Days 60-62: Siem Reap

Following Laos, it was off to Cambodia to see the magnificent temples of Angkor. Heather had visited them once before so she wasn't really all that excited for them, but we were so close already it was too hard for me to pass up this so-called 8th world wonder.

We flew in to Siem Reap, the city just adjacent to the major historical sites. We arrived rather early (which also meant we woke up really early) so we decided to hit the ground running. We quickly settled in to our abode, MotherHome Guesthouse (another TripAdvisor score), hired a tuk-tuk and headed to see the temples. The first day we opted to take the "long circuit," which would take us to see some of the minor sites that were a little further out and would save the big attractions for the following day. Even so, we hit a total of 6 temples, and the architecture of these "lesser" temples was stunning. I was amazed at the sheer enormity of these stone mammoths!

Preah Khan, our first stop for the day

Taking in the view at East Mebon

It was a hot and humid day in Cambodia so the viewing was rather taxing. The only relief we got was the wind on our tuk-tuk ride between the sites, which was usually short-lived. A sweet pineapple for each of us at 2 for $1 was also a nice treat. There was no shortage of hawkers though, and if anything could spoil the beauty of the temples it would be them. Understandably it's a way to make a living for some of the poor Cambodian families, but the constant assault of offers is painful. A polite "no, thank you" appears to mean "try harder" so in the end, I had to just resort to ignoring some of them. What makes it even more painful is that the majority of the hawkers are children, most under the age of ten. If there's any consolation, the children, given the right opportunities, could be very successful. They are driven, hard working, and brilliant as evident by them making sales in Chinese and English while speaking Cambodian to one another!

Back in town that night, we headed to the old market area, a popular tourist area. Our first stop- Miss Wong's! Rated highly on TripAdvisor, this place served up some delicious cocktails for happy hour and with a name like that, how could we resist? Dinner that night was Cambodian fare at Sugar Palm restaurant where I had my first taste of amok, a curry custard steamed in banana leaves giving it a souffle texture.

Miss and Mrs. Wong

fluffy fish amok

The next day, we decided to go all out on the temple viewing! We started it off with a sunrise viewing of the famous Angkor Wat. The only problem is that the sun rises at 6, which meant a wake up call at 5 am... I thought we were on vacation! We arrived to Angkor Wat with a throng of other tourists who wanted to see the same thing, but managed to find some decent enough photo-shooting space. However, the sunrise didn't deliver. There were too many low lying clouds in the horizon which obscured the sun and in the end, it was utterly anti-climactic. We did manage to get a coupled of OK shots of its silhouette before we went to explore the site in more detail.

Angkor Wat at first light

After Angkor Wat, we headed to Angkor Thom, a much larger temple area by size with Bayon as its centerpiece. Bayon was probably my favorite site. The intricate designs of the 216 stone sculpted faces glinting in the morning sun was fascinating. Sitting on the stone steps made an excellent spot to enjoy our boxed breakfasts.

Bayon's many faces etched into stone

We then headed to all the adjacent sites - terrace of the elephant king, Baphuon, terrace of the leper king, Ta Keo, and finally Ta Prohm, the temple made famous by the movie Tomb Raider. All were interesting and unique from one another, but after a full morning of viewing and the temperature and humidity rising, we had had enough.

The grand entrance to Baphuon

Intricate carvings at the terrace of the leper king

The incredible intertwining of trees and stone at Ta Prohm

The afternoon was spent lazily next to our pool (yes, this $20 hotel included a nice refreshing pool!). We found our way back to the Old Market area again that night. I bought some cheap polarized sunglasses at their night market which would come in handy in Bali. Feeling the need for a little pampering, we stopped in for some tasty Italian food at Il Forno. Afterward, we headed to a wine bar where they were having a very amateur drag show production of bad lip-synching and dancing. The highlight was a pudgy short ladyboy singing and dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies." It still puts a smile on my face when I think about it now.

All templed out, our final day in Siem Reap was spent quietly. We hit a wet market close by in search of roasted bugs but to no avail. We did manage to get some good photos and some fruit to munch on by the pool. It was a good day of rest before heading to the capital, Phnom Penh, the next day.

Man on moto carrying his wares

Child working fruit stand