Angkor What? – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Anyone who knows me, knows that I move quickly. I got a quick stride, I talk fast, my hands are flying around constantly like I am swatting at flies, I run into walls, and my mind moves quickly in conversations that sometimes when I speak – I make no sense. People at work claim they can hear me coming from a mile away. When I pass their office/cubicles they say papers fly off of their desk due to a gust of wind.

It’s only rumours, I am sure. But they do call me Tori-nado.

ANYWAY, the recommended time to fully see Angkor Wat is 2 days. TWO days?! These people are crazy, I thought. I powered through The Louve in like 5 hours! I can cover much more ground much more quickly then most.

So, I saw this as a challenge!

We signed up for the sunrise tour which started at 4am as a way to beat the heat. Our tuk tuk driver said that he could cover 2 days easily but estimated it would take until about 5pm. Pam and I further challenged that and told him we expected to be done sometime after lunch.

Seriously? With this heat? Who could survive out here until 5pm? He looked skeptical on the claim but it made us even more motivated to succeed.

The sunrise portion took up a good chunk of time. It was an early start, but it was worth it. It was absolutely beautiful! If I did it again, however, I wouldn’t stick around the main area with every other tourist and head straight into the ruins. There was some awesome views of the sunset in there, as well, and we caught the tail end of it there.

I can’t get too much into the history of Angkor Wat because, sadly, I do not know much. That is the problem with not having a guide – not having a lot of information to go with what you are looking at. In the future, I would get a guide. Without a guide, however, the place is still SPECTACULAR! I mean, how they built these insane structures back then with stone – blows my mind. How did they get the stone there? How did they assemble it? How long did it take to complete every small detail of carving. It’s insane.

I almost like not knowing the history because it keeps the amazement of its mystery in my mind. Unbelievable.

So because I do not have a lot of information to share about Angkor Wat, here are some photos of this place. I’ll leave it up to you to educate yourselves. Learning about this place, is on my list. Somewhere after learning how to whistle with my fingers and can my own salsa.

Anyway, I can successfully say, that Pam and I visited all of the sites in one single day! Even better, we finished at 1pm just after lunch! AND we spent time picking out some original prints from an amazing artist along the way! Our tuk tuk driver was impressed and we beamed with pride on the way home.

ppfff…. and they thought it wasn’t possible..