Cambodia

Maybe it was just in contrast to the past week spent traversing the noisy, congested, motobike filled streets of Vietnam, but the Saigon airport seemed like heaven! It was quiet, empty and full of wine...clearly we had to take advantage.
After a quick back and shoulder massage we headed for a drink and snack before our flight to Cambodia. Unfortunately we took a little too much time to enjoy the airport, and when we arrived at the gate, it had been changed!

Picture us -- backpacks, shopping bags and a take-away cup of red wine in hand -- running through the peaceful Saigon airport at full speed as they called overhead for "meechll cwoosso" to report to Gate 19....not a pretty sight!

Thankfully we made the flight, and a quick 45 minutes later we were in Siem Reap, Cambodia where Maggie (our friend who joined us for the rest of the trip) was waiting.

Siem Reap was an interesting place and quite a change from our previous stops. It's a quiet, town located about 7km from Angkor Wat and exists for the most part as a tourist town. This meant that every step we took we were harassed by people offering dinner, massages, t-shirts or "tuk-tuk" rides (a motobike with a cart attached which is the main form of transport around town). Not exactly ideal, but fortunately our hotel was a bit outside of the main tourist strip giving us some peace and quiet when we wanted, but not too far a walk when we felt the urge to take advantage of the various local offerings, including "fish massages" (see photo).

The region of Angkor served as the seat of the Khmer empire from the ninth to the thirteenth century. The ruins that remain are currently recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and were the main reason we had chosen to stop in Siem Reap, so our first priority was to figure out how best to visit this site of over 1000 temples. After doing some research we determined we needed to hire a "tuk-tuk" driver and a guide to take us around for the day. The guide was essential given how expansive Angkor Wat is, and the tuk-tuk would allow us to enjoy a nice breeze, as we trekked from one temple to the next in the midday heat (it averaged 40 degrees with no breeze).

The first day we spent about 5 hours at Angkor Wat visiting three different temples, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo and Angkor Thom, each unique and impressive in their own right.
Ta Prohm was built in 1186 and though it is merely a remnant of its past glory, it is held up by massive trees which create an amazing sight.
Angkor Thom, while not as famous as Angkor Wat (the temple which gives the park its name) is much larger in area, 10 square km, and at its height in 1200 ad, housed over a million people, a time when London had a population of just 50,000.

The second day we had a fabulous guide who took us to Angkor Wat, as well as a beautiful pink sandstone temple about 30km from the center of the park. During the hour tuk-tuk ride to the distant temple we were able to see rural cambodian life, as well as meet some people on the road, a unique and eye-opening experience! To close out our day our guide took us to the floating villages, an area of extreme poverty about 10km south of Siem Reap. The villages are located in Tonle Sap Lake and consists of houses made from bamboo, all of which lack electricity and running water.

Some Observations on Cambodia:

1. The poverty around Siem Reap was unlike any we'd ever seen. One can only imagine how much poorer the rest of the country is, away from the "city" of Siem Reap and its tourist revenue...

2. Siem Reap and the surrounding area is significantly quieter than Vietnam. You can cross the streets without fearing for your life, motobikes are around but not everywhere, and in general, there are just less people.

3. Angkor Wat was an amazing place to visit and definitely worth the trip, however I imagine our first thought when we think back on our time there will be of the heat and sweating from every inch of our bodies.