Into Cambodia

So Continuing from the border.....

We got our stickers that indicated we were part of the group and we departed for a brand new bus station a few miles out of town to await the long distance bus to Siem Reap. Well, actually the station was new but empty and unfinished. There were some Cambodian ladies there with a cooler full of cold water, beer and soda and an assortment of snacks. After waiting a while the group began to become a bit concerned about the bus. Eventually our agent showed up and explained that the bus was in disrepair and he had arranged for cabs to drive us to Siem Reap. As paranoid as we were no one was willing to go it alone in fear of being ripped off or brought somewhere undesireable so we stuck together and demanded the bus. This turned out to be a misunderstanding and the man found a van to bring most of us to Siem Reap for no extra charge. Perhaps they were trying but we resisted or we were just over cautious from being in Thailand.

Anyhow we arrived at Siem Reap later at night and were dropped off at a decent but poorly located hotel. Anh and I stayed the night and two more - it was hard to beat the price. From there we set out to Angkor the ancient Khmer capitol. The place is enormous spanning centuries of Kings buiding bigger and better temples and cities. The size of the the buildings is impressive but it is the intricate reliefs carved from stone adorning almost every surface. One temple, Bayon, had towers with four Buddha heads facing each direction, at Ta Prohm the tree roots are straddling the vaulted halls and Banteay Srei bears reliefs of the finest detail in excellent condition. There is too much to mention here. The place inspires the imagination- trying to envision it painted and fully decorated and hosting an ancient ceremonial precession.

To get around we hire a motorcycle with a carriage attached and a driver who will wait while we go and see the buildings. They also call these tuk-tuks. The first day Mr. Dany drove us around and agreed to the second day but Piso showed up in his place. Piso drove us the last two days and he turned out to be a fine honest fellow. This afternoon when we returned from the last sight and offered him lunch. He took us to his cousin's restaurant and had some very excellent Cambodian food. We changed hotels to a more central location for our last night in Siem Reap. Tomorrow we are heading out to Phnom Penh.