Angkor Wat and Siem Reap

We flew from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. When we arrived, it was immediately evident we were in a much more popular tourist destination. First class hotels surrounded the outskirts of Angkor Wat, and there was a lot more evidence of urban planning and a general cleaniness compared to where we had just been. There was still much evidence of poverty, but thanks to a very, very nice hotel the whole country just felt different. After getting our pictures taken at the gates of Angkor Wat, collected our 3 day passes (company that owns Angkor Wat = Vietnamese...the Vietnamese own a lot of Cambodia's assets, something the Cambodians resent), we settled into our very nice rooms and cooled down for a bit (soooo hot there). After some reading in the A/C, Jamie, Leia, Kelly and I walked into town (about a 20-25 min, seemed longer b/c it was so hot) with Jen a Red Cross director in Australia, to donate blood to a children's hospital. I wasn't hesistant about giving blood because Jen was there the whole time and while I trusted the hospital, it was comforting to know that she knew exactly what to look out for in terms of proper sanitary and safety precautions. After giving blood we treated ourselves to a very western lunch of Mexican. That night we had a group dinner at this place called Temple (lots of great restaurants in Siem Reap...note that you will not see a single local eating in them though), where there was traditional absara dancing while we ate. Normally, I do not like dinner entertainment, but I enjoyed the dancing a lot, and in all had a great night.

The next morning we were up at 4:30 am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Because it was the wet season when we were there, we didn't actually get to see the sun come up (a lot of clouds), but it was still great to be there in the early morning and enjoy the serenity. Also, the massive head start allowed us to see a lot before the heat became unbearable. Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th Century as a temple for King Suryavarma. The main temple, Angkor Wat, is the one on their national flag, and the one you see in most of the pictures. In the 40 miles surrouding this temple there are about 285 other temples, stunning and intricate in their own way. Because there are so many, and also because many are not open to the public, it was great to have a guide who led us to ones where we could get the most out of our time there. I had such a great time playing with my different camera settings capturing the beauty of the temples, and the legends and histories that I heard are something I'll never forget. I highly recommend a trip to Angkor Wat, not only for the beauty, but also the perspective you gain when you see and learn about how much effort went into to creating such a world wonder. And then also to see how much their civilization has drastically changed since that golden age.

We spent the morning of the next day visiting more temples, but since we started later in the morning we were so hot it was harder to enjoy them. So, to break up the heat a bit, we took a drive to the Landmine Museum, about 40 min away. The Landmine museum was interesting because I got to learn about how one man was making such a huge difference in his own country. It was also inspiring. This man had spent much of his teenage years laying these mines as a soldier in the Khmer Rouge. (A perfect example of what can happen when educating youth is not made a priority) Once he came to realize what the Khmer Rouge was about, and his role in it, he defected to the Vietnmese army that was invading Cambodia. After the Vientmese were run out, he began to work to improve his country by eradicating mines and now runs this center while supporting a number of children whose lives have been affected by landmines.

After experiencing one more temple we headed back to the hotel where I spent the after relaxing by the pool. That night we had a great final dinner at a nice restaurant, and then some of us headed out dancing. The next morning we were up early to head to Bangkok. We were supposed to be driving (which I was dreading) which would have taken the whole day on a horrible road, but a bridge had collapsed, so we ended up having to fly last minute. While this was an expensive alternative, it made the last day a bit better than having to spend the whole time in a van going over a bumpy and partially paved road.