The Splendor of Angkor

So the last I spoke to you I told you about Phnom Penh. Now I'll tell you about Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world and ranks up there with the pyramids as one of the world's great architectural wonders. I got up for the sunrise over the temple so it was an early morning. The sunrise was totally worth it, it was great for pictures and the tour buses of Japanese and Chinese tourists hadn't arrived yet. Angkor Wat is just one temple in this area, and there are actually a huge number of them. They were all pretty amazing. This was definitely one of the most interesting places I've ever been. All the temple structures that I had seen prior to this pale in comparison.

The next day I went out to the Bantay Srei also known as the lady temple. This temple was farther out from the complex that most other temples are situated. The best part about it was that the carvings on it have been so well preserved that they are unbelievably beautiful, a must see if you're ever going to be in Siem Reap. On the way back from this temple I stopped at the Land Mine Museum. This was a really interesting little museum that is actually registered as a Canadian non-profit organization. The museum is basically the work of one former Khmer Rouge child soldier who used to plant mines, and then defected to the Vietnam. While fighting against the Khmer Rouge he started to be a mine defuser and continued even when the Vietnamese were no longer concerned with their removal. He started this museum as a way to raise awareness of the enormous number of land mines that are sitting on Cambodian soil. Great museum and really interesting.

Then it was off to Bangkok. Bangkok was much different compared to when I was there 2 months ago. After the riots it seems that people are really staying away from there. It felt like a ghost town compared to the insanity that was there before the Red Shirts rioted. It was actually pretty sad and a bit boring just because one of the best parts about Bangkok the first time was just people watching, so many people everywhere. This time not so much.

I just got to Koh Tao from Koh Phangan which was amazing. I actually did nothing for days and had a great time doing it. Great pool, great people all around. Its going to be hard to top that but I'm excited for what Koh Tao has to offer. Tomorrow I'm going snorkeling and taking a boat trip around the island so I'll let you know how it goes!

Talk to you soon.