Wats, War Stories and Dance Parties
Monday, September 24th, 2007Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat)
We had two options: a 14-hour bus journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia, or a $200 flight. For many of you reading this, it sounds like a no-brainer. But frankly $400 goes a long way in SE Asia, and we’re not in any hurry. Once we found out half of the bus journey would not involve aircon or paved roads, shelling out the cash was the only sane option.
We arrived in Siem Reap Sunday afternoon, calm and rested as opposed to sweaty, swearing and irate. Thanks to the French who colonised Cambodia from 1863 to 1953, the architecture and open-air cafes of this little town made us realize what we were missing in Bangkok. Its adorable, charming and much more than we expected.
Monday morning we set out for Angkor Wat in the tuk-tuk of a local 32-year old named Sokhorn. His English was impressive, and he drove us through the countryside to some of the distant untouristed temple ruins. Some of these ancient sites were empty, and we were left to explore mazes of stone structures built mostly in the 11-13th centuries alone.
The second day we visited Angkor Wat, the famous Tomb Raider temple and some others with our guide Sam, a 47-year old former school teacher. He was only 11 when the Khymer Rouge fighting began. [read on]
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