Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm

On Wednesday, we started our touring of the ruins of fabulous temples in the Angkor area.  Siem Reap is a popular resort town as the gateway to Angkor region. Angko is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries.

Our tour guide, Sopanha Yous, was recommended by a friend in Shanghai.  He was a history major and has excellent English, which was really reassuring to me.  When we travel in Asia, I am not comfortable unless we have an English-speaking guide who can not only help ensure that restaurants understand my allergy issues but also someone who can interpret for me if, God forbid, we need to go to a hospital.  When I contacted Sopanha and told him of my allergies and concerns, he said he already had a tour scheduled but that he would find a friend to take that tour and take ours himself, so he could help ensure my safety.  That endeared him to me right from the start.

The first of the Temples we visited was Angkor Thom, the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII. The royal palace used to be in a small portion of the large city, which includes several ruins.

The temples are in various stages of rehabilitation, some very much restored and some mostly still in ruins.  Angkor Thom was more than a temple, in that it was actually a city.  Parts of the temple are restored but what use to be the royal palace is mostly just an idea and an open area, without much reconstructed.  It's really interesting to see how the stones of the buildings are laid out and numbered like a jigsaw puzzle and people are still constantly working to rebuild.  It was really fun to climb up and over the ruins, looking at the intricate carvings and archways.  It was also a great place for a little hide and seek.

After Angkor Thom, Sopanha took us to a great local Cambodian restaurant for lunch.  He explained my allergies to the staff and I was happy to have a stir fried noodle and vegetable dish that was absolutely delicious.  Everyone had a great meal and it was a nice break from the heat.  The plan was to go to another temple in the afternoon, after a break during the heat of the day.  But when we all sat down to lunch and looked at our schedule of 2-3 temples every day, we decided it was going to be too much.  We wanted a much less stressful week, so we told Sopanha to rearrange our schedule and we headed back to the hotel for a break and then the Christmas Gala.

On Friday morning, we toured Ta Prohm, the temple where the movie "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider" was filmed.  Ta Prohm is very much a work in progress, with workers, scaffolding, construction equipment, and building everywhere.  Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.

We had another fun and interesting morning walking through Ta Prohm and touring the temple.  Sopanha took us to another great local restaurant for lunch and then we went back to the hotel for a rest before our sunset tour of Angkor Wat.