Sunrise and a temple. (Cambodia)

Sunrise over Angkor Wat. A chronology.

The following morning. Yes, its 4:30 am. No, I am not a morning person. Yes, the sunrise was amazing. No, I don't need to get up at 4:30 am anymore. I am immensely pleased about that!

Angkor Wat. The money shots are in the sunrise. Everyone knows it, and although I don't think anyone else got up nearly as early as we did, by sunrise, the place was packed. There were many ooooos and ahhhhhs, and well, it was kind a dreamy morning. (Either that or I wasn't fully awake!) I also had the delight in watching a group of women in front of me celebrate one of the friend's birthday. As the sun rose, they popped the cork of a bottle of champagne and now there were oooooos and ahhhhhs, but this time they were filled with laughter and jealousy! Myself included! We were all having a great morning!

Sunset and a Temple (Cambodia)

,Our first night in Cambodia. A very rainy sunset. After purchasing our park tickets, our taxi driver took us to a temple on a hill to watch the sunset. We have been in Southeast Asia long enough now to know that the sky was getting ugly and the evening rain was coming. It stayed away long enough, though, for us to get a beautiful view of Cambodia, Angkor Wat and of course the sunset. It was also an introduction to just how popular the temples are. We have been virtually alone in our travels -- but not here. Everyone is here. And rightly so, its an amazing country.

Obviously, I have not climbed Mount Everest, but from every book I have read, or tv show I have seen, the backlog in getting to the top always comes up. After climbing the temple, I now understand a little of that mentality. The stairs at the temples are so small. You can barely put one foot on the step, and even then it has to be almost perfectly sideways to even begin to fit! (And I have big feet -- which doesn't help!) Add to this -- the stairs are nearly vertical, making hand and foot placement and coordination key. Top it off with some hilariously dressed tourists, both in their fashion sense and their belief that it might just be okay to wear high heel flip flops to the top, and well, you can see the problem!

But in the end, its worth it. Even if there is lots of laughter and eye rolling getting to the top!

The mighty thunderstorm! But isn't the countryside just beautiful?

Angkor Wat. Absolutely why we are here!

Ahhhhhhh Cambodia!

Upon arriving Cambodia, we absolutely no idea what to expect. None at all. Our friends Duncan and Niki really enjoyed Siem Reap (and gave us some good tips), but beyond that we were clueless.

We were pleasantly surprised at the airport -- its nearly brand new, totally efficient and super clean.

And then to our hotel. I was stunned. Not knowing what to expect from our internet booking, we were rewarded with one of the best hotels yet.

We were waiting in the bar before checking in as our room wasn't ready yet.

On to our room. Its very lovely with a gorgeous terrace.

And it is a lovely terrace. The only problem is that the mosquitoes are rampant here and well, no one needs to tempt fate and enjoy a sit outdoors. Or for that matter, putting on all that bug repellent!

The Landmark.

The Landmark. The sister to the Landmark London, is well, the Landmark Bangkok. Of course, we just had to stop by. We went for a drink, and well, the best I can say is, well, um, hmmmm -- maybe there isn't a best I can say. Its in a very touristy part of Bangkok, but where we really hadn't seen the "sexy" side of Bangkok, guests staying at the Landmark (and a number of other lovely hotels in the area) certainly do. But that's not really the point of this. Its an odd place. Unsure of who it wants to be, or who its customers are, it was simply an odd night out. Upon leaving, we just had to laugh at the fact that the strangest place we went was the one place we thought would be the least odd! Ha! In fact, we were so hilariously thrown off our game, I could manage a final parting shot as we ducked in the taxi home!

Thai Cats.

Just because. I happen to like cats.

108 Coins (Bangkok)

At Wat Pho, there were a number of locals paying their respects to Buddha. In a wonderfully elaborate ceremony, they were dropping coins in 108 buckets in honour of Buddha and the auspicious number of 108. I was delighted. The noise in the Temple was so loud, the coins were clanging every time another one was dropped. So Jason bought me a bucket of coins and I joined the queue and set off dropping my coins. I was trying to be exceptionally polite and not make any mistakes in this delightful ritual, when low and behold a small child cut in front of me! She was in the processed of being duly instructed by her mother on how to put the coins in the buckets. Granted they were speaking Thai (and I don't), but my luck had struck, and her mother (unknowingly) became my teacher as well!

The man behind me was well versed in this ritual and therefor had no patience for either myself or the child! But we had a good time anyway!

Wat Pho (Bangkok)

From the guidebook: Wat Pho, the oldest and largest wat in Bangkok, was built in the 16th century during the Ayutthaya period and then almost completely rebuilt in 1785 by King Rama I. It features the largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and was the earliest centre for public education.

The feet of the Buddha are inlaid with mother of pearl. Its an awesome sight. I also overheard a guide telling his clients that the building that houses the Buddha is too small for the building. It was a mistake when it was built and accordingly the top of the Buddha's head has to stick out the top of the building.

Looking down the length of Buddha.

The bottoms of his feet!

A close up of the Buddhas on his feet.

Pictures of Jason and I so you can understand just how large this Buddha really is.

Ode to the Japanese.

More on the heat. After profusely sweating for three hours at the Palace, I decided that there must be something to the scores of Japanese and Chinese tourists that walk around with their umbrellas opened all the time. I had been carrying my umbrella for the rain, but decided -- if the Japanese are doing it, well, so am I. And I can report -- they are right. Its not perfect, not even close, but is so nice not have the sun beating down on your head all day.

Here's how I also know it works -- Jason made so much fun of me for hiding under my umbrella. He thought it was too funny for words. (Especially when I whacked a small child in the head with the end of the umbrella - I apologised a million times, but the child remained very angry with me! Rightly so!)

As the day went on, however, I noticed Jason creeping ever closer and closer to my umbrella. And finally he asked if he could stand under it with me! Think about this. Jason is much taller than I. My umbrella is baby pink. There was no rain and neither of us is Japanese. But I was vindicated! And so the umbrella is the newest staple of my sightseeing kit. Rain or shine! :)

The Grand Palace Bangkok

Post No. 2:
The ornamentation on everything is so unique. The guidebook says that the architecture is Bangkok or Rattankosin style. Not having an understanding of these styles of architecture means that I am only seeing pretty things, colourful things and shiny things! Which is fine by me. The Palace and the surrounding buildings are decorated like nothing I had ever seen before.

I am starting to sweat here. But more on that later...

We just love these guys!

Another photo together! A Canadian man was sweet enough to take our picture. Jason also took a photo of him and his family, but man, the guy was incredibly picky about his photos. It took forever.

Side note: I have seen loads and loads of fights, squabbles and bickering amongst couples on this trip. Young and old -- it doesn't matter. I watched a pretty big fight at the palace between a couple over her placement of the lens cap on the camera. I understand that this is important for the lens, but come on. She had put it on, just not perfectly. I attribute every single one of the these fights to the heat. :) At times, we have been so hot, we cannot bear to stand close to one another, let alone allow any portion of our skin to touch. I think Jason and I have been dong really well, mostly because we have decided that when we are so hot, its best not talk at all. Hours have gone by without a word. And then, there is an occasional nod to a pretty or unique sight -- and then back to the silence! I know I am always talking about the heat, but its so true. I, of all people, have been too hot to talk.

The Grand Palace Bangkok

Post No. 1 -- From the Guide Book:
When King Ram I came to the throne in 1782 he chose a plot of land on the east bank of the Chao Phraya river to found the new capital. The origiinal occuants were relocated to a new settlement located around the canals of Wat Sam Preum and Wat Sam Pheng. Following the traditional plan of the Ayutthaya Royal Palace, the Bangkok Grand Palace was built to face north with the bank of the river running on the left. The palace was a wooden structure except for the concrete Ordination Hall of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Instantly when you approach the Palace you notice the golden roof. It gleams from miles away. The best part? It gets better as you get closer. In fact, the entire palace was this way. Every nook and cranny is filled with vivid colours, golds, and stunning art work.

I love this guy! The day we visited the palace was a national holiday so not only were there loads of tourists, but the temples were filled with locals as well. The problem with this was that we were really unable to get any pictures that weren't full of people. You would have thought this statue was so menacing it would have scared off the tourists, but instead he is just there to guard for evil spirits!

Chao Phraya Tourist Boat! (Bangkok)

The traffic in Bangkok is legendary. So much so that in the taxi cabs there is a separate instruction page for taxi charges in traffic. Apparently, if the taxi is unable to move, the charges are reduced substantially. So, the lovely rive boat company developed the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat. For a nominal fee, you can hop and hop off at 12 points along the river. Its wonderful! You avoid all the traffic, and get to see daily life along the river. In this picture we are heading to the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

These are a couple of pictures from the boat.