Exploring Angkor

Greetings from Cambodia!
I ended up getting the 3 day pass to the Angkor complex, I keep having to remind myself that I don't have unlimited time as I seem to have had in Nepal. Three days ended up being a good amount of time to see most of the larger temple ruins, some of the smaller ones, and the ones I really liked twice.
All I have to say about Angkor is WOW. This is probably one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. Simply spectacular! I could not believe what I was seeing! So amazing! I cán't even put into words. The first day I hired a tuk-tuk, which is a moto with a carriage one the back that pulls you around. It is definetaly the way to go in style.
The places I went on the first day of exploration were:
-Angkor Wat (the biggest and most famous of the temples)
-Bayon
-Baphuon
-Phimeanakas
-Terrace of Elephants
-Terrace of the Leper King
-North Kleang
-South Kleang
-Prasat Suor Prat
-Banteay Kdei
Angkor Wat: so awesome I can't even believe it. It feels like it is something you only would see in the movies or on a postcard, or on the travel channel so it was strange to actually be there myself! It is really breathtaking! The downside to Angkor Wat: it is SO touristed. Thousands of tourists are teeming all over the place!!
Bayon: Bayon was one of my favorites. This is the temples with the 216 huge stone faces looming out from above, smiling sort of mischeviously. Driving up to the place you can't see the faces at all so it looks rather plain. But when you get closer you start to see the features of the faces emerge and stare at you. It is sort of creepy!! This was a great place though.
Banteay Kdei: This, although not as famous as most of the others was one of my favorites, probably my favorite. It was the last stop on the tuk tuk tour of day 1. The time was about dusk, the sun casting a warm golden glow, slowly changing to blue. Banteay Kdei is a huge complex, crumbling, mossy, intricate and ornate. It was a Buddhist monastery in the 12the century. I had the whole massive place to myself to explore! NO one there, just me and the geckos scurrying about. I was staring at the ruins from a peaceful spot. The cicadas shrieked in the cooling dusk air. A light breeze. And suddenly I just had the stranges feeling. I started thinking about the monks, and the kings, and the servants, cooks, attendants and other thousands of people who lived here centuries ago. Their lives long gone, all that remains are these crumbling stone walls covered in moss. I wonder if they ever thought I would be there, thinking about them? I started to wonder what our world will be like centuries from now. Will people be standing in our rotting homes, snapping photos of our kitchens, cars, and bedrooms. "Wow, I can't believe people used to live like this! Amazing!" they will say to one another as they snap family photos next to fenced off areas saying "Danger zone! Do not enter!""

The thing that makes these ruins so fantastic are the small details. The amazing bas-reliefs carved on the walls, other intricate carvings of apsaras literally thousands covering the walls. The ceilings, the way the stones are laid together, the door frames, the lingas, the moss that is slowly covering everything with a bright green carpet. These tiny details make the place awesome. I always tried to image the people who actually did the carvings. Who built these temples? How much did it cost? Who designed them? What were the people like who lived in the temples? What did they wear? What did the royalty wear? What did they eat? While I am very interested in the history of the place, I was much more interested to think about what day to day life was like for the people who used to live there.

The second day of touring I rented a bicycle and rode into the complex. This is a great way to get around, but it should be noted that the complex is 10 km away from the town area of Siem Reap. Also, it should be noted that taking the "Grand Tour" on a rusty no-geared bicycle in the scorching heat may also not be the best idea, let me tell you from personal experience. The grand tour is 26 km, add the 10 km both ways to and from town, and maybe 10 km should be factored in for the time you get lost. This bike ride ended up being 50+ km. Exhausting. After the bike ride I laid in bed for 14 hours and recovered. The roads are all flat which is nice since you are spared any uphill pedaling, but also this means you don't get to enjoy any cruises downhill.