Scenes from Angkor Wat

The journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap was surprisingly hassle-free, thanks to a little greasing of palms and a great road in Thailand. We made it to our hotel in 12 hours, which was considerably better than planned.

Siem Reap is an interesting little town, sprung up about 10km from Angkor Wat with the sole purpose of servicing the tourists there. It's a cute place, with lots of French influenced street and alleys and amazing Khmer cuisine. They ONLY accept the dollar, and it's expensive here!

But... WELL worth it. This has been one of the most amazing days of my trip so far. Christy, Janet, and I woke up at 4:30 to catch sunrise over the main temple at Angkor (Angkor Wat), and I luckily found a slightly secluded place from which to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful, and even better were the few hours that followed, wandering in silence and near solitude through the amazing halls of the temple. There were beautiful and intricate bas-reliefs depicting images from the Mahabharata, and I could have spent all day just looking at those! But throughout the day we moved from temple to temple, exploring the vast buildings and grounds.

After lunch, a bit Watted-out, we lounged in the shade of one particular temple. As usual, a group of kids approached us and tried to sell us trinkets-- bracelets, postcards, little Buddhas. We ended up buying a few bracelets ("Cheap! Three for one dollar!") and then talking with the kids for hours. Did they study? (Yes, but only in the mornings-- in the afternoons they sold goods to the tourists.) Why were they selling at the temple? (The cops would punish them if they were selling near the actual shops.) How did they learn English? (From the tourists, of course!) What did they want to do when they finished school? (Become a tour guide! It pays well and allows them to meet many foreigners.)

They were so cute, they reminded me that kids are kids everywhere. They all love playing simple games, getting attention. They all fight with their siblings. It was the same with the kids who I came to really love in Uganda. The kids at the temple kept asking us if we would come back to the temple tomorrow to visit. And we had so much fun that we think we are going to! It was really a highlight of the day.

Finally, we watched the sunset from a mountain temple, which was also beautiful but not QUITE as serene with about 1000 tourists around us. Still, not a bad way to end a long day.

Just returned from a yummy Khmer dinner (coconut pumpkin soup and veggie spring rolls!), and planning to head back to Angkor tomorrow. Some pics from the day, including some of the kids!