Siem Reap, Cambodia.

January 27-30, 2009

In a previous entry, I mentioned how Thailand wins the award for Best Memories and Experiences, while Laos takes the Most Beautiful Scenery award. Cambodia, our third and final country, though, would win any award hands down in terms of history.

Our first stop in Cambodia was to the city of Siem Reap, home of world famous Angkor Wat, a huge temple complex built in the early 12th century. I'm not a history buff, though, and much as I hate to admit, I didn't do my research prior to visiting, so I can't really tell you much about the history behind the temples. What I can tell you is what I liked and didn't like...from a purely non-academic, "it just looks cool" standpoint.

My favorite temple by far was Wat Ta Phrom, or what is commonly referred to as "The Tomb Raider" temple - the temple used when filming Tomb Raider (starring Angeline Jolie):


Another of my favorite parts was not a temple, but monkeys! Several times driving in the tuk-tuk, Lauren or I would spot what we could have sworn was a monkey, but because we only got a quick glimpse, we could never be 100% sure. That it, until we drove by what is obviously the monkey hangout. We made our driver pull over so that we could take pictures:


The second evening we saw the sunset from Angkor Wat. It was pretty, but since Lauren lost the pages she tore out of the guidebook, we weren't able to see it from the recommended view points, though, by that point, I was done walking and was perfectly happy just sitting down wherever.