My first encounter with Siem Reap was a bumpy ride on the back of a motorcycle to my guesthouse after getting off the boat from Battambang. It was a clay road with huge potholes; I was really imagining Siem Reap to be hugely developed due to the Angkor Wat tourist draw. I finally got to my guesthouse (also on a dirt road) but did discover that Siem Reap is actually a quite pretty little town, very tourist oriented with "Pub" street describing just that - A big street full of restaurants and bars, etc. - safe, fun, easy to navigate. I arrived in Siem Reap the day before New Year's Eve, so all the businesses were gearing up for a big party.
I bought a 3-day pass to the Angkor Wat temples; the first day I rented a bike and road the 25-30 min to see Angkor Wat (but not without a 45 min detour getting lost first!) and a couple of other temples New Year's Eve. It was crowded, but I managed to find spots to wander and was completely mesmerized by the oldness and bigness of these temples and the carving were mind-blowingly ornate. I loved the old, melting trees most of all - as I expected I would. I had fun wandering around at will, stoppng to take pictures, and riding past a jungle full of insects that sounded like bells - in fact, at first I thought someone was ringing bells, lots of them - then I realized it was the sound of the forest. The bells combined with the harmony of strange birds really made it a magical experience. The second day I rested my tired muscles and took a tuk-tuk to the more distant temples; far fewer tourists here, and I wandered around where I wanted while the drived waited for me, snoozing in the shade. The third day I rented a bicycle again, and made my way to the most remote jungle temple - there I encounted only 4 other people - had to walk the bike down a sandy path through the jungle and emerged at this enormous ruin with huge trees - you can explore at will, no one there to tell you where you can or can not go, or look. The experience of seeing the Angkor Wat temples was as awesome as I thought it would be - more so, actually; I've never seen anything like it before and never will again.
