I had been looking forward to traveling to Cambodia and in particular Siem Riep which is famous for being one of the wonders of the world. The journey across the border is full of cons mainly due to unscrupulous amounts of travel agencies selling tickets that only take you half the way,and then you get hit up for more travel costs once you hit the border.
Anyway after armed with much research on the do's and dont's I did the whole journey without any external help. Once across the border it was a 3 hour journey to Sien Riep.
I stayed here for about 5 days and managed to catch the AFL grand final here with a couple of Aussies in a local bar. Since I have been travelling Asia, nearly all places I have been have had some form of cable tv to utilise. The Australia network ( One Channel) has been handy to catch up on local news.
Well the roads here are flat as a tac so I hired a push bike and rode out to the temples. The advantage being the slow transport allows you to stop and start where you like and take in a lot more than if you hire a Tuk Tuk driver for example.
Angkor Wat was awesome but just like the city of Siem Reip, the area around it is full of beggars. Mainly young children aged from about 4 years old up trying to sell you everything from books, drinks, and totally useless nick-knacks. Being on the push bike I could just ride off when it all got to much, however those in tour buses and the like would normally have 20 odd kids and adult beggars hanging around the door as soon as they got off.
I also visited the temple of Ta Prohm which was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.
The temple's records indicate the site was home to more than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an additional 80,000 souls in the surrounding villages working to provide services and supplies.
Ta Prohm is now in ruins with the strangler vine fig trees taking hold over the main structure and slowly sqeezing it to bits. This however makes it all the more interesting and I got some great photos here.
After I had done all the touristy bits here I was keen to move on.
Next stop Phnom Penh ..
