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Siem Reap The road to Siem Reap is a long one so we decided to have a night in Phonm Pehn to break up the day. As we didn't arrive until around 7pm we were left to find a room in the dark. The slight problem with Phenm Penh is it just has so many places to stay but they are quite spread out so after an hour and 2 tuktuk rides we eventually checked into OK guesthouse. It was quite nice for the $10 we paid and we booked our bus to Siem Reap there so was all pretty easy. At 8am we set off again in the usual uncomfortable bus, pulling in to Siem Reap at 5pm. After a long long bus journey we were happy to be greeted by one of the guesthouses tuktuk drivers and get whisked off to Palm Tree Lodge for the 3 nights we had decided to stay. First day we visited Beng Melea about 90km from Siem Reap. I would have to say the journey there and back was just as interesting the temple its self. We hired a tuktuk to take us there travelling through the little villages you actually see the real Cambodia instead of the shiny hotels and tourist bars. The children wave and shout hello with their big smiles. Apart from getting fleeced by lunch we liked Beng Melea its not a massive place compared to the other temples in the area but climbing through the crumbled rooms you get a sense of what a beautiful building it must have been. One of the staff decided to take it upon herself to be our tour guide, normally i would have said thanks but no thanks but she was helpful in making sure i didn't need medical attention from all the broken bones i'd managed to inflict on myself. The other appeal it has is how few people visit it, just a few tuktuks as opposed to the hoard of coaches probably for how far it is from the town and navigating the fallen walls through to building is not for the faint hearted. After our practice run we were ready for Angor Wat. The touristy thing to do is to start the day watching the sunrise appear over the temple but we heard its not an overly relaxing start as so many people are jostling for the same few prime meters of space, that and the fact that i would never get Kev out of bed at 4am just for a sunrise we headed off at a respectable 8am. By the time we arrived to pick up our tickets there were already hundreds of people queuing, either on bikes, in tour buses of all sizes and in tuktuks, we had gone we the latter option hoping to end up with a slightly better experience. We started off at Bayon which turned out to be one of my favourite of the day. Huge stone heads sit around the larger central temple with ornate carvings which are supposed to represent both mythical and ordinary life scenes, not a bad start to the day. Later we visited Ta Prohm climbing to the top tested both my short legs and cured any fear of heights i may have had! On foot we followed the route round the temples ending in Ankor Wat itself around 2pm. The heat had started to become too much especially as we had be walking and climbing without much of a rest. We were pretty pleased with our decision of hiring a tuktuk for the small amount of shade it gave but more so as they made a great get away car for all the dozens of people 'selling' anything and everything they could, but mostly for the beggars. It seems no matter how much i say 'we're not children people' it still affects me having to say no to children no older than 5-6 asking for money or candy. The one time we did give money was to a group of older men that had been affected by the war missing limbs or scarring from horrible burns, but instead of just following you until you gave in they sat together and played beautiful music as you walked round the temples. By the end of the day we were pooped, we liked Ankor Wat, it can't be helped the sheer size of alone couldn't fall to impress. But, the amount of touts, beggars and more Chinese/ Japanese tourists than i could have imagined changed the experience, however saying that you can not say you've been to Cambodia without seeing Ankor Wat!
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