Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

Here is a view of Angkor Wat at sunrise! It may not be the best pic that I have, but I probably took 150 photos, and will post more to the picasa site. As you can see, the temples of Angkor Wat are amazing! First of all, let me catch you up on my journey to get to Siem Reap. There was another guy at Mushroom Point (my hostel) that was taking the same bus as me from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap, and we shared a tuk-tuk to the bus station from Otres Beach. It was yet another exciting night bus ride, which took us back through Phnom Penh, and then on to Siem Reap. The night bus was set up a bit differently, and we unfortunately were forced to take two bunks next to each other on the bottom, where there were no windows. We remarked a couple of times that we felt like refugees, or the second-class citizens who should have paid much less for being down there! At midnight, when we stopped to let people off in Phnom Penh, we snuck up to some top bunks, but even then the journey was not awesome, and I barely slept all night. There was no pillow (at least in Vietnam they give you one of those!), so I used my blanket for my pillow, until it got too cold and I then had to use it as an actual blanket. Of course then I had no pillow, and my head was against the seat, where at one point I had the thought that it was probably similar to what it would be like if I were to lay my head against concrete next to a sledge hammer! In other words, it was very bumpy and loud. The bus driver also felt the need to stop for extended periods of time throughout the night - we think maybe he was having meals, or maybe a nap? There was also a lot of loud phone-talking and yelling outside by people. Not the most restful night bus ride ever, that's for sure. When we finally arrived in Siem Reap at around 6 a.m., exhausted, the bus pulled into a lot and they closed and locked a fence behind it. This seemed rather odd, but after awhile in Southeast Asia, you stop questioning why they do a lot of things. There was supposed to be a tuk-tuk driver from Rob's hostel to pick us up, but alas, there was no one holding a nice sign with his name. Then we exited the locked fence, at which point we realized why they had locked it - tuk-tuk mayhem! We eventually accepted a ride with one of them for $1 each, after he tried for what seemed like an hour to convince us to go somewhere else, and then to convince us to go on a tour of the temples with him. Seriously, we were about to attempt to walk because he was so annoying and we were not in the mood at that hour, and after no sleep. Of course then he didn't know where the hostel was, even though he said he did, and he allowed Rob to call and get directions on his cell, for $0.25! Rob's place was very nice, but booked, so I found an equally nice private room across the street for a lovely $6/night. We set out that morning already for the temples, and did the mini-tour, which took us first to the one and only Angkor Wat. I am really glad we went there first, because we could really appreciate the beauty of all of the intricate carvings on every inch of the temple walls, floors, ceilings, and doorways. This amazing temple was built between the years of 1113-40, and is the Khmers' national symbol, the epicenter of their civilization, and a source of fierce national pride. It is considered the eighth wonder of the world, and they also filmed some scenes of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" here. This is also where we came on the last morning to photograph the sunrise.

Next, we went to The Bayon Temple, which was one of my favorites, and is the one with the famous faces carved into the stones:

 
There are 216 faces, all of which I am sure I did not get to see, but I just thought they were all so beautiful! We also saw the Terrace of the Elephants, which not surprisingly, had a lot of elephants carved out of stone. Another favorite of mine was Ta Prohm, where there are huge trees growing on top of temples and walls:

The second day, we did the grand tour, which was more temples that were further out. We ended the day watching the sunset at Phnom Bakheng, which was disappointing because the sun disappeared behind a cloud, never to return. I kept waiting for the sky to turn colors after the masses of people had left, but it didn't, and then they made us leave because they were closing. The sunrise at Angkor Wat the next morning made up for it though. I really wish I knew more about my camera, and how to adjust the settings to make a really spectacular photograph, as some of the other photos I have seen have been, but alas, I do not. I have to settle for the fact that my camera can take pretty great pictures all by itself. We left our hostels at 4:45 a.m. in order to get out to the temple and find a good place for photos in time. It was a bit eerie being out in the pitch black, with no lights anywhere. The air was so humid and heavy, and actually even a bit chilly on the ride out to the temple! Once we got to the temple, we luckily had my flashlight along, because again there were no lights at all on the long walkway to the temple itself. We then found a good place for the shot, and waited, and waited some more. When the sky finally started getting lighter, it took awhile for my camera to actually take a picture, but I think I eventually got some pretty good ones. We were all alone in our spot, whereas the mass of people were all crowded together where they were told to go by their guides. Thankfully the sun cooperated this time and gave us some pretty good pictures! We waited until the sun came up behind the spires, and then headed back to town, as we were templed out by then. Exploring and climbing around the ruins was amazing, but it was over 100 degrees and sucked the energy out of us very quickly. Then it was a lovely cold shower, and a bit of rest and relaxation until catching our bus back to Phnom Penh.

I hadn't thought I would have to come back to Phnom Penh yet again, but there were no tourist buses that go to Northeastern Cambodia, where I needed to go to get to the border with Laos. So, back to Phnom Penh it was, and on a local bus that was "air-conditioned," but I still sweat buckets the entire time, while listening to a really loud and depressing Cambodian movie. Once I got to the hostel that evening, I was having them call to get me a seat on the bus to Kratie the next morning, but as they were doing so, the owner of the hostel told me that I couldn't get my visa at the only border crossing between Cambodia and Laos, as I had been planning on doing, and that the only place I could obtain it was here in Phnom Penh! Also, it takes two days and is quite a bit more expensive than I had originally thought. So I was pretty bummed at the prospect of having to spend 2 additional nights in this HOT city with not much to do. But wait, there was more bad news! The next day, March 8th, was a holiday - International Women's Day - and so the Laos embassy would be closed! It would take yet another day for my visa to get processed. What makes it even worse for me is that another guy at the hostel was researching whether it is true that you cannot get a visa on arrival at that border, and he found out that you can! So, I have spent these extra days here for nothing. Either way, I am due to get my (very expensive) visa tonight, and I will head to Kratie on the morning bus, mainly to break up my travel time between here and the border. I will spend a night or two there, depending on how I like it, and then head to 4,000 islands in Laos, which is supposed to be pretty amazing. I have continued to meet some great people here, though, as well as being able to read and get internet stuff done (when it works - it has been really hard the last 2 days to find working internet here!), and see a few more sights that I hadn't seen previously, so I have been able to make the most of my time here. Everyone wish me luck that I actually get my visa tonight, and can be on a bus in the morning! I am really excited to get on to Laos, as I have heard nothing but great things about it! Here is a picture of the Royal Palace here in Phnom Penh. Enjoy, and hope to hear from you all soon!