Awesome!!!!

awe·some
–adjective
1. inspiring awe: an awesome sight.
2. showing or characterized by awe.
3. Slang . very impressive

There really is no other word to sum up the amazing day we have experienced in Siem Reap, other than awesome according to any definition.

After a string of enforced early mornings, for some reason Kieran, Mikey, Megs, Jules, Oren and I decided that getting up at 5am would be a good idea.  We jumped into a couple of Tuk Tuks, and headed out to Ankor Watt to watch the sunrise.

It is no secret that I'm a great fan of sleep, but sunrise is a particularly special time of day.  I've seen it over many foreign lands and it has always been a special and significant occurrence.  Today was no different.  The sky slowly lighting the majestic visage of Ankor Watt is something I will never forget.

After the sun was up, we took our Tuk Tuks back to the hotel.  On the way I confessed to Megs what I would really love for breakfast was french toast.  Asian breakfasts are great, but there comes a point where you just want something familiar.  So imagine my joy when breakfast not only included french toast, but also museli, fruit salad and yogurt.  Ok, the fruit salad is possible a tad more exotic than one would usually expect with the inclusion of dragon fruit and papaya but that just made it all the better.

On a high, we jumped on our tour bus for what was a magnificent day of sightseeing.

We visited 7 temples in total, covering a range of time periods, both  Buddist and Hindu religions, popular well known temples (i.e. as featured on Tomb Raider) to almost deserted ones off the tourist trail.

We saw moats, intricate carving, inscriptions, evidence of religious warfare almost 1000 years old.  We saw temples held up by modern reinforcement, by trees, and by amazing engineering.

We climbed high stone stairs to look across temple compounds built to honour gods and family, or the jungle that trys to encroach.

We formed a defensive ring to get Megs through the very cute but numerous souvenir sellers in an effort to stop her buying any more postcards (30 at last count) or palm tree toys (I did't count but it looked like about 7 to me).


It is almost impossible to describe the feelings generated by these temples that the jungle tried to hide. The wonderousness of their construction, and the amazement at their abandonment over time.

We stopped for a fantastic lunch, but still managed to get through all those temples by about 4pm, which meant we could get back to the hotel in time for a swim before a massage.

Last night the massage seekers found Lotus Dream massage and the wonder that is a 4 hand massage.  That's right, 4 hands working on you at the same time.  I tried it today and I have to say, everyone should have one of these at least once in their life.

After my massage, Rob and I also treated our feet - to Dr Fish.  Everywhere along the main road are tanks where the fish nibble away at the dead skin on your feet.  It is great, my feet feel amazing.  For the ticklish you may find it somewhat confronting, but those fish are miracle workers.

By then we had worked up an appetite and Rob had been recommended a restaurant, Nest.  So Rob, Mikey, Kieran, Petra and I headed in to the very funky surrounds.  We were seated on large reclining couches, which were great for cocktails but proved difficult for dinner so we moved to tables.  It was an amazing meal.  Modern Khmer food, served with fantastic cocktails, in elegant surroundings.  It was the type of meal that you would not be surprised to pay well in excess of $100 in Australia, but even having had 3 cocktails, it only cost me $40.

I can't imagine a better day.  It had it all - awe inspiring scenery, brilliant relaxation, amazing food and drink.  What else can I say, it was awesome.