Cambodia!

We left Kratie early on Tuesday morning and set off on yet another long journey, this time to Siem Reap. We finally arrived around 4pm, which gave us just enough time to get from the bus station to a guesthouse, drop off our bags and then hop into a tuk-tuk to...

...ANGKOR WAT!

Yes, after nine years of waiting, the time to see this masterpiece had finally arrived. We got to the entrance gates just after 5pm, which meant we could buy our tickets there and then for sunset, but they would only start from the following day, so in effect, we were getting a little bit of a freebie! Of course, there was no way that I could commit a heinous offence by buying just a one-day pass - oh no, I went for 3 full days!!!

Our tuk-tuk drivers recommended that we view the sunset from a mountain overlooking Angkor Wat, so off we set up the path, just as the sky started to turn beautiful shades of orange. Just as we made it to the top though, and began our ascent up some steep steps, the heavens opened and it absolutely HEAVED it down! So, it was just hilarious really, we just stood under my umbrella (which was not use for 4 people at all), getting soaked, and worrying about all the precious non-waterproof belongings we had in our daysacks, as we'd all been keeping our most important bits and bobs near to us on the bus journey!!! By some miracle, nothing was ruined, at least in my bag!

Once back at the guesthouse, we dried off and grabbed some dinner. It was soon time for bed before getting up (YET AGAIN) at the crack of dawn, literally this time... 4.30am did my alarm go off on Wednesday, and by 5.15am, we were back outside Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. Was it worth it?...

...What do you think?!!

The early start meant we had loads of time to cram in the main sites on the "little circle" route that most people view. After watching the full sunrise, we spent about an hour exploring the complex, viewing the bas reliefs and for me, all this was done whilst listening to Tomb Raider themes on my iPod, I was in the game at last!

Next stop was Angkor Thom, the walled city just north of AW. The approach to the south gate was particularly impressive:

Devas lining the approach to Angkor Thom

The Bayon is within Angkor Thom, and it really is a spectacular place, 216 stone faces look out, in the cardinal directions, over the forest. I've never seen anything quite like it. After taking in a few more of the Thom temples, it was time for lunch and then just as it started to rain in the afternoon, we were off to Ta Prohm, THE Tomb Raider temple (well, in the film and as far as I am concerned, that doesn't count!!!) But anyway... this is the one that has the trees growing over the walls, so I really was in my element here and a good few Lara Croft poses were struck by yours truly! I must get around to wading through the hundreds of photos I took that day!

Anyway, I could ramble on and on about Angkor for pages, but I won't - the following day, I went off on my own back to the area to view the main sites on the "big circle" route and planned for the third day to be spent visiting a smaller area of temples at Roulous before visiting AW one last time for sunset. It wasn't to be, alas, as on Friday, it was overcast and then raining for most of the afternoon. It was a bit of a shame, but I felt that I had done it all justice in 2 days (plus it gave me 7½ hours to kill in an internet cafe and I finally got some more pictures uploaded to Flickr (check them out!!!))

On Saturday, I left Siem Reap and headed to Phnom Penh. Really, they should do bus miles!!! I stayed at Okay Guesthouse, near The Royal Palace, which I managed to cram in that afternoon. It was very beautiful, but similar to The Grand Palace in Bangkok, so it was a little bit "been there, done that!" but on the positive side, also "box ticked!" The Silver Pagoda was a bit of a damp squib - yes, there are some amazing treasures in there, but when most of the silver floor tiles are covered with carpet, and the ones that are exposed are covered in duct tape, it's a little hard to be excited. The guide books always make things sound much more exciting than they often are...

On Sunday, I got up early (not by choice now, but by body-clock habit) and walked to the S21 Prison, Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It wasn't quite as gruesome as I was expecting, but it was a very sombre experience to witness the school that was converted into the Khmer Rouge's main prison, where over 17,000 people were tortured and later executed at the Choeng Ek killing fields. it was hard to imagine how all this happened, under Pol Pot's dictatorship, just a few years before I was born. I also learned that for a long time, the Khmer Rouge were supported by the U.N. - how did that happen, it beggars belief???

In the afternoon, I took a motorbike ride to Choeng Ek Genocide Memorial - Mum, please note that I DID wear a crash helmet, so my insurance should have covered me!!! It was much smaller than I expected and again, not quite a grim, but still very humbling. It is now very serene, almost like an oasis of calm after the horrors that were carried out here, the peace interrupted only by the croaking of frogs in the pools formed in where many of the mass graves were excavated...

Sunday evening, and a long day, I decided it was time to leave Cambodia and head off for pastures new. I booked my ticket, bought the guidebook and set my alarm - ready to head off (on my own, nonetheless) to Vietnam!