As it's my first day in Siem Reap, I decided against breaking tradition and have a day of finding my bearings. For the most part, Siem Reap is a typical tourist town, catering for predominately Westerners. This being said, it still maintains some Cambodian traditions.
After a spot of breakfast, I jumped into a tuk tuk and headed up to the Angkor Museum. The museum was interesting (in parts), easy to navigate and very modern. This being said, I didn't think it was worth the $12 entrance fee.
In the evening, we decided to go out as a dorm, which was really enjoyable as it allowed us to get to know one and other. We went for dinner at a Cambodian restaurant, followed by drinks at Angkor What bar. I even managed to meet up with the Swiss boys who I met Phnom Penn. The evening was enjoyable and the drinks continued to flow until the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, this is where the party stopped...
17 August
The next morning I was up and awake nice and early, ready for my trip to the temples. I won't bore you all with the details but my day was far from pleasant. Saying this, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Angkor Wat is certainly a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It's really quite a breathtaking experience. The other temples weren't half as good, although Ta Promph, which became famous for being the set of Lara Croft's Tomb Raider came a pretty close second! As my Auntie Sheana once said: "seen one temple, seen 'em all" Wise words!
19 -21 August
Today was the first time that I actually felt more like myself, so I took myself off to Battambang. This small Cambodian city is not an obvious choice for most travellers but according to locals, tourism is on the increase. Certainly from what I saw of it, they have a long way to go, if they want to make it a popular tourist destination. It was described to me as a town full of French colonial buildings. Hmm... Not quite sure I entirely agree with this statement as I saw very few buildings from this era. The highlight of my visit here was definitely the Bamboo Train. The train is quite simply 8 or 9 pieces of Bamboo strapped together with a metal pole at the end. The train is run off metal runners and powered by a small engine, similar to one you'd use on a dingee or small boat. The train took me to one stop before returning back to the station. What I particularly found fascinating was the way the drivers disembed the train to let another pass due to the fact it was run on a single track. The drivers could disemble and reassemble the trains in a matter of minutes. Fascinating!
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