Cambodia: Siem Reap - Angkor

We're back. Back in Singapore anyway. We have just spent the last 3 weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam, and although these places do have wifi access, a) it didn't seem to be fast enough for us to upload photos onto the blog, and b) we didn't bring our laptop for fear of it being eaten by tigers. So forgive us for the recent lack of blog posts, and sit back to enjoy the first episode of our Cambodian adventure.

Siem Reap provided a nice, easy introduction to Cambodia, being the touristy gateway to the Angkor temple complex. The temples of Angkor, and most especially Angkor Wat, truly need to be seen to be appreciated. As we walked along the causeway across the moat in front of Angkor Wat, it felt eerie, massive, and full of history, like we had stumbled upon this ruin from centuries ago and time had stood still. Go there, it will not disappoint. Built in the 12th Century, Angkor represents the height of Khmer art, and was the most powerful kingdom in SE Asia until it was sacked by the kingdom of Siam (Thailand) in the 15th Century. It was 'discovered' by a French missionary in the 19th Century, and since then has become somewhat of a tourist mecca.

Entrance to Angkor Wat

 

 Angkor Wat

 Preah Khan temple - in battle with a tree

It is hard not to be touched by the multitudes of Cambodians who swarm around the tourists hoping to sell you something, anything, for $1. The stories we have been told are heartbreaking. For example, our taxi driver had his father and 5 siblings killed by the Khmer Rouge during the civil war - tourists only started coming here in 1998. The country is opening up now, and the people, who have been through so much, are lovely.

These girls wanted to sell us postcards. We wanted ice cream, as it was 35 degrees. When buying our ice creams, they asked politely if we would buy them one too. We agreed. On handing over my US$20 note to the icecream man, he yelled something in Khmer to a group of kids nearby which must have been something like "these guys are shouting ice creams", and soon we are surrounded by a group of 10 or so kids. The icecream man then proceeds to give them all an ice cream-  and then give me $2 change from my $20 note. I then posed for a photo with the ice cream ambush instigators.