Having seen the spectacle of sunset, we wanted to tick off sunrise as well, so up we rose, leaving at 5am to get to Angkor Wat to see the sun wake up. We weren't the only ones as the crowds over the small lake on the left to get 'THE' shots were there in their masses! We sharpened our elbows up and got a spot near the front with the reflection on the water.
Ironically there is actually another lake on the right hand side (with slightly less water) which gave us the same shots after we realised and moved, and had a lot less people!
We didn't wait for the sun to rise up behind Angkor as this was our opportunity to miss the crowds going up the inner central structure so we headed to the queue ready to go up inside the core of this magnificent building as soon as it opened.
Climbing up and reaching the top made you feel like you had reached the top of the world. The views around the inner terrace made Angkor feel deceptively small, especially when sitting down in one of the courtyards inside and meeting the local residents!
We then bumped into a chap who told us that there was an eclipse going on. A 60% eclipse in Angkor Wat on the day that we decided to climb it! With few belongings on us at that point in time we wondered how we might be able to view it (safely of course) and instantly Brian Cox came to mind with his pin hole camera.
So with a safety pin and our map of Angkor in hand we made our very own pin hole camera to watch the eclipse as it retreated back across the sun, over Angkor Wat, sharing our ingenuity with anyone that was interested to see it too!
We headed back down to the base of Angkor Wat and this time headed from the core of this phenomenal structure to its outer wall - its base. This was where we really drew a sense of scale of the structure. It was really spectacular.
We headed onwards on the shorter route of temples, stopping next at Bantaey Kdei - another smaller, more intimate structure which again became another of our favourites.
Reaching Ta Phrom, ready for our Lara Croft moments! Featured in Tomb Raider this temple is probably the second most visited of the temples at Angkor and therefore also one of the busiest.
We arrived around lunch (eating our trusty chicken floss buns there!), hoping the crowds would have dropped and there were a fair few other people exploring as well, but we managed to get most of our photos without anyone else in them so perhaps it wasn't as bad as it could have been!
This temple is filled with postcard picture moments, with the 'from the movie' tree growing over one of the outer walls as well as many others for some great Lara Croft impersonation shots!
We had decided to take it easier today, so ended our tour with the Bayon. Bayon is covered in iconic stone faces calved into the huge stone blocks that make up this temple.
It is one for taking time to explore and sitting to count the number of faces you can see in one view (a lot!).
We scooted off back to Siem Reap to catch the end of the market in town - our last chance to purchase a few South East Asian trinkets, found a great cheap restaurant on the edge of the market (with the biggest bible of a menu we've ever seen!) and ended up at Asana Old Wooden House for a local cocktail - yum!
 |
| Picture postcard moment |
Ironically there is actually another lake on the right hand side (with slightly less water) which gave us the same shots after we realised and moved, and had a lot less people!
 |
| The hoards |
 |
| View from the right hand lake |
We didn't wait for the sun to rise up behind Angkor as this was our opportunity to miss the crowds going up the inner central structure so we headed to the queue ready to go up inside the core of this magnificent building as soon as it opened.
 |
| Up and up! |
Climbing up and reaching the top made you feel like you had reached the top of the world. The views around the inner terrace made Angkor feel deceptively small, especially when sitting down in one of the courtyards inside and meeting the local residents!
 |
| Kittens of Angkor |
We then bumped into a chap who told us that there was an eclipse going on. A 60% eclipse in Angkor Wat on the day that we decided to climb it! With few belongings on us at that point in time we wondered how we might be able to view it (safely of course) and instantly Brian Cox came to mind with his pin hole camera.
So with a safety pin and our map of Angkor in hand we made our very own pin hole camera to watch the eclipse as it retreated back across the sun, over Angkor Wat, sharing our ingenuity with anyone that was interested to see it too!
We headed back down to the base of Angkor Wat and this time headed from the core of this phenomenal structure to its outer wall - its base. This was where we really drew a sense of scale of the structure. It was really spectacular.
 |
| The outside of Angkor |
We headed onwards on the shorter route of temples, stopping next at Bantaey Kdei - another smaller, more intimate structure which again became another of our favourites.
Reaching Ta Phrom, ready for our Lara Croft moments! Featured in Tomb Raider this temple is probably the second most visited of the temples at Angkor and therefore also one of the busiest.
 |
| Ta Phrom |
We arrived around lunch (eating our trusty chicken floss buns there!), hoping the crowds would have dropped and there were a fair few other people exploring as well, but we managed to get most of our photos without anyone else in them so perhaps it wasn't as bad as it could have been!
 |
| Exploring all the nooks and crannies |
This temple is filled with postcard picture moments, with the 'from the movie' tree growing over one of the outer walls as well as many others for some great Lara Croft impersonation shots!
 |
| Lara Croft eat your heart out! |
We had decided to take it easier today, so ended our tour with the Bayon. Bayon is covered in iconic stone faces calved into the huge stone blocks that make up this temple.
 |
| The temple of faces |
It is one for taking time to explore and sitting to count the number of faces you can see in one view (a lot!).
 |
| Spot the face |
We scooted off back to Siem Reap to catch the end of the market in town - our last chance to purchase a few South East Asian trinkets, found a great cheap restaurant on the edge of the market (with the biggest bible of a menu we've ever seen!) and ended up at Asana Old Wooden House for a local cocktail - yum!
 |
| Tuk Tukking it around |
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