Siem Reap, Cambodia

Greeting from monsoony Cambodia.

Yesterday morning, I boarded a bus in Bangkok and set out for the Thailand's Eastern border with Cambodia. This was a smooth 4 hour drive. Despite arriving at the border and already possessing a Cambodia visa, I waited in a line for a good 2 hours for 2 stamps in my passport. After the nice a/c bus and the paved roads in Thailand, Cambodia was not quite there. The road from the border to the nearest big town of Siem Reap was about 130km of muddy, potholed, washed out slop. We set out from the border at about 4pm and arrived at about 12:30am. Plus, I was in one of those temporary pull down seats in the aisle on our short bus.

This morning I woke up and hopped on the back of a motor-bike with my new friend Paul as my guide. This nice young Cambodian man proceeded to drive me 80km East to the ruins of an ancient Khmer temple. There was no one around there, I had the chance to explore the crumbling stones in the middle of the jungle for several hours. We repeated the same incredible journey back to the city, speeding down the muddy red roads thourgh rice paddies, dogs laying on the road, naked kids waving as a white man passed by, women bathing near the well in mid-afternoon and dump trucks trying to avoid us.

Every time I open my eyes, there is another photograph I am sure I have seen as I paged through our monthly National Geographic as a kid. The culture here is just so amazing. Cambodia is a very poor country and people do what the can to make some money. Cattle are the means to bring crops to the market, sharing the busy roads with scooters and 3 year olds on full sized bikes. Need some gas? Pull over and buy it by the liter from soda bottles recylced as gas containers.

This evening, I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat. This is perhaps the most expansive structure I have ever been in. Oh, and it's 800 years old. I have taken so many pictures the past 2 days and I can't wait to share them. I will spend the next 2 days exploring Angkor Wat and countless other ancient Khmer temples in the area. Stay tuned.