Homeward Bound

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Trip Start Dec 20, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Sep 12, 2009

  Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, September 4, 2009

We had an absolutely great time in Cambodia and especially around the temples and ruins of Angkor Wat. It was a full day journey to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap and overall it was pretty uneventful ride. We had heard some pretty bad horror stories about the border crossings and the road conditions, but i guess the paving job was completed this year so things went very smoothly. Its crazy that even though the border towns are only a few hundred yards apart, you can tell immediately which side is Thailand and which side is Cambodia. Because of numerous reasons, including the finacial states of the countries, Thailand was so much more modern and had better infrastructure. Cambodia was dustier, dirtier and much poor. There was a constant flow of goods moving back and forth on huge pushcarts with 4 or 5 people pushing or pulling it. The people are such hard workers and so friendly.

We stayed 4 nights in Siem Reap and spent 2 full days touring around the ruins. We hired a tuk tuk driver and he drove us around and waited for us for as long as we needed. The whole area of ruins is absolutely HUGE.... with tons of smaller areas that are just as beautiful but less touristy. Angkor Wat itself was spectacular... but like the movies but better. The whole place is so massive but when you look closely there was just so much detail. All the buildings were built over the course of hundreds of years (starting around the 11th or 12th century), depending on who the ruler was and what religion they were. There are parts built with respect for Buddhism, Hinduism and many others. People say that you should spend one whole day just in Angkor Wat but we found that to be much more then you need. Things start to look the same and you don't appreciate it as much if you spend too long there.

One of the most specular ruins was the one where Tomb Raider was filmed.... gorgeous! Nature is starting to take its toll on the area with huge trees growing around the buildings and starting to knock them down. There seems to be a bit of controversy over if the government should start cutting these trees down and preserving the area or just leaving to natures devices. There has been ongoing restoration from companies all over the world and they seem to be really particular about putting the building back to the way that they originally were.

For us 2 full days was enough time to really get a good feel of the area.... it was great!

We had originally planned to spend our last week on the beachs of Koh Chang ( an island 5hrs from Bangkok ) but recieved some news from home and decided to head back to Vancouver Island a week early. When it came down to it, it was a bit sad to leave asia. Its amazing how fast our 9 month trip went by.... can't believe that it is over! Our trip was such a great learning experience for the both of us. We grew alot over the past months and are happier then ever being together. If we haven't killed each other after spending 9 months, 24/7, together... then i think its safe to say that we should make a great married couple!!

Now back to the real world... gotta find a job and a place to live so that we can save up for the next big adventure!!

Thanks for everyone who followed along with our blog... im actually going to miss writing them!

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