Siem Reap

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Siam Riep (Ankor Wat)

The Temples
The temple of Ankor Wat near the town of Siam Riep was spectacular. Shawna and I rented a tuk-tuk and toured all the major temples in one day. In hindsight we probably should have split it up into two days (especially since I got the three day pass). It was a long hot day of temple after temple. I owe Shawna a great debt for being my personal photographer. The poor girl must have taken at least 25 pics out of the 100+ to go on my camera that day. Of the countless temples we visited, the best by far were Ankor Thom, The jungle temple (forgot the name), and Ankor Wat. ]
Later that night a good group of us (some from the bus as well as others) ended up partying pretty hard. In fact we partied pretty hard every night. When the sun goes down and the sights close there's not much else to do.

Day 2: Eye Opener
On the second day a group of four of us visited the War Museum. Consisting of little more then a collection of old military equipment, the true education came from our guide who told his tragic life's tale. He shared with us the story of his childhood grenade accident through his time in the military where he lost his leg, then to the recent death of his wife to a landmine. We all left with a new appreciation for how fortunate we are.
Next we were off to the Landmine Museum which was basically an orphanage that took care of some children of landmine victims. The display was simply a collection of mines as well an informative video of the demining process. It will take decades to complete. Unfortunately the funding isn't available and each rainy season compounds the problem by moving both the marked and unmarked mines up to 100 feet. This experience in addition to the War Museum made for a quiet ride home to say the least.
The next day our fellowship of 7 travelers all left for Phenom Phen together.

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Photos

outside temple
Outside another temple in the area. I'm not normally this vain, just threw myself in for perspective.

Outside Ankor Tom
Quick break before climingthe temple. Of course no rest for Shawna who had to take the pic.

Smiling faces
Three Smiling faces atop Ankor Thom

Jungle temple
Nature conquers all eventually

Outside Ankor Wat
The approach to Ankor Wat is spectacualar. None of my pictures captured the enpormity of the construct.

tuk-tuk buddies
Shawna played the good Japanese wife and took pictures of me allll day. Coun't ask for a better tuk-tuk companion!

Sunset
Sunset from the top of Ankor Wat. The trecherous cimb down was worth it.

The Crew
The crew of partying travelers 2 Irish, 2 Candians, 2 Americans, a Spaniard and a Brit who took the pic.

Wild Times
12+ hrs of temple touring couldn't stop us from dancing the night away.

Pillow Fight
A late night pillow fight. Real mature!!!