unique experience.
We made a lap around the main square and waited until they opened up one of the towers. We climbed up and got even better views around the park.
Angkor Wat was really in the middle of a jungle, or perhaps all the temples were. The trees extending as far as the eye can see and surrounded by water. I just love spiritual places especially when they are in smackdab in the middle of nature.
Satisfied with the first temple of the day, we went back to the first pond and decided to eat brunch. I had a large number of fruits and a watermelon smoothie before we started the walk back to our bikes.
higher than the mountains
We decided it was time to smoke up and take the jungle adventure to the next level, we passed by two smaller temples on the way. Prohm Kel Temple and Prasat Rorng Ramong, deciding to take a smoke break at the latter. Oh man, oh man, the joint definitely hit the spot and it still didn’t work for Jasper!
It was definitely weird as the guy used to smoke cigs back in the day. The bike ride to the next spot went from epic to absolutely euphoric.
We got to Phnom Bakheng, another very unique temple because this one turned out to be a mountain temple.
To see it, one had to hike up which was really perfect as I needed to do something with all of this energy. Jasper wanted to skip out on this one which was definitely a no-no for me.
We were presented two choices, a man-made and the natural path. My instincts pointed towards taking the natural path as it seemed to be the best way to experience the mountain and making the temple much more worth it. Jasper wanted to take the stairs instead so I made it a race.
I got into the woods and started the steep hike up. It was a good thing Jasper didn’t take this route because it was hella technical and really high-level. A lot of these maneauvers required a lot of strength and flexibility and some paths weren’t so obvious. I had to really use my intuition to find out how to best approach each obstacle.
It definitely put me to the test and I was panting but I still kept going as it was so fun. I eventually made it up to the top with no one else in sight, just the guard.
This temple must not be visited too often because a lot of people would be put off by the hike. Jasper seemed to take a pretty long time getting up despite taking the stairs but I had time to rest and wait. After awhile, he finally showed up and with such a tired face on.
It got me in stitches as I laughed my ass off. He was swearing at me for making him go through while I simply found the whole thing hilarious, especially because the temple still had a huge number of steps going up.
Phnom Bakheng is also a very popular sunset spot though compared to Pre Rup, it was definitely much harder to get to. We should have saved this one for last but alas it is done.
The temple had a pretty unique thing going on with its shapes and the views were really great. At the top, there was a tiny shrine for a local deity. I sat in front of it and meditated and noticed that from an angle of someone sitting down, even the small shrine’s surroundings were decorated intricately with amazing decals.
Going down, I invited Jasper to try out the natural path to which he made a comment that those were only for monks and I laughed even more. We both took the man-made stairs this time around so I could see what the other path was like, and it was easy and smooth-sailing. We ended up reaching the bottom pretty quickly.
the temple with two hundred faces
After Phnom Bakheng, we started to make our way to Angkor Thom where Bayon Temple was. We stopped by Baksei Chamkrong on the way, this temple was kinda similar to Pre Rup’s temple towers except it was just a singular solitary one.
Finally back at the first temple we encountered, Bayon. It was still as magnificent if not even more grand than when we first saw it. Gaining such a huge appreciation from all the temples we visited, Bayon still stood out immensely as one of the most special temples out there.
Turns out, we approached the correct side of the temple this time. It’s where we were supposed to start as opposed to last time where who knows what side we went in from.
Now, I was still very stoned so when we were approached by a tour guide, I had somehow thought to myself that it would be a great idea to gain some insights at least once in the trip for such a special temple.
Newsflash, it wasn’t as it was pretty much the reason why I never liked getting tour guides in the first place but this is what my high ass decided so now I have to live with the consequences.
I had really just wanted to take my time to explore the temple on my own but as with tours, we were herded from place to place. Although the information provided was very interesting, I soon found out that I really just wanted my own space.
I bit the bullet and told the tour guide that I wanted to call off the tour much to his surprise and I was trying to explain to him that I just wanted to take my time and not be told where to go and I reached out to my wallet to give him 20 dollars as compensation and apology for cutting it short, much to his delight as he said it was a big tip. He did say that the tour was free and we could pay whatever we wanted.
I figured that was already pretty good so I bid him goodbye and we were able to enjoy the temple for a bit. Bayon had so many of these faces and it was easily one of the most photogenic temples out there as the prevalent rectangle frames were everywhere and this stable geometric shape provided really powerful photographs when shot at the right angles.
The tour guide once again came back as he felt that he wanted to work for it or decided to try his luck and milk us for some more because at one point he pulled us to the side for some sob story. In the end, I agreed to let him lead us around again.
To be fair, the tour guide was really good and I learned a lot and he was also able to show us a lot of the angles for the great photos though I prefer to take my own photos, the classic shots are also nice to have as a collection.
He was also able to show us a lot of the places that we otherwise might have missed and we covered a lot of ground around Bayon, even going to the upper levels so all in all, I would call it a memorable experience.
poolside
The plan after Bayon was to go back to our hotel to swim and rest up as the day’s temperatures rose to its highest. Jasper wanted to continue but I was able to convince him to go back and chill.
We rolled up another joint and smoked it up and went swimming which felt amazing! After a while, I invited Jasper to get ready to hit the road again but now he was too tired and tapped out since his sunburns were also beyond nasty.
I did tell him to bring sunscreen but alas, this how it be. So now, it was finally time for me to ride solo, being the first time I was able to experience Cambodia alone. I happily got on my bike and put on the tunes as I made my way back to Angkor Park.
After smoking two joints, swimming and resting at the hotel, my body was definitely in a more relaxed state and the energy levels weren’t as high as before so I took it slow.
angkor thom
I managed to see the Terrace of the Elephants which was an elavated platform with elephant statues, beyond it was Baphuon.
It was a huge temple and it had a long bridge so I walked on ahead and made a brief stop near the temple to just lay down and rest. I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the place, being the only soul present in the moment.
Baphuon’s unique trait were these cylindrical objects that were lined up in front of the temple.
Near Baphuon was Phimeanakas which was another cool looking temple. I soon realized however that I was also getting a bit tired and there were still a lot of temples dotted around the hill and I wasn’t really in the mood to tire myself out as I still had a whole journey ahead of me so I got back on my bike and listened to some tunes while going around Angkor Park.
My original plan was to go to Pre Rup to enjoy the sunset but turns out it was going to be closed before that so I went to Srah Srang instead as I wasn’t about to do Phnom Bakheng again.
I took my time and went as slow as possible, taking detours to try and pass the time but I got quite bored and found myself in Srah Srang again. I saw that the weather was getting quite dark and gave up on the sunset altogether. I decided to call it quits and go back to the hotel.
I returned the bike on the way and had to walk back which was quite hard with my tired legs but I made it alright. Jasper returned his bike afterwards while I hit the pool again. We had dinner right by the hotel but not before smoking up again for the last night ahead.
cheers cambodia
The last day was a day for chilling, waking up late and getting our things ready. We ordered from the same hotel-restaurant and encoutered the same tuktuk driver that took us here on the first day.
The nerve of this dude as he tried to scam us in to going early by making up some news that tourists had to be at the airport in 3 hours according to the Cambodian government. What a load of bull, I told him that I was going to eat and swim so it was up to him to wait for us or not.
After eating, we smoked up one more time and swam at the pool again. I was truly living in paradise the past few days.
Dan had one of his guys call us a tuktuk using an app and it was surprisingly cheap. He took us to the airport and I gave him the remainder of our Cambodian Riel and man did his face glow up! Guess it’s his lucky day. Thus ends our epic adventures of Cambodia.
