This morning we all woke up very excited for the day ahead because we were going to visit the Angkor Temples via bicycles. First we went and got our photo taken for the entry tickets and then set off on our bikes, but little did we know we were in for a 20km ride. We arrived at Angkor Wat and had the opportunity to walk around the perimeter to get an idea of how gigantic it really is. The temple itself is 350m by 250m, whereas the whole Angkor Wat complex is 1.5km by 1.3km. After walking around the perimeter of the temple we went inside and viewed all of the carvings. We found it very interesting and were amazed at the fact that it's still in great condition with little damage.
Bobbie and Olivia decided to leave their hats at the hotel so Mr Croft thought he'd give them a nice gift by buying them some beautiful hats. Mrs Curran was like a kid during Christmas because of how excited she was to check this temple off her bucket list.
We then stopped for some Oreos and dried fruit before heading off for the next leg of our bike ride. This turned out to be around 5km through the bush as well as a small village including a school with the maximum capacity of 30 children. We got to see an elephant before grabbing another 5L of water for the next hour or two.
We arrived at Angkor Thom about half an hour later and had a slight rest before exploring the temple. This temple consisted of many towers with a face of Buddha on all four sides. After eating some fresh fruit and getting a few more litres of water we went off on a 2km bike ride through the bush to a small village restaurant for lunch. The food was divine again.
After lunch we circled back to the Ta Prohm temple also known as the Tomb Raider temple. This temple was in ruins as only part of it had had the Strangler Fig trees removed and been rebuilt. However the Indians are currently restoring this site as it is world heritage listed. Of the 200 temples in the 600 square kilometre complex, these three temples were the most famous.
Throughout the day we only encountered a few minor stacks, with Mr Blackmore's being at an intersection only 50m away from the bus. We'd also like to give a special mention to Mrs McDonald and Tristyn for managing to stay on the tandem bike enduring all the ups, downs, ins and outs of the jungle trails.
After a long day we had time to refresh before heading out to dinner at Koulen restaurant where we enjoyed an all you can eat buffet whilst watching some traditional Apsara which is an interesting Cambodian dance. We were all mesmerised by their graceful hand movements and skills.
Ten of us then headed to mini mart to stock up on some snacks and water. After an exciting day in the soaring heat and extreme humidity we headed back to the hotel for a good sleep to recharge for tomorrow.
Ashliegh & Shanice
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