Angkor what?

Trip Start May 18, 2008
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Trip End Jun 16, 2008


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Flag of Cambodia  ,
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

sunrise: met up with EP, AL and his friends at the gates to Angkor Wat. Bought my ticket (US$20/day). Why so expensive? Because an oil company/hotel privately OWNS the ruins. EP is upset at me that we don't have a guide, but i quickly find someone to drive us (nothing people won't do for $). our fellow passengers are a fantastic brother and sister pair traveling from japan. fortunately, we tour temples at the same pace - at the chagrin of the tuktuk driver whose primary goal is to save gas. "too far," he says to all our requests, even though we have hired him for the day. by sheer power of argument, we get to see most of the major sites w/in the main circuit. the temples are stunning, partially due to the patina of degradation and partially due to the contrast between present day Cambodia and its glorious Khmer past. Some sites are left in deliberate states of disrepair in a battle of man verus nature.

return to my bungalow for lunch - ice cream! a rare luxury for me on this trip. the english couple who i rode with to the temples in the morning are relieved to see me, as they thought the driver had ditched me to fend for myself at the gates. they invite me out to see more temples with them in the afternoon so i jump at the chance to see some places a little further away. they are from warwickshire and have been traveling since january - they will complete a 1 year journey through africa, india, southeast asia, australia, new zealand and south america. jealous!

bill & anne from the chiang-mai trek arrive and we head for dinner & drinks in town. gotta love the buy 1 get 1 free $0.75 Angkor beers. the bar owners even remind us that we still have "1 drink free" - glad at least one ethnic group in SE asia is honest! After dinner we head to some bars, including the famous "angkor what?" bar. AL had invited us there earlier, but failed to mention it was his birthday! We hire a tuktuk on the way back, I am a bit nervous but not showing it, and anne is really worried that we will not make it back to our hotel alive.
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