Super Amazing Day

The Angkor Wat complex doesn’t disappoint. The day came together well, I drank water, I remembered my sun umbrella, no hassles.

And I took over 300 pictures lol. I may have to buy another memory card.

Over 2 million visitors a year means things are organized, kinda. The Cambodian people who work there are serious about protecting the artifacts, but also are able to leave you alone to enjoy yourself. I didnt see anyone stealing rocks or vandalizing anything.  Since the site is so big, random ticket checks happen a lot. Cambodians can go for free. Any foreigners are fair game.

Strangely, no bathrooms exist. You have to buy something at a shop or pay a restaurant to use theirs. That’s my only gripe.

The sightseeing day starts at 4:30 when your driver picks you up. The ticket office opens at 5. The gates open at 5:30 for sunrise. It’s kind of a lot of hurry up and  wait. But it’s worth it to be there in the cool part of the day. 

In the temple, a third level is open some days. Today I was lucky. I watched a line forming and just joined it. It wasted a few minutes, but I can go back on another day if I want.

So I just looked at stuff until the sun chased me to my tuk tuk, and then moved on. Each stop is about 10 minutes apart, so that was enough resting.

At 11, I’d had enough. There’s much more to see another day.

Tomorrow I go on a sunset circuit of a few temples. 

Goodnight everyone 

Travel day to Siem Reap 

It was pretty good. Up in time for breakfast, and the bus only left 20 minutes late.

There are many bus lines traveling the roads of Southeast Asia. One of them is Giant Ibis. For 15 dollars you get a ride in air conditioning, with wifi, and a treat and bottled water. In about 5-6 hours, you get where you are going. The bus stops once in a while for bathroom breaks. The downside to SEA bus riding is: they never leave on time. The operator tries to fill all the seats. Ok, I get it, so…..expect to get where you are going 2 hours after when you *hope* to be there. If you’re cool with that, you can save money here.

Anyway the ride was good today. Lunch was 4 dollars. A little high, but the portion was big, and it was tasty.

Siem Reap is cleaner and less smelly than Phnom Penh. Yay! The backpacker scene here is much more active and I’m glad. I’ve already gotten some good travel advice from fellow hostel guests.

I’m in a mixed dorm. Boo! Some dude has got stinky feet. At least when the gals smell, it’s from too much perfume lol.

Angkor Wat tomorrow. I’m excited about this. World Heritage! And I’ve already arranged a tuk tuk driver so the hot, hot sun won’t kill me. The archaeological site is very large, and contains dozens? of temples and ruins overall.

The Angkor Wat complex is one of only two UNESCO sites in the country. Wikipedia has a great entry if you want to know more.

The temple itself is one of five I’ll be able to see in one day. After that, shade and water will be necessary. I’ll buy a three day pass so I don’t die from the heat.

Up at 4 for the sunrise, so Goodnight!

Nice sunny day

And I got to see the Royal palace….but not really. The king lives there, so you actually just see the grounds.

But its cool, because next door is the pavilion that contains the Silver Pagoda. Man is it cool

The floor is covered with silver plates. The main buddha is green crystal. There’s also a life size, 90 kg, gold, diamond encrusted buddha.  There’s another gold, diamond encrusted, but smaller Buddha. You get the picture. So many amazing treasures. Wish I could show you. Try a google image search if youre interested. Im sure somebody’s sneaking pics.

The complex also has a bunch of museum-y exhibit halls of culture stuff. It took 3 hours to see everything.

In the evening I saw a dance program put on by a local nonprofit. It was great. I feel like it wasn’t very traditional, but art evolves. 90 percent of the country’s artists were killed by the khmer rouge, I get the impression that the arts are still bouncing back.

Anyway a great day overall.

Im looking forward to Siem Riep tomorrow 

Goodnight and good morning