Tourists vs. Temples
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2007
1
27
81
Trip End
Jun 28, 2008
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Friday, January 11, 2008
The temples were really rather wonderful - even if there were about 10 million tourists everywhere we looked. Angkor Wat itself is very impressive, but I must admit, I think I liked Preah Khan and the Bayon the best of all. Preah Khan was much more atmospheric and less fancy looking. Bayon was exactly what I was hoping for. I was a little disapointed by Ta Phrom - I thought that would have been my favorite (if you saw Tomb Raider, then you saw that temple) but I think that being there in the middle of a scorching hot day with a whole tour group of Japanese students made for a slightly different mood than I was hoping for!
Overall, Siem Reap is rather different than I expected/hoped for. To be honest, we could be in any tourist trap town, in any western country. You want Tacos - no problem! You want pizza - no problem! You want a burger - no problem! There are so many bars and pubs full of tourists that they have renamed one of the streets here to "bar street".
And, in case any other traveller is reading this - Cambodia is NOT cheap!! I am fairly amazed at how expensive things are here. Compared to home its a bit cheaper to go out for a meal, but the fact remains that we are in SE Asia, not Scotland or Canada!!
Still, all in all, its been very cool to come to see Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. We are heading out again in a couple of days back to Phnom Penh and then further on south to Kampot, where hopefully there will be a few less tourists about.
All our love,
K & M
Comments
Very Comparable!!!
I had a good look at May 1982 and your pictures are just as impressive. Those tree roots are something else. You even dressed like the Root Bear, at least the colours are close! Stay as cool as you can.
Love , Momma & John