Angkor Vat temples
Leaving Phnom Phen we proceed directly to our last stop in Cambodia: Angkor. This is a collection of temples built around 1000-1300 AD discovered by a French scholar lot around 1970. Yes, open, as had been completely forgotten and swallowed up by jungle. Time will survive these temples and the ruins are the main tourist attraction of Cambodia. To visit the archaeological site of Angkor, one must make a mandatory stop Siem Rep, a paesotto which function primarily to accommodate all the tourists who go to visit the ruins of the temples.
Once in the evening in Siem Rep, to the bus station (the so called, though in reality it was just a stop along the way) we were greeted by a crowd of people who proposed to accompany us in a beautiful and economical guest house. In the end we chose the man who with his tuc-tuc led us to visit some accommodations until the end we opted for a guest house a little 'off-hand but with prices much more affordable (Siem Rep, thanks at Angkor, you can afford to take the higher costs of everything else in Cambodia).
The same evening we agreed with our friend the tuc-tuc we were to take the next morning at 5 to see the sunrise in the main archaeological site of the temple:
Angkor Wat. Super! Without doubt the levataccia was repaid. The ruins of the temples are truly spectacular, picturesque, covered by a veil of mystery and sacredness. At times it seemed to be in this novel do not remember the author, but surely everyone knows that ... "The book of the jungle." It seemed that almost at any moment they leave the jungle and the ruins of the temples, the young wives, Balo the bear, the panther or Baghera Kaa, the mythical snake.
Some temples are still in good condition, some are really just ruins. But all are characterized by the same structure: giant boulders carved and set "a live one on the other. In some ways reminiscent of the Egyptian pyramids (even if in reality none of us has ever seen!). What surprising, particularly in some temples, it is the combination of the built environment and nature. As already said these temples had been completely forgotten and shrouded by the jungle ... the jungle and made them his own, complete penetrance, between rock and stone, with majestic plants that surround the walls, we pass through, with a visual result is unique and inimitable.
Encounter unexpected and very welcome one that in the early afternoon we had a half dozen pachyderms. Were there to make a trip to all those tourists willing to drop $ 10 and we of course we did not walk into the elephant, but we have the opportunity to do some photos together, touching, rubbing ... incredible!
The day ended at Angkor watching the setting sun from the same temple where we had seen 12 hours earlier. We then direct to Siem Rep to go and welcome our friends from Scotland, Bryan and Laura, with whom we went to dinner. Returning to our guest house we have prepared the bags for the following morning. We waited in fact another viaggione in Siam Rep by bus to the border with Thailand.