Siem Reap and the Temples of Ankor

Okay. This is more like it. Siem Reap is a much better place to visit compared to Phnom Pehn.

I did something a bit hasty and hired a moto driver for three days to show me around. Although I think I overpaid, I can safely say that I am seeing all of the major and even far off sites in and around Siem Reap. I bought a three day temple pass on the first day and saw some of the big hitters the first afternoon. On the second day, I saw the sunrise at Ankor Wat then went to some of the farther temples to complete the giant circuit. On the third day, I saw the Roluos group and took a boat ride to Tonle Sap lake. The trip to the lake was the only disappointment. It basically consisted of a boat ride through the floating village to a restaurant where they had farmed catfish and crocodiles. It had no real cultural value at all.

Overall, the temples were amazing. Some are over a thousand years old and are just breathtaking. There are countless number of restoration projects going on to help preserve the different sites. However, some places like Ta Prohm have a particular aesthetic about them due to the jungle taking over. There are giant trees whose roots look like melted candle wax over very old temple ruins. It kind of makes you feel like Indiana Jones searching for some precious relic. The restoration IS needed since there are places that look a bit fragile. In places, it was to the point where I was afraid to touch or lean against anything for fear that an entire wall could collapse on me. Hopefully the work will extend the life of these temples for people to enjoy in the future.

Just like South America, there is a gringo or farang trail in South East Asia. Although the scenery and the people are different from South America, there is something vaguely familiar with traveling through Asia. Laos has the Luang Prabang to Vientiane route and Cambodia has the Siem Reap to Sihanoukville route. Both are well traveled by tourists and have good infrastructure for travel, tours, and accommodations. I have five days scheduled in Siem Reap. This is likely one day too many, but I'm also handcuffed due to the protests in Bangkok which has the airport shut down. We'll see how things develop tonight, I may be busing it back to Thailand.