The Temples of Angkor
Saturday, April 14th, 2007
While the rest of Cambodia is still struggling to pull itself out of economic depression, Siem Reap is booming, thanks to the presence of the temples of Angkor on its doorstep. Since the onset of peace in Cambodia in 1998, tourists have started flocking to the area to see Angkor Wat, one of the Seven Manmade Wonders of the World, as well as the forty other temples of Angkor. After reading about a family who visited Angkor Wat in the late 90’s and had pretty much had the place to themselves, I had fantasies of us exploring this ancient holy place like in some Indiana Jones movie. Well, apparently, things have changed a bit in the last 10 years and Angkor Wat has turned into a three ring circus complete with hundreds of tour buses and thousands of camera-touting tourists. Siem Reap is expanding at an alarming rate with 5-star hotels popping up like pimples to accommodate all the tourists arriving daily to explore this now attainable wonder. We had to pay $40 each (kids free) for a 3-day pass to visit the temples and our guesthouse provided us with a tuktuk driver, Vuthey, for $15/day to take us around the temples. [read on]
tambour