Currency: Riehl

Highlight: Sunrise at Angkor, Ta Phrom, Night Market & seeing a grown man wearing a 'Glee Fan Club' shirt

Our Adventure:

Cambodia is indeed a country of extremes. I had heard so many contrasting stories about this country that I was so keen to form my own - which has ended up being a combination of positives and negatives - but above all admiration for the people who have struggled through it all.

As Lonely Planet describes it:
'There's a magical aura about Cambodia that casts a spell on so many who visit this charming yet confounding kingdom. Here you can ascend to the kingdom of the gods at Angkor Wat, a spectacular fusion of symbolism, symmetry and spirituality, or you can descend into the hell of Tuol Sleng, and come face to face with the Khmer Rouge and their killing machine. Welcome to the conundrum that is Cambodia, an intoxicating place with a glorious past, a tragic present and an unwritten future.'

Day 1: Arriving in Siem Reap

We caught an early morning bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap and 8 hours and 3 scams later we were pleasantly suprised to arrive in a jostling little metropolis which has clearly been primed to cater to the thousands of tourists it receives each year eager to explore the Angkor Wat temples, the eighth wonder of the world. We got settled into our hotel and then went for our first traditional Cambodian dinner (not the best food i've ever had) and for a walk around the town which is packed with many restaurants and pubs, both Western and Cambodian before heading to bed.

Day 2: Angkor Wat Temple & Aspara dinner

The next morning we organised a 3 day pass for the temples and a tuk tuk driver for the next 3 days, Mr Jan, who was awesome although his was English was not so hot and our Khmer is less than desireable, it lead to some hilarious moments and some world class mime work over the next few days. We decided to ease into it with a half day tour of Angkor Wat, not knowing much about the temples I was left completely over-whelmed by the immensity of this religious complex. The temples of Angkor, capital of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, are the perfect fusion of creative ambition and spiritual devotion. Made by the Khmer kings in a process that lasts almost four centuries, this magnificent area has been abandoned and hidden by the forest. Re-discovered by a French man about 150 years ago, Angkor Wat is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We explored the main parts of Angkor Wat, which took a few hours before having a rest in one of the beautiful gardens with a wrinkly old Cambodian granny and her grand-daughter. One of the most devastating things about Siem Reap is the hundreds of tiny children wandering around the temples all day trying to sell their goods to the tourists and although it can get very irritating it was really heart-breaking to see their hungry, tired faces constantly tryng to get you to buy something (decided that I definitely need to open up a school in Cambodia at some point in my life.) After fighting the hundreds of other tourist for some space to sit and watch the sunset, we headed back to town for some dinner.

After not being particulary sold on the Cambodian food the night before, we went to an international restaurant that also had a 3 hour traditional dance and music show. Apsara dancing forms 1 of 2 forms of traditional dancing in Cambodia which has its roots in animism and primitive magic with Hindu forms introduced during the time of Indian influence beginning in the 1st century; the dance in turn drew its inspiration from the mythological court of the gods and from its celestial dancers, the Apsaras. After dinner, card games and a few Angkor beers which is literally cheaper than water we headed to bed as we were getting up at 5am for the sunrise tour of the temples the following day.