Angkor What?

Getting to Cambodia on Thursday was an adventure in and of itself. Our taxi arrived Friday morning at 5:45 and sped (taxis drive really fast and love to swerve into different lanes and make u-turns) off to the central bus station in Bangkok. From there, we boarded a bus to Arayanprathet, the Thai border town with Cambodia, and arrived at a tuk-tuk stop that took us to the border early in the afternoon. Stepping out of the tuk-tuk, Elise and I were immediately crowded by children begging, people selling cheap goods, and tour guides offering their services. It was overwhelming, but we managed to make it over the crossing. After clearing immigration, we befriended two German girls and decided to share a cab with them to Siem Reap (about a 3 hour drive from the border). The drive to Siem Reap was awful. The road is only partially paved in some areas, but is generally a mess of dirt, rocks, and potholes in the middle of farmland. It's been rumored that one airline pays locals to screw up the road even more in order to make tourists book flights to Siem Reap from Bangkok instead of driving. That airline is the sole company with rights to fly passengers from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and charges astronomical rates as such. But we survived and made it to the town later that afternoon.

We spent Thursday night checking out the main restaurant and bar areas, and even did a bit of shopping at the night market. The next day, we rented bicycles and explored the town and surrounding rural areas. It was cool to see the huts and bugalows that average Cambodians live in. They are very simple and modest homes surrounded by fields, rivers, and temples. We even stopped to talk to some of the local children coming home from school. Surprisingly, almost everyone that we spoke to was fluent in English. I was amazed. It's very rare to come across Thais who are proficient in English, which is due to their level of education. In Cambodia, English doesn't have any thing to do with education. Instead, it's the way to survive in a country driven by tourism. Even small children were able to speak easily (5 year olds could speak, heckle, and beg in English!). That night, we got a traditional Khmer meal for $1/ dish on the street. The cleanliness of our meals was highly questionable (there were few bugs and hairs in many of the dishes), but it was a good introduction to Cambodian cuisine. It was also a great way to meet other travelers. Since street vendors have tables set up by their booths, we got to know other travelers (we met up with some of them the next day too!).

Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am to catch a tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat for a day of temples and history. We started at Angkor Wat and caught a beautiful sunrise. Angkor Wat is the most impresivev temple of the Khmer Empire and its ancient capitol. It was built early in the 12th century and is incredible. Unfortunately, the mote around the temple wasn't completely full since it's dry season. My pictures also aren't nearly as good as most on the web, but they will be posted on my photobucket account soon. Our tuk-tuk driver for the day, Moap, took us to Angkor Thom next, the ancienty city of the Khmer Empire. There, we saw Bayon, Baphoun, the Elephant Terrace, and the Terrace of the Leper King. Each was impressive and very beautiful in its own right. From Angkor Thom, we went to Ta Keo, a large temple with extremely high and steep stairs. Yes, I was brave and climbed to the top of the temple, but once there, the journey back down seemed terrifying. Luckily, a wonderful family came to my rescue and helped me down (though I did contemplate living the rest of my life in a Cambodian temple for a while). Our next stop was Ta Prohm, a town of temples hidden in the forest. The temples of Ta Prohm were built in forest and many are intertwined with trees (60 foot+ trees are literally rooted on top of the temples and grow on them high into the sky!). Ta Prohm was easily my favorite site. It was also featured in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider! We finished the day with more climbing and stunning views at East Mebon and Pre Rup.

It was a really fantastic day. We returned to the hotel that evening completely exhausted but in awe of the history of Cambodia. I learned so much about traveling and history from my trip to Cambodia. I've come away with a much deeper understanding of the troubled past of the country (the wars, Khmer Rouge, and the killing fields) and the struggle of the Khmer people. It is a fascinating place and it's no wonder that Angelina Jolie spent so much time there (she adopted a Cambodian kid, is involved in the anti-mine movement, and frequented many of the restaurants we dined at). If you don't know too much about Cambodia, I'd highly recommend picking up a book on it or flying out for a visit (call me!). It was incredible.