Friday, August 21, 2015

Cambodia - Part 8

Chilling out in Angkor..


We were up since 03:30am and have already covered about 43km around the Angkor area from our hotel.
It was mid-day, the weather was scorching hot and by the time we rode to Sras Srang, an ancient royal bathing area, our stomachs were rumbling.
We reached an intersection and took some snapshots of the area. 
With the sun directly above our heads, it was just too harsh to capture any photographs of the area.
I noticed some restaurants dotted along the route and settled for lunch at Khmer Cooking Empire restaurant.
There, we ordered some beers to cool down and had Khmer Yellow Curry and Beef salad for lunch.
It seems that this food outlet also conduct cooking lessons for tourists. We were amazed at the number of foreign visitors having their makan in this place.
Just beside us were some Koreans having noodles.
Service was prompt and the food tasted really good. All-in, we paid about US$17.50 for our meals.

Sras Srang site
Khmer Yellow Curry

Beef salad
Cheers!
After a good fill, we continued with our journey back to the Angkor Wat complex. 
That's another 3km down the road.
We rode around the moat covering the Angkor Wat complex and found a place to take refuge from the sun.
Michelle lied on her back while I snoozed for a short while.
We got out rest and rode towards the same place where we parked out bikes and took a look at the Angkor Wat.

The epic Mahabarata scriptures on the walls of the Angkor Wat complex
Kings and soldiers at war

An ancient warrior

At the supporting pillars in the temple complex
The happy campers..
Saving the best for last..

We have covered an extensive area around the Angkor area with our bikes. So, after a nice afternoon siesta, it's time to finish our tour of this historical wonder.
Much has changed here in Angkor Wat.
There are more people and wooden steps were placed over the original ones to avoid tourists from getting hurt.
I showed Michelle were the epic Mahabarata scriptures were sculpted on the walls of the complex.
It's amazing that after 9 centuries, war and looting, that the intricate craft of the ancient Khmer people had survived.
With the sun blazing on the exterior, the halls of Angkor Wat are cooling.
We sought refuge from the sun and continued exploring the complex.
After we checked out the upper levels of the complex, it was time to leave.
We headed to a stall opposite the complex, ordered beers and celebrated our visit.
I wanted to check on my fitness band and realized that the sensor pod was missing.
Somewhere in Cambodia, lies a Xiaomi Mi Fit fitness tracker.
I was pretty upset at first, but got over my loss.
From Angkor Wat, we connected with the Charles De Gaulle Road and back to our hotel in Achar Sva Road..
We rolled the bikes back into our rooms and cooled off..

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