Siam Reap/ Angkor
Trip Start
Oct 16, 2007
1
14
75
Trip End
Jun 21, 2008
Siam Reap, Cambodia
Friday, December 7, 2007
When we finally arrived in Siam Reap we were dropped off a bit out of town, and jumped on a tuk tuk which took us round a few guest houses till we found a decent one. We agreed to meet the driver later on that evening to discuss a trip to the temples at Angkor, then headed out for a decent dinner and some cheap beer. Later on we agreed to get up early to watch the sunrise over the temples, so it was off to bed for an early night, then up at 4:30 the next morning.
It seemed the chap we had agreed to go to the temples with wasn't able to come as he'd apparently hurt his leg in an accident with another tuk tuk. He seemed fine to us however, and even followed us most of the way through town. We later found out that he owned several tuk tuks, and had probably decided he either couldn't be bothered with the early start, or would instead go with a couple who were likely to tip a bit more! Instead we got another young chap who was learning English, and was keen to get us to help him out with a few words, getting his books out at every stop.
So we arrived at the temples at around 5.30, and watched a spectacular sunrise over the massive Angkor Wat, along with several thousand other tourists. The rest of the day was spent exploring many of the other fantastic temples around the area, all of which are around 900 years old. Some are still in amazing condition given the age, and those that aren't seem even more picturesque as the jungle has begun to take over. Interesting fact: it was at these temples that the first Tomb Raider movie was filmed.
Eventually, the temples got a bit too much and we headed back to the town for some well earned rest before another fantastic dinner; spicy beef for Flis, oysters in tamarind sauce for Henry, both delicious and only $2.50! The next day we spent wandering round the market, and stopping in at some of the many bars around town. It was a nice change having a day off, with the only dampener being Arsenal's 2-1 loss to Middlesborough that we watched in the evening, and one spilt beer. The last day in Siem Reap was more of the same, and next it's onto a boat to Battambang.
