I'm not going to go on about the temples too much - check the photos or go yourself! There are soooo many to explore and I think the best thing about the region is that all the temples are so diverse and unique. There are modest hilltop temples exploiting the landscape, intricate and detailed, almost miniature complexes, commanding gateways and arches, lingas and ummas, maze-like structures with imposing stone faces, walls and walls of murals depicting everyday life, war and conquest, and then of course the unabashed and dominanting Angkor Wat itself. Some have been restored incredibly well, others left as they were (well, sort of) with flexing tree roots seemingly holding them together. We spent two days in total, and I certainly could have done more. A highlight was the River of A Thousand Lingas, which was, unsurprisingly, lots of lingas (representing the penis) and other images carved into the riverbed amidst beautiful lush jungle. The king used to come here and meditate, and I can see why.
Apart from the temples, Siem Reap (the town which services the tourists) was a pretty cool spot. Fortunately for us it is the low season and the world is apparantly in a financial crisis which makes for even less tourists - though this place can easily cater for a lot of people. The best part - the food. You can pay up to $5 (and yep thats all you really do need) for a scrumtious dish. We discovered an incredible vegetarian restaurant, Chamkar, which was innovative and insanely good.
Costa had his 27th birthday here, and we managed to sort ourselves out with a bottle of tequila which served as the starter for an interesting night. A couple of tuk tuk drives and we ended up at another pumping Khmer nightclub, with huge sounds (not in a good way, just loud, very loud, and very electronic) with menacing strobes that slowly ate away my sanity. It all turned a bit ugly when the kick-fighting started, so outta there!
For those who know Marty Smith, we met up with his brother, Greg, who has been working as a chef in Siem Reap for over eight months. Great to catch up with someone we know, and also who knows the town. The Laundry Bar became a regular haunt and boasted an impressive range of music, all catalogued in a giant yellow book, a la Yellow Pages.
Push bikes around the country-side led us to a daytime rave at the local primary school - seriously, 6-12 year olds going for it in the school grounds in front of ridiculously loud speakers...surely not good for the young-uns ear drums! And a golf driving range - a bargain at $3 fro 100 balls, with complimentary iced tea. Nik managed to shoot well over the net, which being in a suburban area was probably not ideal...as for Costa, whose was a golf virgin, he repeatedly managed to slice to the left, not even making the net. But I think it was when he took his top off (bloody hot) that it was a bit much for the locals and the professionalism of the place... 'King Kong' has been heard more than once!!
We took off for a couple of days to Battambang, a little provincial town to the west. A great day cruising the rural villages on motorbikes, getting lost, exploring more temples, and trying some delicious local fare. Then it was back to Siem Reap as Nik was leaving us for the beaches of Malayasia, or was that the Malaysian women Nik?! So another good night (Havana this time, though it proved more deadly than the Tequila) to farewell the Rat, and the me and the greek were alone again....heading east.
