hmmmm.... now... where were we? ahh yes Cambodia, having just stepped off the bus from hell and made new friends, ok here we go. *cue fuzzy flashback scene*

After we had caught up on sleep, we bought our 3 day pass to the Angkor Sites. Tickets bought late in the afternoon are valid from the next day, entitling us to a "free" sunset, so we headed to the most famous (and crowded) sunset spot, Phnom Bakheng. We were driven out in a car (it is a large site) and had a look at what all the fuss was about. First impressions.... WOW. Jungle and ruined temples, the place is so old it has lain undisturbed (except by the jungle) and forgotten (except by a few monks) for 800 or so of it's 1000 odd year history. This is with out a doubt the coolest thing I've ever seen or maybe it was just the happy pizza we had for lunch. After climbing the ruined stairs, we sat and waited for a little while with the rest of the punters. When it became obvious that the clouds were not going to clear, we beat a early retreat, bringing half the crowd down with us (to the relief of the remaining half I'll bet). The next morning we were up early and hit the temple trail. On the way to our first stop we pass through the mighty gate of the Walled City of Angkor Thom and we are struck by the sheer enormity of the site we are exploring. The 12Km long perimeter wall is 8m in height and encloses an area of 360 acres, which in turn is surrounded by a moat 100m wide. Angkor Thom it is thought to have supported almost a million inhabitants around the time London was a mere village of fifty thousand. The walled city was built by Jayavaraman VII, the most industrious of the Angkorian Kings (or at least the king with the most industrious stone masons, farmers and elephants) to defend against the neighbouring Thais. During his 38 year reign as one of the last Angkor Kings, (1181-1219) he built half of the significant monuments in the region as well as embarking on an ambitious public roads system that left his mark (and subsequent ruins) all over Cambodia. All of bridges across that vast moat leading to Angkor Thoms four gates are flanked by a full army of gods and demons pulling on opposite ends of a gaint serpent, a stunning full size rendering of a favourite Hindu creation story, "The Churning of the Ocean of Milk". Though the gates and ten minutes later (this is in the car mind you, did I mention it is FREAKIN HUGE?) we arrived at the impressively overgrown temple of Ta Prohm.

Wandering around this ancient overgrown temple is awe inspiring, the combination of tree-filtered light, moss, beautifully preserved carvings (close up) and long dark passages giving it a very eerie feel. Nature has truly run amok here, some of the structures actually being held together by the roots of the massive trees that seek to destroy them. It was actually quite busy during the 4 or so hours we explored the site, but it's surprisingly easy to find peace, quiet and adventure in this much visited temple. I felt all my Indiana Jones day-dreams had come at once, as I eased myself through as small window almost covered by rubble into a dark corridor and flicked my flashlight on, disturbing the bats roosting on the half collasped ceiling. Once your off the beaten track there are suprises around every corner, you really feel like a true explorer and if you overlook the odd discarded water bottle, you could even believe you're the first to walk this way for hundreds of years. Climbing over, crawling under and walking through Ta Prohm with me was my new buddy, Zach, whom we met on the bus ride over (after you Zach, oh no Zach you go first) giving the whole experience a slightly surreal feel. But even intrepid explorers need food (hungry Zach?), so we took for a quick break and took the chance to hide from the harsh midday sun and grab a bite to eat.