Mama T in the Garden City : Fabulous temples in Siem Reap

I was lucky enough to have a day free at the end of volunteering with CFC and took the opportunity to re visit some of the famous temples of Siem Reap. Papa T and I had spend 3 days 'temple-ing' in October 2014 and had loved it, this time I only had a day. Samedi was our guide, he had been our driver for the last few days. Years ago he had been a tour guide at the temples and had been the guide for CFC's founder when she first visited Ankor in 2003. He soon became involved with helping her start CFC and since then has been devoting all his time and energy into the organisation, a very special man.

First stop- absolutely awesome Ankor Wat

Unlike many of the other temples Ankor Wat has been in virtually continuous use since it was built in the 12th century

The walls are carved with detailed depictions of the Hindu epic stories of The Ramayana and Maharabharata

Ankor Wat was every bit as impressive as I remembered it

We then drove to Bayon Temple passing first through the gate of Ankor Thom

and over the bridge lined with statues of gods on one side

and asuras (demons) on the other

Bayon temple has 54 towers decorated with 216 enormous smiling faces

The walls are also decorated with detailed carvings illustrating major historical events

including wars as well as everyday life in 12th century Cambodia

Lastly we visited Ta Prohm which serves as a reminder of the power of the jungle when left to grow unhindered. Parts of this temple have been cleared but some trees have been left growing through the walls and roofs

This beautiful temple is widely known throughout the world now as it was used as one of the settings in the films "Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Lara Croft's Tomb Raider"