Travel is a Wonderful Thing The journey not the arrival matters.. T.S Eliot

19 Sept.

After Breakfast it was an 8am pick up and we headed off to Siem Reap The weather is balmy. The roads are very busy but before long we had left the city behind and were charging through the countryside that we had seen from the air days before. Flat, Flooded countryside. Most of the people seemed to live alongside the roads edge with primary industry all around.Rice, brickmaking, wood carving all being produced along this vibrant stretch. The countryside kept changing from rice paddies to brick works to wood mills but all the while the constant was flat landscape. Public transport was full due to people going home for the full moon celebrations. Eucalyptus trees were grouped along the roadway which was very unexpected. The trip took 5 hours and we peeled out of our van glad to stretch our bodies.

Bopha Ankor is a quaint hotel with lush gardens and friendly staff. After unpacking we headed into town. The market is busy with everything you could want. Meat being cut up and sold next to clothes shop. Shoe sellers mixed in wherever they could get a spot. After some shopping we headed back to the hotel as a few of us were feeling a bit off colour. Drinks at the bar while we waited for Andrew to consult with the hotel engineer ( Bad plumbing ) resulting in a room change then off into town by Tuk Tuk. All the while it's raing "Cats and Dogs", speaking of that Celeste had a run in with a Rat that was as big as a cat. Dinner at Khmer Kitchen and had a great meal for $4.00 each with drinks , down to Pub street then into bed.

20 Sept

6.30 wake up call and we are off to the Temples which are only 6klms away. These fantastic structures are very impressive considering how old they are and it's very exciting ( for me anyway ) that you can touch and feel these structures built so long ago. " Tha Prom" the temple in "The Kingdom of Doom" was awesome and far better that i imagined.  AngkorWat is impressive, imposing, magnificent and everything else you can say about this structure. Moats stretching for Kilometres, walls to keep invaders out and a home for the King. Many statues are headless due to the destruction by occupiers and the Khmer Rouge during the 70s. We all climbed the inner tower and the effort was well worth the fantastic view it afforded. The engineering is a testament to the people who built these enormous structures. It has rained constantly so as a result we were able to get around easily as there were no crowds.

Over the next few days we went to silk worm farms, mixed with locals and absorbed this beautiful country with its charms and simplicity. Very hard to imagine how a people can move forward considering the atrocities that was thrust upon them by Pol Pot.