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Siem Reap, Cambodia
13° 22' N 103° 50' E
Aug 20, 2006 11:20
Distance 364km

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Other entries in Siem Reap

What a ride!

Text written in: English

For the past 2 months the lonely planet has seen us loyally through thick and thin. We take it's advice and heed it's ever helpful warnings at every turn! So how we ended up in the middle of the infamous Bangkok-Siem Reap bus scam, highlighted in the pages of the aforementioned bible, the good lord will only know. Let's just say this was probably the most frustrating, hot, painful rip-off of a journey either of us have ever experienced..and that was after the Indian buses! Less said about that journey the better really but the following morning waking up in our (also scam involved) hotel, we swallowed our bitterness over Orchid travel company and it's associates and got on to the real reason we had endured such a ride...and it was certainly worth every ass bruising second of it!

Angkor Wat, one of the 7 man-made wonders of the world is located just outside of Siem Reap, and once again choosing (pedal) bikes as our mode of transport we set off on a scorching day to explore these ancient ruins. It took us two days of intense riding and exploring to get a real feel for this ancient city and it's civilisation. It really has to be seen to be believed but the architecture is incredible, and the concept mind-blowing. If you're ever anywhere near South East Asia, go to Angkor, you won't be dissapointed. Our highlights were racing to the temple of Angkor Wat to catch the sun rising over it; watching the sun set on Bayan, a crumbling temple in the centre of the ancient city; and the nature lovers' favourite Tha Phrom, where the walls and arches are being slowly engulfed by the enormous butress roots of massive trees (and in the settings for the Tomb Raider films, Alex couldnt help but feel like Indiana Jones in his infamous hat!).

By night we enjoyed the funky travelling scene in Siem Reap, but the real attraction was the Temples of Angkor. Awesome!