From Battambang, there are buses to Siem Reap that take about 3 hours, or a boat ride that takes about 6. We decided to take the scenic route for a change. We headed to the dock at 7am, and found that this "big boat" we had been told about, was just a glorified canoe. It started raining just after we got on, and was so heavy that it started coming in sideways, into the boat, soaking us, and our luggage! We set off, and it was great, until about half an hour in, the driver stopped off and bought a big bag of beers, and made a few more pit stops along the way to restock his supply. That was it. He didn't stop drinking for the entire time, which would have been okay, but the last bit of the journey was over some REALLY choppy water, and he didn't seem to realise. He was just gunnning it, crashing into waves, and I could feel the fibreglass behind me bending. I was SO happy when we made it out of the worst. When we got to the dock in Siem Reap it was like somthing from a zombie apocalypse. The boat hadn't moored yet, and tuk tuk drivers jumped on. So many of them. They clambered in the door, jumped on the roof and came around to the back of the boat, and shimmied along on the outside of the boat. They jumped in next to any foreigner who wasn't already being pestered, trying to get us to go with them. Luckily, the guesthouse we booked provided a free pick-up, so we didn't have to deal with that. The problem was though, that we couldn't get off the boat. There were so many drivers that it was physically impossible. It was INSANE! And hilarious! Our pick-up was waiting for us when we finally emerged from the boat, and he took us off to the guesthouse. When he pulled up outside, we were certain he had made a mistake. The place we were staying in was AMAZING! We paid $8 a night for luxury. There was even a fish pond with Dr Fish, free to all guests! When we arrived, we were given water and cold refresher towels, and were given that every time we came back to the hostel looking even a tiny bit shiny. They had also made a mistake and overbooked, so we spent 2 nights in the $18 a night VIP room! NICE!
The next day we headed to Angkor Wat for sunrise. It was really beautiful. It is really difficult to put it into words. It was really magnificent. After that, our tuk tuk driver was supposed to take us to 2 more temples, Angkor Thom, and the jungle temple (think Tomb Raider). He, however, decided to take us to extra places along the way. Angkor Thom was mind-blowing, with faces carved on all of the spires and the towers. The jungle temple was awe-inspiring, with trees growing out of the ruins, which made you realise just how long the ruins have been standing there. The other temples were good too, but I think it may have been better if our driver had just taken us to the main three temples, because after a 4:30am start, and 7 hours of temples, we were REALLY templed out. We had bought a three day temple pass, but with hindsight we should have just gotten a one day pass, for half the price, because it was just TOO much! Don't get me wrong, it was amazing, but after a while things just started blending into one another!
The next day we just relaxed, and updated the blog. We hung around at the hostel, and wandered into town later. It was quite nice to have a bit of relaxation time. The following day, at breakfast, we started chatting to an English couple. We hit it off straight away, and it was awesome. We had originally planned to stay in Siem Reap for a couple of days and then head East into the jungle, but instead we ended up spending 7 days in Siem Reap, 3 of which were spent with our new friends, playing cards and hanging out. It was great, and taught us an important lesson our travels, that it's not just about seeing as much as possible, and doing ALL the temples, but also about the people we meet along the way. Hopefully we will be in touch with Jerri and Lee in the future, when we have all settled down in England again.
