Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Cambodia

Angkor Wat is in a forest. The trees grow all over the buildings.

It is hot here. Hot like DC in July. Add lots of dust and lots of diesel and noise. Some people wear surgical masks to keep out the dust and fumes. The worst is being on the back of a motor bike stuck in congested traffic, behind a bus. You end up breathing exhaust in addition to dust.

The main strip is loaded with big hotels. It has the look of Atlantic City. Five star places next to lots of run down places.

There are lots of Korean groups here. They travel in groups through the temples and out to dinner. Buses take the whole group from place to place. Many more 5 star hotels are being built in Siem Reap. However there are a finite supply of temples to see, so expect in the next few years all the temples will be a circus. Maybe casinos are next...

One place, frequented by locals, has three TVs on a wall. Each playing a different show. About a hundred chairs are placed so people can come in a watch them.

Shade trees are in short supply. Despite the heat and lack of AC, many folks go out of their way to kill trees on the side of the road. I guess they are getting in the way of something.

Then there is the curse of the common. The streets are loaded with trash and dust, though the houses are clean.

Poverty is expressed much more conspicuously here than Laos. Walking around Angkor, everyone including Buddhist monks have a tried and true means to get money from tourists. Cute children try to sell postcards. Buddhist try to get their future education paid for. For a dollar a day I could send a monk to university. I doubt it is a scam because they are monks and it does make sense to ask tourists for a little payback on 2,600 years of amazing architecture.

I spent two days seeing all the temples I could. We went on a 100 Km trek to a temple that few bother to go see because it is too far and not as big as Angkor Wat. The far out temple I saw was notably occupied by the Khmer Rouge and then by Hollywood, to film a movie, like Tomb Raiders.

After a while some children joined me and pointed out which way to go in the deserted temple. In one place bats flew out as I walked in...

The motor bike ride was just as interesting as the temple. I got to see loads of villages on the way and see the amazing use of bicycles, trucks and motor bikes.

Gas is sold in Johnnie Walker bottles by road side stands. They have gas stations. Maybe not enough though.

Trucks are often heavily loaded, well beyond any manufacturers rating. So are motor bikes.

My motor bike driver for two days was Mr Vireak (vireak02@yahoo.com) his cell phone is (855) 12 86 30 16. He drove my around for about 200 Km and I got to see a lot more of the off-the-beaten-path stuff. For this, I am very grateful to Mr Vireak. I recommend him to any one visiting the temples in Siem Reap. The back of a motor bike is probably less safe than a bus and not as comfortable, but I got to see a lot of stuff in Cambodia up close.