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Not that I'm complaining. It was AMAZING. I had no idea they were considered one of the seven man-made wonders of the world. Deservedly so - I absolutely loved visiting the temples. We bought a 3-day pass and were worried it would be little too long but your options are either a 1 or 3 day pass and 1 day just wouldn't be enough. We attempted to catch the sunset which they toss in for free the day before your pass begins, but the sky wasn't very agreeable. I was a little worried about the tourists though - there were SO many! But the next day and basically everyday after we really didn't notice a huge amount of people. Except at Angkor Wat - I can't imagine high season there!!
We based ourselves at Garden Village which is probably the first backpacker central guesthouse I've stayed at in Cambodia. I really can't say I even socialized though. I was so completely exhausted each day from the temples, and on top of that battling a flu/cold/don't know what, that I passed out hard at around 9pm each night. Our tuk-tuk driver, Kosal, was fantastic. He spoke french which was very nice for
Bayon
My favorite of the temples Johanne, and fine for me since it forced me to practice my french even more. He was so incredibly sweet and would occasionally giggle with this huge grin. Really he made our experience that much better. Let me know if you ever come here because he is a must! I'm sure Johanne and I will have passed plenty of business his way by the time we leave Cambodia!
So Day 1 at the temples was completely exhausting and so damn hot, I think I drank 4.5 litres of water that day and peed maybe 4 times. Sorry too much info - but isn't that crazy? I have now turned to electrolyte packages and I think they help a ton. Anyways, back to the temples. By far the best were Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm and Bantay Samreay. We spent so much time in Bayon just exploring all the bas-relief and taking it all in. By far my favorite of all the temples. Ta Prohm was the tomb raider temple I think, but I don't really know. It was very cool to see all the trees engulfing the stone walls. Massive trees have grown right on the top of the temples!
Terrace of the Leper King
The bas-relief at most of the temples was amazing. You could explore for hours looking at it all. Very photogenic, but unfortunately for us the light was really shit.
Day 2 was good as well. The first half of the day we spent visiting more temples and then the second half we went out to the Tongle Sap lake to visit the floating villages. The Tongle Sap is a massive lake just south of Siem Reap and turns into a river that runs through Phnom Penh and joins the Mekong. The level of the lake fluctuates hugely depending on the time of year and since it's dry season still here the lake is very low and it's a quick boat trip to visit the villages (if you don't get stuck in the mud!). The villages are amazing. You pass a home floating on water with the kids watching tv inside. And then a little boy in a bucket paddling around. Then a women on a little raft watering her garden. It's so neat! It's really cool to think as the water level gets higher and higher they just go with it! Life doesn't really change for them except that I assume it's a little more difficult to fish!
Day 3 was a little painful for me since I
Ta Prohm
I think this is a classic tourist shot where you are usually supposed to pose in it... sorry, but one of the reasons I like travelling alone is that I never have to be in any of the photos! was peaking in sickness. Thank god it was cooler otherwise I couldn't have left the guesthouse, although thinking back I really shouldn't have anyways. I was basically stuck in the tuk tuk all day attempting to drag my sorry ass briefly around the temple. Most of the temples I experienced through the pictures on Johanne's camera! Sunset at Angkor looked beautiful - from Johanne's camera!!!
All in all the temples of Angkor were stunning and I think should be a must for all you ever planning to head anywhere in Asia. 3 days is definitely sufficient, but I almost think a good idea would be to purchase a 6 day pass and take a couple of days off in between to recup. You get a little templed out after 2 days and it's nice to mix it up.
As a side note, the saleschildren(!!) are unbelievable! I had heard stories but really it's crazy. They have lines they use and they repeat them over and over and over again hoping to wear you down. And if you do get worn down and buy something you are stampeded by all the surrounding kids and their merchandise!!! It's quite overwhelming. By far
Me and Johanne at Bantay Samrey
Okay, here\'s a tourist shot (for my mum!) the most impressive salespitch was a young girl no older than 7 or 8 who was selling postcards. She spoke in a completely monotone high pitch voice listing off all the temples on the postcards. She did this a few times through and then counted out the postcards 1 through 10 in, not joking, at least 7 or 8 different languages!!! ha! It makes me laugh just thinking about it! She is going to be one hell of a seller in a few years! I believe Johanne has an award winning photo of her that I will be sure to post.
Siem Reap itself seemed like an okay city. I didn't really do much in the city itself aside from checking out the old market and eating. The poverty is pretty brutal. There are a lot of mothers or young girls with babies hanging off their arms begging for food, money or whatever you can give them. Kosal, our driver, was pretty insistent on not giving them anything which was interesting. I suppose you can't win. You feel shitty not doing anything, but then you're not really helping the situation by giving? Apparently some mothers will purposely starve their kids
Kosal!
This is our amazing tuk-tuk driver getting caught in the thunder shower! He said he really liked my mec rain jacket cause it makes him look like a "pop star"!!! so that they get more sympathy and thus more money. I find it hard to believe, and it doesn't make me feel any better about the situation. Another highlight in Siem Reap - A rough looking kid selling postcards told me he was going to come find me and kill me! what can I say, I didn't want to buy his postcards! I saw him a few days later doing the same thing to a couple! I wonder when he'll figure out that that sales strategy DOESN'T WORK!
Well next I head to Phnom Penh for almost 10 days, much longer than I had intended to spend there. I messed up my vietnamese visa and have my date of arrival a week later than I intended. So, I now have until the 23rd in Cambodia. No worries though, there's always plenty to see and do and I look forward to at least a couple of visits to the russian market where you can buy anything and everything for a fraction of what you'd pay back home.... I will control myself don't worry.. I have the limits of my backpack right? Speaking of which, I think i need a new one...!
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Sue/Mum
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Wow, it's hard work keeping up with all your blogs! They're really rolling in. Keep them coming though. I can handle it. Wonderful pics too. I'd like more of your face! No more personal comments here as it's read by half the world! Just that we're all home now and Gramps is hanging in there...love, mum