皇帝式出巡吳哥窟／李明熙
Park Hyatt Siem Reap 是暹粒首屈一指的高檔酒店，其全白色的外墻，像沙漠中的綠洲一樣突出，可說是暹粒的地標。因為航班大清早抵達，出發前便在酒店的 e-Concierge 服務中請求提前 Check-in。酒店回覆說要視乎當天的入住率，但會竭力安排。
我們比入住時間早了四個小時到達酒店，前枱說房間已準備好。據說當日入住率爆滿，屬原訂等級的房間中未有客人退房。為了讓我們提前 Check-in，便將我們的房間升級到套房。打開房門，有大廳、茶水間、衣帽間，浴缸有電視，就連廁所也有兩間，我們大叫走運。
五至十月是暹粒的雨季，大雨連場，屬旅遊淡季。不少酒店為減低成本，會在淡季辭退員工，旺季再聘。要知道在柬埔寨，有工作才有生活。Park Hyatt 愛護員工，在淡季也不會辭退他們。員工對酒店有了歸屬感，對客人自然熱誠，服務水準亦得以保持。Park Hyatt 能在淡季滿客，不無道理。
翌日出發前往吳哥，跟十年前同樣包下 Tuk Tuk，看的也是同樣的吳哥窟，卻沒想到，因為今次住宿高檔，吃得豪爽，對吳哥的感覺亦有所改變。上次咬著麵包以朝聖心情到訪，務求看得巨細無遺。今次踏足吳哥，竟然有點君臨天下的心態。管你有多少神殿，爺我愛看哪就去哪。的確是 Park Hyatt 的超大套房和員工的體貼服務，把我寵成皇帝出巡的模樣呀！不過，我是十分受落的，看吳哥嘛，就是要有氣派才襯得上。
Exploring the Siem Reap Ruins/Kimberlogic
Everyone recommends seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise, but during monsoon season you take a gamble of actually seeing the sun rise. Despite our high hopes, we were greeted by gray skies and rain in our faces instead of the warm orange-pink glow of the rising sun. Being a traveler, you cannot let a little rain get you down, so we put on our raincoats and our smiles and set off to explore the ruins.
No matter the weather, Angkor Wat did not disappoint. The sheer size and detail on every stone was magnificent. At a quick glance, one may think all of the carvings are repeated, but a closer look shows differences in facial structures, poses and decorations.
I guess tourism is low during this time of year because of the rains, but I still have not found any disadvantage of visiting this place during monsoon season. I understand that during the dry season you are almost guaranteed a gorgeous sunrise and sunset each day, but the heat and the crowds are enough to turn me off immediately. This time of year is warm, but not sweltering and the rains keep most of the crowds away. To have the entire sections of the temples to ourselves was well worth a little rain.
After a couple of hours exploring Angkor Wat, we grabbed a quick bite and were on our way to the next set of ruins, Bayon Temple. The details of this temple were even more impressive than Angkor Wat. Every angle, every corner was intricately carved and no matter where you stood, many stone faces were watching. Out of the thousands of faces, they all resembled the same King, but again, each face was different.
By the time we arrived at Bayon Temple, the skies turned blue and the sun came out. It ended up being an amazing day. The stones against blue skies is a much different picture than gray skies. We were even lucky enough to witness an area of restoration in progress. A different country has donated to restore each temple in Angkor and the one we witnessed was the Japanese.
The third and final stop for the day was Ta Prohm, the famous temple with the tree growing through it. This area felt the most like ruins to us. Maybe because of the flora taking over the temples or the giant piles of stones beside each structure that was still standing. At each stop during the day we had found quiet corners, but at this temple we actually felt alone in the middle of the jungle. That experience and feeling is well worth the trade of a sunrise.
After six hours of exploring the ruins we were done for the day. It was a perfect amount of time and the sights had completely satisfied us. Only having one day to see Angkor can be plenty for some people, but having three days would have been better, as each route and each temple is different. I don’t regret the amount of time we had, but I would gladly spend a few more days given the time.
