After lunch, we still had a full afternoon ahead of us as we were heading for Ta Phrom Temple next:
Also known for having the Tomb Raider film shot in this location, you can mainly distinguish the place for its large trees that seem to have taken over the surrounding area, which kinda also leaves the remaining structures almost to ruin.
It does provide nice angles for pictorials though..
Man vs Nature...
and Dinosaurs...
Zooming in for good measure
Reaching the end of our Ta Phrom tour
After Ta Phrom, we now headed to Bayon Temple which is known for its giant stone faces smiling enigmatically down at you from every angle.
Mr. Kong had left us at this point to go exploring on our own, though we opted to just stay and explore the outside area since we almost got lost inside the darker halls of Bayon.
Turns out, Bayon Temple was actually part of a 10-square km area called Angkor Thom wherein we entered from its South Gate. Here we see that the gate is monumental in its own way because of the statues lined up on either side, carrying a giant naga (which isn't mostly there anymore..)
And surprise surprise, our last stop for the day wasn't exactly indicated in our itinerary, but I'm guessing Mr. Kong thought it was the perfect way to end our Temple Tour Day.
Phnom Bakheng was a temple built atop a mountain and is considered the perfect spot to watch the sunset. Also at this point, Mr. Kong just gave us a couple of trivia, before we were left to do the trekking on our own.
IDs to limit the number of people going up the temple itself
The climb was worth the view
So that's a wrap for our day, and upon getting back to our hotel, we just had enough time to freshen up and enjoy dinner:
Mozarella Melt #Imissthis
...and Movie Night (some 80's vampire/gang movie or something)
If you think our Temple Tour Day was eventful, wait for what I've got planned for our "supposedly" free day in my next post ('cuz really, who wants to waste a perfectly good vacation just lazing around in the hotel??)
Today's the day we get to go to Angkor Wat! But first, breakfast at the hotel!
Breakfast is free for staying guests, just hand over these coupons!
Nope. Those flat circles are NOT pancakes. They're sunny-side-ups experiencing a solar eclipse...
Re-energizing ourselves for the day with a hearty breakfast, Mr. Kong then came to pick us up at around 8AM to start our Temple Tour for the day. First stop though, the Ticket Office:
Now that we had our ID Passes, we were off to start the adventure for the day!
Those look pretty... Sharp.
Our tour car had to drop us off a few meters away, but you wouldn't really notice the walk you're about to go through if you're so invested in your surroundings. It was too bad though that the main bridge was under construction and that we had to cross through the "floating bridge" instead.
Upon seeing the walls of the Angkor Wat up close, all I can say is that it was downright mesmerizing! And we were only seeing the "tip of the iceberg", so to speak, before we really get to see the Towers of the Temple itself.
Have I mentioned how fascinatingly intricate these wall carvings are?
Look how intricate even the nooks and crannies are...
More walking was to be expected as we made our way towards the inner square circle of Angkor Wat, wherein we encounter a couple of the Temple's "libraries" and the infamous lake that reflects the Towers perfectly once you find the ideal angle.
Once again, the walls of this place prove to be intricately designed and even have stories on them.
Yes, we did climb this part just to climb another set of HIGHER stairs!!!
It's just around this corner...
At this point, I think it's safe to say that it's best to have a guide with you 'cuz I honestly wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, so imagine my surprise when we got to the center where we had to climb these really tall set of stairs in order to get to another level of the Angkor Wat!
So here's how it went...
Long way down from up here...
So Mr. Kong opted to wait "downstairs" as we explored this part of Angkor Wat, and if you watch my video closely enough, you'd realize that I became kinda lost; one second I was with my mom in this same quadrangle, then the next second she was gone and I had to take the long route to find her in this confusing space! But continuing with my previous video, wherein we're finally "earthbound", here we get to see The Center of Angkor Wat:
Check out The Center of Angkor Wat!
Climbing new heights!
The road at the end of Angkor Wat...
...while meeting the local fauna along the way
Throwing in some last couple of pics as we near the end of our Angkor Wat Tour, it was already a little ways past noon when we got back to our ride, so we had a quick (and delicious) lunch before carrying on with our tour for the day:
Mom's in her sweet & sour mood again...
But Khmer Fried Rice has got me good!!!
Full and refreshed, we're now ready to run head off to our next temple of destination!
