Cambodia 2011: Tomb Raiders

Ankor Wat at sunrise

This morning we got up at 4am and left the hotel at 4.30am to see the sunrise at the Angkor Wat Temple. Although everyone was looking forward to the beautiful colours, it was too cloudy to see the actual sunrise. We did, however, get some good photos of the temple and its reflection on the pond. After we decided the sun definitely wasn’t coming up, we went back to the hotel for a well-deserved quick hour of sleep before the day really began with Ta Prohm Temple, the famous temple from the Tomb Raider movie.

The Arden Crew - sunrise

It was luscious and green as it was situated in the middle of jungle: the “jungle temple”. It was riddled with large trees growing on top of the buildings and we got lots of group photo opportunities. The natural and man-made elements worked together to produce quite a mystical atmosphere, although it was steaming!

After making it through a sea of vendors to get back to our bus, we drove to the Cambodian Landmine Museum. This was interesting but also horrifying to read stories, see deactivated bombs and learn about the violent history of Cambodia. This was also inspirational as there were also articles about a former child soldier now deactivating landmines. It was also encouraging to see that there was a facility at the museum which helped rehabilitate, educate and treat landmine victims. We also enjoyed shopping in the gift shop.

Ta Prohm - The Jungle Temple

After another Khmer lunch we went to the Artisans of Angkor Silk Factories and got to see how the silk we had been buying had been made. We got to experience just how time consuming making silk was and why it is so expensive! After another shopping experience in the silk factory gift shop, we had a refreshing ice cream in the hot afternoon. Some people tried to eat silk worms but many did not particularly enjoy the taste!