Hoisting Angkor

---

There are few places I've been in the world that are truly awe-inspiring...the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall are perhaps the only two. Other places are amazing, like Salisbury Cathedral or the Forbidden City, but they are places that can be described in words and the pictures taken of them can tell the whole story. The Grand Canyon, the Great Wall and now Angkor are places that are beyond my description, so I'll try to let my photos do the talking, although none of them really does justice.

Jackie and I got three-day passes ($40 each) and hired a local tuk-tuk driver (a motorbike with a covered trailer and a padded seat) for another $40 for three days…so we completely blew our budget for Cambodia. But it was worth it. Three days is enough to see most everything in the area, but it's cramming a lot of activity into those days.

We spent the first day doing the “mini-tour,” which included Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (which includes the Bayon). These are the two biggest and most interesting sites and together they are overwhelming. Angkor Wat covers a huge area and is surrounded by a moat, as is the Bayon in Angkor Thom.

We saw a few other sites that day and then spent the second and third days we spent visiting some of the outer sites. We also returned to Angkor Wat one evening near sunset which is where I took some of my best pictures.

I guess in the end, I just don’t have the words to describe the place. Siem Reap, the town near the sites, is a dusty place that turns muddy during the frequent rains and the whole place revolves around tourism with moto and tuk-tuk drivers everywhere. Unfortunately, the prices for food are at tourist prices too.

We’re leaving Monday for Bangkok and the hedonism that is that town. Hopefully it’ll be as fun as Cambodia…but cheaper.

---