Temple Time

I think that I ate a dodgy bit of chicken last night and was up for loads of the night feeling pretty rough, and only getting about 45 mins sleep in total. Not a great start when we had to be up at 4:30 to go and see the sunrise at the temples.

I was well worth it though. Sat watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat was amazing and we got some fantastic photos. Then we had a meal of pancakes and coffee at the side of the lake that is in front of the temple - that made me feel a fair bit better.

After breakfast we all piled back into the tuctuc and headed round the whole complex of the temples; they were fascinating, and although we were all feeling pretty shattered and not exactly at our best, we enjoyed it all the same. We went to the Tomb Raider temple and had great fun doing loads of stupid Lara Croft positions in the doorways and openings.

The temples have an interesting history and although we didn't have a dedicated guide, we picked up on a few conversations that were of interest, like how the Khmer Rouge smashed the heads off all the Buddhas in the temples when they were in power and how the places are being restored after some almost completely collapsing.

It was a great day and we all really enjoyed the experience, but by midday, having had a good five hours looking round the majority of the temples on the "Short Tour" we called it a day and got the drivers to head back into Siem Reap - there is a limit to the amount of stone you can look at, however stunning and beautifully crafted!

Back in Siem Reap we went to a supermarket to grab a little lunch, then Tom, Rosie and I went and sat in a really cool bakery/cafe for a good few hours and just chilled out and talked. I spent quite a while on the wifi looking at the feasibility of doing a four day cycle touring trip from the Isle of Wight to Lands End and back in mid September - looks like it could be a good way to build up the fitness a bit more for a few September races.

Were back at the hotel now, with a couple more hours to chill out before we go and grab a meal and then get on the night bus to Sihanouk ville (the beach), which is our last destination, before going back to Phnom Penh. Looking forward to a good week on the beach; perhaps some snorkeling and cycling and a bit of island hopping (not so much the night bus, but hey).

A great day and it's really cool to have the big group of 8; can't wait for a few days on the beach.