Angkor Sunrise

Angkor Wat
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First tip for anyone entering Cambodia from Siem Reap is to have a Visa already arranged. I filled out the application form on the plane and queued up to pay the $20 fee for a month visa - it was an extra $2 for me as I didn't have any passport photo. Although it didn't take all that long to organise I would imagine it being a nightmare in peak season.

Once I cleared immigration and collected my bags I was reunited with my travel buddies who landed some 30 minutes before me from Hanoi and it was all drama. Sinead had managed to get bitten AGAIN so we headed straight for a hospital in our cab. It is $5 dollars for a cab to Siem Reap city from the airport. Our cab driver drove at a snails pace......I don't think he understood what gears are for - but driving in this country is another story altogether! It is sheer madness how they all just pull out on tuk tuks, motos, cars, bikes - no rules seem to apply!

Angkor Wat
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We ended up at a Chinese hospital - looked extremely dodgy but as Sineads foot was beginning to get worse we had no choice but to go in with her. The doc took one look and said she was need 2 IV drips and 2 needles. After making sure new needles were opened etc Sinead settled into the emergency bed. We ended up coming back again the next night for the exact same treatment and thankfully after that plus the 5 day course of anti-biotics she was back to normal - pretty scary though.

Stonework in Angkor Wat
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While in Siem Reap headed straight for the ancient ruins of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. We purchased a 3 day pass for $40 dollars which covered us to see all the temples and ruins we wanted - well worth the money. Headed for the walled city of Angkor Thom first and it was fantastic. The locals we encountered were so friendly and the kids were just beauutiful. The majority of them are trying to sell their wares but this one group of kids we came across were just running and jumping into this pool in the middle of the ruins - the water was filthy but it didn't stop them. When they saw they had an audience they played up even more and were thrilled to see the pics and videos we had taken on our cameras - they were just adorable and didn't look for a penny from us....a lot of the other kids too and get cheeky when you don't purchase from them.

Made it to the top of steps in Angkor Wat - not as easy as it looks!
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Angkor Wat which has for me been the highlight of the trip so far was just stunning. I have never seen anything like it in my life. You can't help but be amazed at how it was constructed. We spent a full day roaming the grounds and exploring all the nooks and crannies. The stonework is incredrible and to think that they done it by hand is mind blowing - the sheer size of it is incredible. I would definitely go back. We got up early on our last morning to see the sunrise there and were pleasantly surprised to see so many people there. We didn't have the best sunrise but it was still worth it - we decided to call ourselves Extreme Tourist's at this point as getting up at 4.30am we decided was the work of a dedicated tourist! We are getting a lot of mileage out of that one.....(guess you have to be here with us)!

Angkor Wat
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We didn't explore a lot of Siem Reap town itself, bar one market which was really good for gifts and knick knacks. After spending 3 nights in Siem Reap we piled into a private taxi ($70 for the car) and headed on the main road 6 for Phnom Penh - journey took maybe 4-5 hours and was surprisingly comfortable. Some of the shacks / houses we saw along the way were something else.....couldn't even begin to imagine living like they do.