Tomb Raiders - Adventures at the temples of Angkor

There seems to be a competition for how much you can pile on your truck
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We were prepared for a nightmare journey from Bangkok across the border to Siem Reap. Our guidebook and various websites talked of the many hazards and scams we could encounter. As we have often found to be the case the stories bore little resemblance to the reality with only the bone crunching dust pit of the road on the Cambodian side being an issue.

We stayed in one of our favourite hostels (hostelworld.com proved very reliable again) called Bou Savy. Apart from the clean room, cable TV (Premier league football on day and night, cool- D) and inclusive breakfast it was the friendly Khmer owner and staff that made it special. Actually they are pretty representative of all the Cambodian people we have met; relaxed, friendly, warm and welcoming- just very very sweet.

Our tuk tuk driver and friend Hian
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Siem Reap is the base from which to explore the world famous temples of Angkor and more on that later but we really enjoyed the other experiences in the area. First the landmine museum tucked away on the edge of town and run by an extraordinary man who fought on both sides during the years of civil war. Having been taught how to lay mines at the age of five he has now made it his lifes work to clear them setting up the makeshift (but totally fascinating) museum to raise awareness and funds. It is immediately obvious that Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and we felt that while here we ought to do a little something to help. So we gave blood at a childrens hospital and took a huge sack of rice and some classroom supplies to an orphanage. On the way Heian, our tuk tuk driver explained that he had been raised in an orphanage after his parents had been killed by the Khmer Rouge. The way he talked about his sponsors in France, who he sweetly called his grandparents, was very touching. With their help he has learnt excellent English and Japanese and purchased a tuk tuk enabling him to support his own family.

A young monk
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Now to the temples. Heian provided the transport in his tuk tuk and off we went. First the big one Angkor Wat, supposedly the largest religious building in the world.  It is truely impressive when you first set eyes on it- such an iconic silhouette. We explored for a couple of hours as there is lots to see and it is all very well preserved for an 11th century building. Michelle didn't really enjoy the mega steep stone staircases much. We thought at one point we might need a chopper to get her down. We really enjoyed Ankgor Thom especially the massive gateways with stone faces looking down ominously at us and getting lost in the claustrophobic corridors of the Bayon temple.  For us, best of all has to be Ta Phrom which was used for the Tomb Raider movie. Two little boys showed us the best spots complete with tree roots and bats. Its the one temple that they have chosen to leave as they found it and that gives it a unique undiscovered, adventurous atmosphere. The way the forest appears to be gradually taking back the area is spectacular. We spent three fun days exploring the temples and that was about right for us.