Surprising Cambodia

Going into it we knew Cambodia would resemble the 3rd world. What we didn't know was just how 3rd world it actually is (with some glaring exceptions like the airport and tourist hotels). Even more surprising, though, was how gracious, kind, and helpful the people are! Angkor wat aside, the beauty of which needs no explanation, the best part of Cambodia was the exploration of the countryside and interacting with the warm people.

The temples of Angkor wat are probably some of the most impressive man-made sights I have ever seen. We spent two full days in siem reap to explore the temples. The first day we did a traditional tuk tuk ride to the main temple complexes. The temples are, unfortunately, best seen at sunrise, which translated to a 415 wake up call. But it was worth it. See below. The early time also helped us beat most of the tourists. The crowds were oppressive - and it was low season. 

What makes the temples impressive is their size. The complex is sprawling and contains many large temple ruins. They were also a built 1000 years ago, making them even more of a feat. 

From a distance 

Inside the temple. 

Ruins inside.

The corridors all had elaborate paintings and carvings like this one. The temple was originally Hindu, but was late reclaimed for the Buddhists. The paintings and carvings all tell Hindu tales. 

Many of the temples were in "mountain style" which basically translated to piles of stone that resemble mountains. In this temple they adorned each mount with four faces. For Good luck I think?

The second day we were more adventurous. We did mountain biking into the countryside to see "hidden temples" (this meant they did not require tickets and were devoid of tourists) and the Cambodian countryside. Our tour guide, Terrance, accompanied us on both days and we quickly befriended him and became attached. He was very knowledgable and his English was good enough that we didn't have to strain to understand. He knew where all the good hidden temples were and knew a lot about them. He also knew a significant amount about Hinduism and Buddhism. We loved Terrance and hope to see him again some day (we think his name was Terrance, at least). 

Evidence of Jordan on a bike:

Fun rural biking. 

One of the coolest temples of them all is the overgrown Ta Prohm. The best part about this temple is the huge group of jungle trees that ha consumed the structures. The movie "tomb raider" with Angelina Jolie was filmed here. This is also where she decided to adopt the entire third world. We see why, too - the kids are adorable. 

The famous shot:

More

At this point it was raining and we decided to brave it with no shoes - Cambodia style. 

After the hidden temples we went into the countryside. The countryside reminded me of Africa so much it hurt, and planted the idea of Africa as the next big trip. 

Motorbike "gas station" in rural Cambodia. 

In our trek we stumbled on a family distilling vodka with rice. 

The countryside was full of rice farming, rice being Cambodia's biggest export. 

We ended the outing with a trip up the only mountain in the region. I say mountain but it's really an oversized hill. Regardless it was high enough that we could see for 10 miles. The views were pretty awe-inspiring. 

At the top of the hill there was, of course, a temple. It was a fun temple that we could easily climb around like monkeys. Jordan and Jody were the lea monkeys - I surprisingly didn't have the stomach.

After this it was back to the hotel for our own little sunset party on the roof. 

Siem reap obviously exists but for the thousands of (korean, japanese, chinese, and european) tourists. But the tourism in Cambodia is in my opinion is the best kind. The people are industrious and inventive in how they host foreign tourists. They learn all kinds of languages including Korean, Japanese, Chinese, all the European languages, and even Russian. They clearly appreciate the money and time the tourists spend get to and exploring the temples and siem reap. I think they are aware of just how difficult and inaccessible Cambodia is for the western world, and acknowledge it with great hospitality. The public lives off the tourism and it clearly makes their lives better. I'd certainly go back. Jordan and I already have dreams of coming back and volunteering for a year. 

In lieu of train photos (there are no trains), here are some airplane and airport pics. 

Cambodia Angkor Air - the country's flag carrier. 

We are en route to Myanmar now, so.... I'll let everyone know how that goes as soon as there is Internet. (We made it. It's interesting to say the least)