(a.k.a Angkor Hot!)

I'm sticky and dusty and sitting in a third world internet cafe after what was surely one of the best days of the trip so far. I arrived in Siem Reap, a dusty tourist town on the edge of the ***remarkable*** Angkor Wat, the ruins of the Angkor civilization/empire. I have no idea where to begin as so much happened today and I'm concerned that this inernet connection will die again at any moment.

My 7:40am flight to Siem Reap from Bangkok on a twin prop plane was relatively uneventful. I fell asleep instantly as I was running on 3 hours sleep and had to jump through hoops in the airport to get through Thailand's ridiculous exit system. Extortion would be a good one word way to sum up that process.

While being extorted for another $20US on the entrance into Cambodia, I met Isabelle and Dominic, a sweet Quebecois couple from Montreal. We shared a taxi into the town and have been hanging out together all day. We are all staying at the same very sweet guesthouse ($12 per night with cable TV and air conditioning) and the taxi driver, Chaum, has wound up being our own private limo and guide service, for another $20/day split between the three of us. Chaum is great, drivews us everywhere we need to go in his blessedly air conditioned, tinted, bling Toyota Camry.

After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we were at one of the sites of Angkor by 10:00. The heat was absolutely blistering. We are talking deadly. And humid, even though the roads are dusty with red silt that gets in your teeth and ears. But the temples are just too amazing to describe. Made of stone blocks, each is carved with relief images of buddhas, gods, dancers... And the site is sprawling with amazing columns and towers and walls and ponds... Simply spectacular. Wish I could post some of my pictures but the connections here are WAY too slow for such a feat of technology.

We took our Camry limo back to the hotel in mid day after a beautiful lunch in an expensive ($7) Cambodian restaurant and then, after a break and a shower and nap, headed back to Angkor Wat to catch the sunset. This time we went to the Wat (temple) portion. Though the sky was overcast and we did not get a sunset, we did climb stairs that run up six stories at 170 degrees and chilled out for an hour or so with three very blissful and kind monks, draped in golden flowing robes. The monks were 23 years old and explained how they had been monks for 5 years, bringing great honor to their families. My favorite was So Thea who spoke English very well. I asked him to write something in my journal and he spent 20 minutes writing a page long note in Khmer. I obviously can't read it but it looks cool as hell. He explained that he described the view we were sharing over the tops of the sugar palm jungle, his feelings about Siem Reap, and how he likes being a monk. Shot some great video of the view with So Thea and the other monks.

Other features of the day included hanging out with a family of monkeys, buying postcards from and taking pictures of heartbreakingly cute Cambodian children, and photographing a family of Cambodians as they waded in the moss covered, muddy water pond, collecting edible roots.

Cambodia is amazing. Though I am constantly harassed by locals trying to sell something or beg, the rampant capitalism found in Thailand is not to be found here. Cambodia, a far poorer country, is calmer, nicer, and the lovely people seem more straightfoward and honest. So far, anyway. Loving it here.

I hear singing groups of children across the street. Gotta go check out what that is all about, then get home to shower and get ready to meet Isabelle and Dominic for dinner on Bar Street...

R*