Day 1

I arrived at the Siem Reap International Airport at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. It's a very small airport that looks to be about 2 years old. The driving situation in Cambodia is a bit strange. The steering wheels in the cars are on the right hand side, but they still drive on the right side of the road! Not only that, but some cars had steering wheels on the left side as well. Very strange. As I was signing into my hotel a piece of dirt fell onto the counter beside my passport. I looked up and saw a lizard clinging to the wall. I guess it wasn't dirt after all. I arranged for a driver and guide for the next day at the Angkor Temples. I do regret only spending a full day at Angkor. It only cost me $100 US to fly from Saigon so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Still, after learning more about Cambodia's history and culture I may pay a second visit sometime. When I went into my hotel room I was exhausted and feeling a bit ill. I watched t. v. for a while and called it an early night. I laughed as the first three channels were all Korean.

Day 2

This was my full day at Angkor. The temples are a short 10 minute drive outside of Siem Reap. The cost is $20 for the day. While the Riel is the official Cambodian currency, I never once had to use it. Everyone prefers American dollars. It was a beautiful day, but it turned out it was a little too beautiful. The excess sun had a negative effect on a few of my pictures. I ended up drinking about 6 liters of water throughout the day.

The first place we went to was Banteay Prei. This was a temple that seemed to house a lot of educational facilities. There were schools, libraries, etc. dotted around the grounds. Most of the roof's had collapsed over the years. Before we left the area I bought a book about the Angkor Temples for $15 US. I had bargained the guy down from $25. Imagine my frustration when later that day a little girl offered me the same book for $5.

The second area we visited was Ta Prohm. This was a very rustic area surrounded by huge trees. The roots of these trees have taken control of much of the temple area. The result leaves an awesome area of stone and nature. I've read that some scenes from Tomb Raider were filmed around this temple.

For lunch we stopped at an outdoor cafeteria type restaurant. It was a bit annoying as many children kept asking be to buy their goods. Their English was very cute. This was the usual selling line: "Where are you from, sir?" (Canada) "If I can tell you the capital of Canada, will you buy my Buddha?" (no) "Sir, the capital of Canada is Ottawa. What province are you from?" (Ontario). "Sir, if I can tell you the capital of Ontario, will you buy my Buddha?" (no) "Sir, the capital of Ontario is Toronto. Sir, if I can tell you the name of you're Prime Minister, will you buy my Buddha?" (no) "Sir, the Prime Minister of Canada is Stephen Harper." I was truly impressed with their knowledge of Canadian geography.

The third temple we visited was Bantaey Kdei. This was a temple with many jagged edges and large faces of the king. A lot of the temple was in ruins so there were areas we couldn't enter.

The last place I visited was the massive Angkor Wat. I've been told that you could spend a full day just walking around this temple. The outer walls are covered with engravings showing the history of Cambodia until that time. The most frequent language I heard at this temple was Korean. I made it to the top of the temple, but not without some complications. The top is accessed by 30 of the original steps. There was a hand rail but it was used by people coming back down. I made the mistake of looking down as I was about half way up. After a few minutes I kept going. 30 steps doesn't sound like much, but the angle was ridiculous. You can see by the pictures what I'm talking about. There was a swimming pool at the top but there was no water in it. It truly is a great temple that pictures and words cannot begin to describe.

We finished our tour of the temples at about 6:00 p.m. (we arrived at 8:00 a.m.). Again, I was exhausted. Despite drinking plenty of water I think I still suffered from minor heat stroke. I spent the evening again watching t. v. and reading my Cambodia Lonely Planet.

 

Day 3

I was actually able to sleep in on Friday! Most of my tours this far had started before 8:00 a.m. . I took my Siem Reap city map and puttered around the city. There isn't much here to see; everyone who comes to this place is here for the temples. It was a striking contrast to see the poverty of the Cambodians set against the brand new foreign hotels. Some of these hotels go for as much as $1,200 US per night! Don't worry, I only paid $22 US for mine. At 11:00 a.m. I made my way to the airport and at 1:00 p.m. returned to Saigon.