Angkor Wat by bike?
Although all tuk-tuk drivers have warned me - of course with honorable intentions - not to go by bicycle to the temples, I can't resist the temptation. I think people should pay an effort for the eighth wonder of the world, not just 20 dollars admission (which is quite an atonement in itself).
There is a similar facility in Laos, built by the same constructors, in Champasak, north of the four thousand islands. So something else comes to mind, and once again in connection with a bicycle …
Very far, very hot
So I'm warned, but the bike from "The White Bycicle Company" seems fine - apart from the seat which feels like it's been carved out of oak wood.
The entrance fee is either 20 dollars for one day or 40 for three. However, I would like to have a pass for two days, which stupidly is not available. "Be happy, so you can enjoy Angkor Wat for three days." Yes, awesome, just stupid that I'm on my way back to Phnom Phen on the third day.
The long way to the entrance
From afar it seems as if the expected million tourists in the main temple of Angkor Wat is exaggerated. The long path over the bridge to the entrance seems not to be very populated, and also in the huge courtyard leading to the main temple, visitors may stroll around.
Towers and reliefs
And so I enter the eighth wonder of the world, squeeze myself through dark passages, step back through all sorts of surprising exits into the glaring light and the stunningly hot air and stand once more, breathless, agitated in front of the blackened walls, the symmetrical towers, the steep stairs, the unearthly reliefs which have lost nothing of their fascination and beauty even after eight hundred years …
Well, it's somehow - like St. Peter's Basilica, the pyramids of Gizeh, the Great Wall of China - impossible to put into words, so I'll leave it at that, and wish all readers a visit to experience the indescribable beauty at first hand ...
Some visitors running out of air
And by the way – there is another courtyard, where the steep ascent to the central sanctuary is located (and where you have to take off your hat and pull the too short trousers down). This is the place where you understand the word “crowd”. Hundreds of people of all nationalities and languages are pushing in a few square meters, puffing and ranting if it is not going forward, because a slightly stout Chinese mother is running out of breath in the middle of the ascent …
School for parentless children
One of the well-preserved temples houses a school for orphans. They are 25 children, coming from different villages and regions, all with the same destiny. Some learn traditional Khmer music, others study the Khmer language and Buddhist rites and prayers. Of course, mild gifts are hoped for. I am happy to comply with that.
The road to the next temple is supposed to be found easily, just straight and then right. Indeed, after some rather sweaty kilometers on the bike, the jungle canopy opens up to another temple complex.
Angkor Thom
The enthusiasm is great, but due to the description in the guide, this facility is not one of the highlights.
Well, so this can be discussed now, but for the sake of certainty, asking is not a bad idea. And whoever now thinks that I'm wrong again, is ... absolutely right, because what has made such an impression on me is Bayon, the central temple complex of Angkor Thom, next to Angkor Wat THE highlight. So let's put the cloak of silence over the latest mishap and move on ...
Hot and tired
In the meantime, it has become so hot that even I, who loves hot and humid temperatures, feel the sweat running down my face and back.
The bumpy road, the exhaust fumes of the countless vehicles overtaking or approaching me, the headwind, contribute their part. So it might not be surprising that after the next temple complex, whose name I keep forgetting more and more, I start the return journey to Siem Reap and stretch my legs in the hotel room ...
P.S. Matching Song: Wye Oak - Glory
And here the journey continues ...
