So we now find our intrepid travellers on the trail to Angkor. My first impressions of Siem Reap were very positive and my adoration for this little town grew as the week went by. Aside from the obvious pull of Angkor, Siem Reap is worth visiting just for the relaxed cafe culture. Bar st and 'the alley' in the centre of the tourist district is actually reminiscent of a well behaved and less gimmicky Khao San rd. The food here is a little more expensive than I would have liked. I say expensive, but instead of paying $2 for a meal, you are now paying $4. Nonetheless, it is very tasty. Khmer culture and food have impressed me greatly. The town has some lovely walking paths and the night markets are also a pleasure to walk through as they are clean, fun (massages are $1), beautifully lit and full of people that want to sell their wares – without the pushy cat-calling that is common in South East Asian markets. I even broke my daily budget a little to buy some very unique paintings depicting some symbolic intricacies of Asian life. 
On the first of my two days out at Angkor, Dave and I rented a moto and driver for the day to take us on the 'small' circuit. Angkor begins about 9km outside of the city and was once a vast interconnected system of towns, temples and royal palaces. Each of the main sights on the small circuit (about 17km roundtrip + 9kms to Siem Reap) such as Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Phrom and Banteay Srei are each spread apart with about 3kms in between each. It was a genuine pleasure to stand at the base of massive stone structures and observe the pride with which the Angkor people constructed their empire (which flourished from 802 to 1432 AD). The sheer size is amazing, the delicacy of the sculptures is exquisite, the fact that these monuments were once living and breathing cities full of children and commerce, and when combined with the fact that nature has now invaded and made it home, leaves one with only a few words to describe that first day. I believe Angkor Thom was my favourite due to the impressive structure and it's collection of massive 4-headed Brahma (of which are quite spiritually evoking). Angkor Thom is also guarded by Garuda, the half man, half bird which is the symbol of spiritual unity and which is my preferred statue to draw. It will be hard to convey how lovely this place is so I will simply say WOW. 
My second day began with a bicycle ride to the Angkor site. I was determined to make the most of my three day pass and as such I decided to cycle the 9kms to Angkor and proceed to cycle the 26km 'big' circuit and visit all of the smaller temples and ruins. There are less people and my visit to Preah Khan was virtually a silent pilgrimage to a temple buried in the rainforests of Angkor. The smaller sights are not as impressive as say Angkor Wat, but they are worth a look and are great if you want to read in the shadow of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Angkor itself represents a former interconnected series of aqueducts and even into the beginning of the Khmer empire, was an agricultural Babylon. It is now a mecca for millions of tourists every year, each of them hoping to share in the memory of this impressive Cambodian Eden. Riding through the heart of Angkor is an experience not to be missed and as I left I felt that the combination of a very pretty city and my visit to Angkor has left me the most fulfilled I have been on this journey.
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