My Time in Hong Kong: Siem Reap and Ankhor Wat

We only stayed in Bangkok for one night. In the early morning, we took a bus (which was suprisingly nice) to the Thai border, a city called Aranyaprathet. Coincidentally, this is the same city that I stayed in for a few days when I visited Thailand in 2006 with my coworker, Sacsy. I never would have thought I'd be back. The bus trip to the Thai border took about 4.5 hours. We made it there in good time. Once near the border, we had to make our way to the border crossing, walk through Thai passport control and purchase a travel visa for Cambodia. This took about an hour- the visa was only about $20 and lasted fifteen days. Finally, once on the Cambodian side of the border (the city's name is Poi Pet), we had to hire a taxi to take us to Siem Reap. The ride took about two hours and only costs $48. This shows you just how cheap things are in are in Cambodia. BTW, Poi Pet is a dumpy border town and well-known for scams on tourists.

At the Thai/Cambodian border

Why Siem Reap? Well, it's the closest city to the Ankhor Wat architectural complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ankhor Wat complex has been called one of the wonders of the world. This area once served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara (नगर), meaning "city". Tourism in this area is noticeable. Siem Reap is teaming with hotels, restaurants and tours. I've never seen so many huge hotels (and casinos) catering to tourists visitng Ankhor Wat. The Cambodian people are very proud of Ankhor. Heck, it is even on their national flag. A few of the temples at Ankhor Wat were also featured in 2007 movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, featured Angelina Jolie.

At this point, I should note that Cambodia is a very poor country. It is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. One of the main reasons for its poverty is because its history in the 20th century, particularly during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-79. I won't go into too much detail, but in four years, the Khmer Rouge, lead by Pol Pot, "purified" the Cambodian people, murdering 1.5-2 million Cambodians (about 20% of the population). It was essentially the holocaust of Southeast Asia, halting the countries for decades. The country was badly scarred and it has taken a great deal of time rebuild. However, tourism is something that is booming in Cambodia right now, particularly tourists visiting Ankhor Wat.

We spent three nights in Siem Reap at the Soria Moria hotel, owned by a Norwegian couple. For two days, we toured the Ankhor Wat complex. We hired a guide and a driver for both days. It was well worth the investment. Many of the temples were a hike from one one another and it really helped to have a knowledgeable guide to tell us about each temple. The car provide a small reprieve from the heat. Having a guide also gave us a third person to always take our pi gave us a person to take pictures of all three of us. Our guie was Sarith, a Cambodian man. To be a guide, he had to study for five years and take an exam. Sarith was married and had three children.

It was a amazing experience to see such architectural history. The pictures do not do Ankhor Wat justice.