Today we arrived in beautiful Siem Reap, gateway to the stunning temples of Cambodia including Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm.
The border crossing was hot and sticky and the smell could get a bit much at times, all part of the experience though! The first thing that hits you when entering Cambodia though is the genuine friendliness of the people. I noticed in Thailand that sometimes people would be friendly for a sale, whereas in Cambodia it seems more of a genuinely friendliness. And its heart warming to think how friendly they are after the horrific past that many of them suffered through under Pol Pot and the Kymer Rouge in the late 70's.
The difference in the landscape is immediate after crossing the border. It's countryside on either side however the Thai side is heavily farmed whereas the Cambodia side seemed more baron, much like driving across the Masai Mara in the dry season.
We set off early on the first morning to see the temples of Angkor including my personal favourite Ta Prohm, famous for being used in the Tomb Raider movie. We started at Angkor Thom, the gateway to the temples where we saw elephants and long-tailed macaques alongside the beautiful ruins. The monkeys were very timid and would take bananas gently from your hand before sitting next to you with their young to eat them.
The temples are all situated near the main temple called Angkor Wat which we were going to see the next morning. The main thing you notice with all the temples in Cambodia is the intricate details on every square inch of stone. It must have taken weeks to carve the tiny details into just one slab of stone.
After this we climbed to the top of Bayon which was quite challenging in such humidity. The steps are at a very steep 50 degree angle so wooden steps had been placed there to help people reach the top. It's quite serene at the top and even though there are tourists everywhere it's somehow more relaxed, it's less noisy and fast paced. There were towers at the top with gigantic faces carved on each side. At the top of some of the temple's towers you could see and hear bats too.
After seeing a fair few temples we took the scenic balloon tour. It's a hot air balloon that's attached via cable to the ground so you get an arial view of Angkor Wat. The view from the top is spectacular and gives a better glimpse of the scale and layout of Angkor and Siem Reap.
We headed into Siem Reap for lunch to see the markets and have a bite to eat. Cambodian food is absolutely delicious! We tried all sorts of local food on our stay here including delicacies like the fish amok and lok lak, all topped off with a fresh coconut and a banana pancake. It's quite entertaining watching geckos run across the wall while you eat too. Getting into town is easy, tuk tuks are everywhere, and like everything in Cambodia it only costs 'one dollar'.
We then headed to Ta Prohm, the Tomb Raider temple as it is called in the town. This for me was as amazing as the main temples as it was left in the state it was found, consumed by the jungle almost. There are gigantic hollow tree roots that have been growing for around 600 years, slowly they have invaded the temple and now its roots are wrapped around every part. Even in this temple which was one of the smaller ones it was easy to get lost, it's like a labyrinth of small rooms and passageways that lead into grander areas.
That night we were treated to a special dinner on Pub Street in Siem Reap. Local girl dancers called Aspara dancers performed a traditional dance for us while we ate. This was a great experience, made all the better with live traditional music! We also got to try a local cocktail called the Tomb Raider, which of course was 'Angelina Jolies's favourite' while filming there. As with Thailand the football's quite big out here too, all the bars have it on to draw people in.
The next day we got up at 4am to see the sun rise behind the collosal Angkor Wat. This was beautiful. In front of the temple was a pool full of bright pink water lilies which made for some cracking sunrise photos. After the sun appeared above the temple the temperature soared and the humidity could be felt again. We then went inside the temple and climbed to the top.
Around the temple are carvings of women, over the years the Kymer people have rubbed the breasts believing it would bring good luck, however the acidity in the sweat of peoples hands has left them quite shiny!
We saw quite a few monks in traditional orange robes here, the first since Bangkok. After Angkor Wat we sampled some local street food including rice cakes, banana crisps and sticky rice in bamboo.
That afternoon after a dip in the pool we visited Banteay Srey, another temple further out of Siem Reap. This one was unique, it had more Indian influence, was carved from red rock and had even more detail in the stonework.
Our last stop before flying south was Kampong Phluck, a floating village. They live on a seasonal lake and are reliant on it too. Many survive on the fish they catch while others ferry tourists around. This was a real eye opener to the scale of poverty in Cambodia.
The next morning we flew to the capital, Phnom Penh to see the royal palace as well as the horrific killing fields and prisons from Pol Pot's genocidal regime. I had to keep reminding myself that anybody over the age of 30 had suffered under the regime and was now trying to live their lives. The descriptions and photographs inside the prison depicting the torture and murder are ones I will never forget, as too were the killing fields.
Ready for something depicting a happier time in Cambodia's history we headed to the museum and royal palace to see some of the ancient statues, including a lot that we noticed were missing from Angkor Wat. This is when we did a Cyclo tour around Phnom Penh, where you sit in a seat placed on the front of a bicycle while someone else peddles and steers for you. A bit daunting in the rush hour traffic.
That night we went for a traditional meal at our tour guide's house in Phnom Penh and saw an English class for children. The children can speak amazing English considering they learn after school and had only been doing it for a couple of years. The most amazing thing was the ambition in the youth of Cambodia. They all aspire to be successful and go to university, something I think is lacking in many western countries.
But again before long it was time to fly off to the next country so the next morning we packed up and headed to the airport.