Ankor Wat and Siem Reap

The temples of Ankor Wat were as impressive as I had hoped for. Magnificent ruins that were a testament to both the highest ideals of man and more solemnly the power of time to wash everything away.

It was for me a strange place mixture of inspiring, peaceful, sad and deep spirituality, oh and also massively stress. Did I mention the crowds? Holy heck if the Cambodian government want anything to be left of the ruins by the end of the next hundred years they really need to sort out some sort of crowd control (and yes i'm well aware of the irony of me visiting it and saying that).

I ended up renting a bicycle for my days in Siem Reap and it turned out to be a rewarding (and exhausting) way to explore the beautiful ruins close by. I wandered through exquisitely sculptured spires, crumbling parapets, nature tore temples and intricately carved faces peering out from the stonework.

By evening I chilled out with friends, enjoyed drinks and relaxed by  the swimming pool of my rather nice hostel. Overall it turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable place to stay.