The last of the four destination we had planned for Cambodia was the tourist hub of Siem Reap, known as the gateway to the Angkor temples. The journey there was a pleasant 45 minute flight North of Phnom Penh. The town is located on the edge of the Angkor Archeological Park, home to Angkor Wat and other temples built in the era of the ancient civilisation of the Khmer Empire.

The Temples of Angkor and predominantly Angkor Wat is sometimes referred to as the 8th wonder of the world. They are classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO due to their architectural, historical and cultural value of the Khmer Empire, that spanned from the 9th to 15th century. They are instantly recognisable in photos with the clashes of ruined building and nature, that give off a lost in time feel. Ta Phrohm, one of the many temples in the Angkor Park was featured in the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider; with its crumbling ruins and the huge trees growing on top of the old buildings, it was the perfect setting for the legendary ancient city in the film.

We obviously had high expectations, however as we know this can often leave you disappointed when you actual visit a place. In order to try and avoid this we opted for a 3 day pass and planned an itinerary that began with the smaller less popular temples on our first day, in a reverse route to the majority of the tourists. We thought this would help to avoid some of the crowds, although we knew we would need to brave the crowds on our second day for the popular temples.

The temples certainly did not disappoint! Our first day exploring the temples was amazing and one of our favourite things we have done. Our expectations were exceeded as we explored the small temple ruins in peace and quiet. Some sections had dilapidated while others stood tall and proud with intact internal hallways and roofs giving a glimpse of the temples former grandeur. Birds and monkeys chattered away around us as we marvelled at the beauty of these temples, it felt like it was straight out of an Indiana Jones film. Luckily we purchased a guide book to help us understand the history and purpose of each building. It explained that every new ruler had a different artistic style and use for these temples, some were even hospitals and tombs. The temples are connected by modern roads, but surrounded by thick jungle and lotus covered rivers. We explored the temples for a full morning, before heading back to our hotel to escape the midday heat.

The second day we planned a sunrise viewing at the famous Angkor Wat temple. Getting up at 4am was definetly worth it as we watched the sky slowly change with colour as the sun rose from behind. It was stunning and the few hundred people joining us didn't ruin the moment at all. It also allowed us to explore the temple at one of its quietest times of 6am without the large tour groups. We then sneaked off to Ta Phrohm, the temple off Tomb Raider, before any tour groups could get there. This temple was unbelievably magical with its crumbling walls taken over by huge trees. The whole place was stunning and we had no crowds to spoil it!

Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Archeological Park was the area we stopped in; It was full of tourist accommodation from backpackers to 5 star luxury hotels. The centre of town consisted of an old market circled with bars and restaurants. The whole place looks more like a Spanish tourist town than Cambodia. It was a surreal experience coming from the unattractive and uncomfortable capital of Phnom Penh. The place was made for tourists and it was definetly making plenty of money. But the hard reality of the situation is that these big booming business don't appear to giving that money back to local community. Just out of town the smooth roads change to rubble and the shacks begin to appear. Locals living in small buildings cooking outside on fires with young children running around in scruffy clothes. These people have jobs that they work hard on from cleaners in our hotel to tuk tuk drivers. In such a rich town how is the money not reaching or supporting the majority of the local population. The only thing we can think of is greed, money sadly changes how people feel in harsh ways.

From our experiences we have learnt to make sustainable tourist decisions to aid the whole country and not just line the fat cats pockets. We took a $20 tuk tuk around Angkor Wat Park rather than a tour, this gave back some money to the hard working tuk tuk drivers. We also tipped him, as he was a very friendly driver, but not an obscene amount. Giving huge unreasonable tips makes people think that's what they should always get and they expect and plan for that money that may not come again. We also learnt about how to look after these working children we had come across. You should never pay or give them money its not going to them its going in the pocket of whoever they work for and you will promote them to do the same thing the next day and not go to school. It's hard to do but its for the better in the long run, plus they are quiet sneaky about stealing jewellery off you or pickpocketing, but who can blame them they will be pressurised and taught this. This rule is the same for beggars, lots of people are working hard for their money. We have noticed the same beggars asking at the same restaurants everyday, they don't get a job because asking tourists for money is their job. It's not sustainable for the country to be begging and not working or learning. When shopping we only bought Cambodian products, as lots of items are brought in from China. We also did a lot of research on scams, there are tons here, If you give into any your just going to promote more people to do the same thing for money.

Angkor Wat has to be in our top 5 historical sites we have ever visted. We just hope the money from tourism goes to conserve and protect the temples for the future generations and to the hard working population of Cambodia. When reading local newspapers you can see how the government are starting to promote learning and hard work as well as stopping corruption and deception.

Cambodia has pleasantly surprised us in many ways, we have enjoyed learning about its rich and emotional history and culture. We are leaving the country with lots of new recipes ,stunning photographs, gifts and happy memories. But it has also reminded us of what should be valued in life. It maybe one of the poorest and corrupt countries we have visited on our trip but its been one of the highlights.

Next stop Thailand for Christmas.........