On to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat--the Sunset Tour

From the horrific to the sublime, we rode a six hour very scenic bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, home of the famous Angkor Wat.

We paid three dollars extra to catch the eight dollar luxury bus. But it was till loaded with cargo along the way. The road was not quite as bumpy as the road coming into Phnom Penh from the border, and the bus was taller so we were much higher off the road. We had very good views of the green farmlands. People lived right on the edge of the road the entire way. We saw people bathing in the river alongside the road, hanging out at what looked like small pubs, and engaged in various types of agriculture.

We are staying at the Temple Villa Hotel in Siem Riep. It was raining when the bus arrived and thank goodness the hotel sent a covered tuk tuk to pick us up.
We rested most of the day and then took the "Sunset Tour" today. We left the hotel at 4:30, stopping at a travel agency to order our Vietnam return visas, then it was 15 km by tuk tuk out to the Angkor Wat site. We bought three day passes for $40 (everyone takes US money here). Tonight was a "freebie"--the three days don't start until tomorrow. The hotel has various organize tours we can choose. The tuk tuk out there is reasonable--it was $3 for tonight and it will be $8 for each full day.

Sunset tour to Phnom Bakheng

We drove past the main stuff to get to a temple that is on a hill an seems to be the good spot to see the sunrise or sunset. As soon as we got off the tuk tuk we were swarmed by women selling food and drinks and children selling books and handmade jewelry. I ended up buying a cheap book for two dollars.

Around 400m south of Angkor Thom, the main attraction of Phnom Bakheng is the sunset view of Angkor Wat. That makes it VERY crowded. The temple was built in the 9th century and has five tiers, with seven levels. At the base were 44 towers.

We climbed the trail and got to the temple at the top. Then I climbed the extremely steep temple steps. Most of the tourists were Japanese.
I am in the center in the maroon shirt.

My mother is in a blue shirt and black pants in the left side of the photo.
The view from the top. The hot air balloon in the background costs $11 for a short ride, but the balloon remains tethered to the ground.
The only undefaced image on the central structure at the top. In the early 20th century it was popular to break the faces off the images to sell to European collectors.

When we returne to the hotel we had a traditional Khmer meal in the restaurant--$5 and enough for two.