Sakura Village Siem Reap

... some people’s lives are getting a lot better in Cambodia (fancy houses, cars, etc) but for others it’s just same. One thing for sure is that tourism is bringing in money and who knows what they’d do if they didn’t have these temples!

We’d bought a 3 day temple pass so on our last day we hired mountain bikes and cycled out the 6km to Angkor Wat for a more relaxed look around – we practically had the place to ...

... BBQ. There was a guy sitting on the side of the street cooking everything on a charcoal grill. It was excellent – a little bit sweet, and with our Angkor beers, it was perfect. For a skewer with about five pieces of chicken on it (each about the size you would get in a chicken sandwich), vegetables and two beers – it set us back $5.

We also passed by a place called Khmer Kitchen, which looked to have a lot of local food, and looked like a good ...

... the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake in the afternoon and catch the sunset there, since we could do that in ½ a day.

It was a 30 minute drive along a dirt road passing houses/shacks/huts. The poverty was striking. The people looked like they really were living day to day, and probably on less than $1 (USD)/day. Don't they always say that, or you read it in a magazine, and you think, how is that possible? Less than $1/day?! But out here, it ...

... different in Thailand – it’s a resting place to get fresh air and relax. “Resort” is not synonymous with luxury. The resort we stopped at was in a wooded area and consisted of picnic tables under a fixed awning, with a breakfast buffet of rice and veggies. I had a delicious breakfast while the tour agency staff handed out our name tags and collected our passports. I wasn’t super-comfortable with the whole give-someone ...

... were arriving late and dived into the temple proper to explore. Again, just by turning a corner of the temple we were once again alone and felt that we had the entire place, bathed in early morning sunshine, all to ourselves. It was breathtaking.


The second day we tackled the 'big loop' of temples which included the famous Ta Phrom temple that the École française d'Extrême-Orient chose to be the temple left exactly as ...

... day, we watched the sun set from the top of Pre Rup. In addition to the sunset, we were treated to a rainbow and a comical group of tourists sporting white mini-mouse gloves. Bravely, we arranged to return to Angkor Wat the next morning to catch a glimpse of the temple by sunrise. It was great to be there so early, but the color was underwhelming. That afternoon, after a breakfast break and nap, we returned to see Angkor Thom ...

... village. The roads are too flooded.
I am safe, snug, and dry at my beautiful resort. I just ate breakfast, and am about to take a swim in the luxurious saltwater pool, then have a beer and read a book. Later a massage and a pedicure. My life is quite good, despite Ketsana.

Click on all the photos to open them, for an explanation of the flooding and damage in Siem Reap Province.

... is damn dusty, trust me. Lots of tuk tuk drivers do wear face masks. You will actually see the tissue change from white to ...

There used to be a time, twenty or thirty years ago, when the uniquely magnificent temple complex of Angkor Wat enjoyed the unpressurized luxury of being unknown and virtually unheard of. Then, it was perhaps an adventure in itself getting to the place as well as being able to see it. Sadly, this novelty has since very much degenerated, particularly today when legions of buses are conveniently laid-on to wheel-in half the world's tourists. Its over ...

... hire a bike and take a more leisurely pace. I made a mistake with not negotiating before hand which temples exactly the taxi driver would take me to. So as a result the driver took me here there and every where and it was at a cost.

Lastly about the King Angkor Hotel, do not stay at this hotel. I repeat one more time - DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL you would be better off sleeping on the dusty, dirty streets of Siem Reap with the stray dogs for company! ! !