Temples of Angkor

We've spent the past two days at the Temples of Angkor, a huge complex of 800-year old temples in the Cambodian jungle. Maybe you remember them from Tomb Raider? They have been spectacular, and well worth the long trip to get here....

Saturday morning, we left Bangkok at 8:30am on a minibus that made some rather exciting passes on the two lane highway. Sometimes it's better to not look forward. We were ferried the last few kilometers to the border in a cramped little taxi. The border itself was a bustle of activity, a dusty, dynamic stretch of road with all sorts of trucks, pull-carts, tourists, vendors, and guards milling about. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainry. We cross the border the old fashioned way: on foot.

From there it's another bus to a tourist waiting area and then another bus and finally a tuk-tuk, a little passenger carriage attached the to back of a moped. All in all, we pulled into Siem Reap, the launching pad for visits to the temples, after 12 hours in transit. Also bear in mind that everywhere your bus stops you are accosted by people selling you things. Your tuk-tuk driver brings you to guesthouses where he gets a kickback. There's haggling too. So we were tired.

The first thing that made my jaw drop in Cambodia was the poverty. The differences on crossing the border are staggering. The place seems safe and everyone we meet is very friendly and when I look across the street as I write this I see people having fun, but they don't have a lot. Siem Reap is a shining light for this country in some ways because it attracts so much tourism money and provides employment. But I can't get the idea out of my head of each kid here looking at all the massive deluxe hotels that they pass on their way to school, and at some point asking their parents why their house has a tin roof.

Nevertheless, Siem Reap has a lot of charm and is quite a deal. We sit each night along the main pedestrian street and enjoy 50 cent beers. We hire a tuk tuk for the day for $15. As in we have a driver who naps while he waits for us and takes us whereever we like.

During lunch yesterday an adorable Cambodian girl who should have been in school came up to us on the street. We put on our "ignore" face, which unfortunately is more effective than politely saying no with a smile. The girl asks where we're from and I say Canada. She them recites from memory: "Canada. Capital is Ottawa. Prime Minister Stephen Harper." I was noticeably impressed.

And the temples. Each one we saw was better than the one before. Huge stone structures that tower over you. There are smiling buddha faces, steep stairs, temples surrounded by water, temples that are falling apart, temples that have been destroyed by hundreds of years of forest growth, temples for marvelling at the sunset, and temples for enjoying the sunrise. I must upload pictures.

But for now, a little rest. We leave Phnom Penh tomorrow, the capital of Cambodia and "the pearl of the Orient".