Day 3 of our Tour d'Angkor (day 4 of our time in Siem Reap) started with us getting up at 4:15am, and my starting on the 4.5 mile run to Angkor Wat at 4:30am (I had a 15 min head start compared to Marc -- who while on vacation decided to read about microfinance at 4:30 in the morning), in order for us to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. The road to Angkor from Siem Reap is quite lovely, but was pitch black. There were a fair number of tuk-tuks and tour buses headed the same direction, which provided the occasional glimpse as to where we were putting our feet. It was fun to be running along that long stretch of road in the dark -- a bit of an adventure and sort of pride knowing that we are able to do this. The only annoyance were the moths flying into the body, face and hair (I think at least one got tangled up in my wet mop of hair, and I almost ate one). It was muggy out, but at least not too hot -- still by the time we arrived at Angkor Wat (Marc arrive about 3 mins after me), we were both covered in sweat! We were probably 2 of the thousands of tourists there at 5:00- 5:30am to catch the sunrise. It was a bit of a disappointment however as it was too cloudy out, and nothing ever really shows up well in photos. Oh well... we proceeded to continue hitting the road and jogged over to the base of Phnom Bakheng, and hiked up it to see the temple on the top. This is apparently a popular place for sunsets (but more about sunsets later) as the top of the temple provides a nice vantage of the surroundings. From there we were able to see the paddy fields around us, large patches of mist/fog, and a few other temples peeking out here and there. We zoomed down the hill and ran back towards town. I was beat by the time we got to Angkor Wat again, and decided that I would take a moto (motorbike ride) back to our guesthouse, while Marc ran back.

We showered and had a well earned breakfast before heading out again. We decided to walk into downtown and visit the Artisans d'Angkor workshop. There, we saw local craftspeople creating some amazing pieces of artwork. From carving sandstone or wood into small and large sculptures (all with great detail and care), to lacquering, gilding, silverwork, and silk-screen painting. Then we hitched a complementary ride to their silk farm 16 km outside of town. We were shown the various varieties of mulberry plants and bushes used to feed the silkworms, the eggs, how they are fed and cared for, and then how they collect the cocoons that they form. 80% of these yellow cocoons are then harvested (the other 20% are the lucky ones who get to live and procreate to make more silkworms -->cocoons --> silk). The cocoons are steamed (to kill the worms), then dried for a few days, in order to prepare the silk (make it less thick and sticky). Then, they are put into a pot of hot water where their silk threads will be spindled out from them. Apparently a single cocoon contains about 400m of silk thread! In the end, all that is left is the worm itself, which apparently is edible. Our guide picked one out of the pot and popped it in his mouth. Of course, Marc got interested and tried one too! I was a wimp and declined. Marc says it tastes like corn (and has the same texture). The raw silk is then bleached and dyed into various colors using natural pigments (e.g., indigo flower for blue, lavender for purple, tumeric for orange, etc.). Some of these are tie-dyed based on specific patterns that will show up on the fabrics (Marc & I are still puzzled about how anyone ever figured out the patterns and how to keep track of the various threads -- these silk threads are incredibly thin!). Then the weaving begins. Depending on the complexity of the weaved pattern, there can be up to 25 different spindles/spools that the weaver is working off. It was truly amazing to watch, and really makes one appreciate a fine piece of handmade silk fabric! Of course the tour ended with us being dropped off at the store, were we were surrounded by beautiful silk scarves, purses and clothes, plus other wood, stone and artwork from the other Artisans dÁngkor workshops. It was hard to resist not buying anything!

Back into town, we found a great Korean place for lunch. Neither of us knew anything about Korean food, so we got the set lunch with included 10 different dishes (including BBQ pork grilled over hot stones, and a great tofu soup) all for $4 per person! We happily rolled out of there.

In the afternoon, we got on our crappy guesthouse bicycles and rode out to Angkor again, stopping at a Spice Garden (that is still sort of in the works) along the way. Our plan was to hit another 3 temples that we had not yet visited, and end our day with a sunset at Angkor Wat. This involved biking about 15 miles to the first temple, Preah Khan, which was enormous, and the precursor to Angkor Thom while Angkor Thom was being constructed. It was built in honor of Jayravarman VII's father (whose name was strangely never revealed). We were drenched in perspiration by the time we got there and were happy to make it to our second stop (Neak Pean -- see left photo), where we got some drinks before exploring. Neak Pean is actually not the usual temple, but an island originally designed for medical purposes, as it is one of the many 'hospitals' that Jayavarman VII built. It is based on the ancient Hindu belief of balance. Four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire and Wind, and the belief was that going into these pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease. Next, we stopped at Pre Rup which is one of the older temple mountains that was probably a funeral temple or crematory. We ascended up Pre Rup and got a good view of the surroundings and got a few good shots with the long shadows that were developing towards the end of the afternoon (see photo on right).

Our final stop for the day in Angkor was back at Angkor Wat. We entered through the lesser known East (back) entrance so as to try to catch the sunset. There were a few others there until around 6pm, but soon we were the only ones left, and given that the sunset did not look like it was going to work out, we ventured towards the center of Angkor Wat and found it completely deserted. Finally, there was complete tranquility -- no jabbering tourists, no cameras clicking everywhere.... it was perfect. We soon realized that we weren't the only people in there however, when a guard at the very top of the wat saw us and told us that Angkor Wat closed at 5pm and we should not be in there. Whoops! but we sure enjoyed those 10 mins or so of being in this vast historical space, fully soaking in its enormity and grandeur. The moment we stepped out of the main temple, we found ourselves surrounded by the strangest and rather eerie sounds -- probably of insects at dusk. It was a consistent high pitched cacophony that would ebb and rise in volume, creating a mysterious song as we walked along the dirt path towards to the crumbling stone entrance -- it was quite the experience.

Our bike ride back to our guesthouse was beautiful as we went along the large moat that surrounds Angkor Wat as the sun was setting, creating a beautiful canvas of indigo, pinks, orange and grey.... ahh... it was a great way to end our visit to the historical seat of the Angkor Empire.

We probably biked about 35 km and together with our morning runs and climbing up temples, etc., were rather beat. After a nice needed shower, we headed to Pub Alley for dinner. We found a great place with 50 cent beers and superb Khmer BBQ offerings. We got the grilled steak and fish, which were both really yummy, and 3 beers all for $11! Then I got a banana-chocolate pancake dessert (think a cross between a paratha and a crepe with sliced bananas and chocolate sauce on top), while Marc went upscale and got 3 scoops of ice-cream/sorbet. We basically crashed the moment we got back to our room at 10pm.

~ Shuwen