Tomb Rainer

Another long day of buses had my head spinning by the time I traversed Cambodia, but I made it to Siem Reap safely around dinner time. I quickly found a friendly Tuk Tuk driver who suggested a hostel...usually I'm quite weary of such commission based proposals, but he was so shy and reserved, I figured he was genuine...and he was. A dollar a night for a dorm room in a semi-decent hostel - not too bad. However, my sleep was somewhat broken by the recurring concern for the possible presence of bed bugs. My worry was overstated, it was perfectly fine, though not perfectly clean.

I awoke early, rented a bicycle, and cycled to the city of temples. I wasn't sure whether I was going to spend two days seeing the sights or just one, but luckily the price of a three day ticket is equivalent to two days worth of one day tickets, so I just got one day. And by the end of that day, I was all templed out. Don't listen to Lonely Planet, a day is more than enough.

On the way in, there were hordes of tourists flocking in on buses and in the chariots of autorickshaws, overtaking me from all angles. At least I didn't have to worry about finding it, I could follow the stream of white all the way to the Ocean of Milk (see below).

I decided to skip Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of all the temples, as being the most impressive, I thought I would save it for last. Instead I first approached Angkor Thom, crossing the moat on a large bridge manned with the heads of the past emperors of the Angkor empire all staring me down, each with a slightly different grimace. At the entrance to the central temple of Angkor Thom, known as Bayon, I met a friendly gay couple that were visiting the temples after a half marathon around them the previous day. I would end up running into them again and again.

Bayon was an impressive place to start. The bas-reliefs on its lowest level depict various wars between the Khmer people and the Chams (Chinese), a constant back and forth of roaring elephants, masses of soldiers and brahmans running up trees. The upper levels were more impressive as the emperor's head could be seen smiling wherever I looked and the temple tops towered above me.

I cycled on, heading East, and thought I would take a shortcut to the next temple. I suddenly found the path becoming more beaten and jungle like. I suddenly felt like I was in an episode of Lost, racking my brain for tips on boar tracking from John Locke. Having already been lost in Petra, I thought it better just to turn around and not waste my time. In retrospect, given the number of landmines in Cambodia left over from its several bloody wars, it was definitely a good idea.

I then started whacking out temple after temple. All very similar, they are based off either the Buddhist or Hindu temples of India, having been exported out here in the first half of the first millennium. They very much remind me of Mamllapurnam in Tamil Nadu, but much more intricate and bigger. Most were built between 10th and 12th century, shortly after those in Tamil Nadu.

One of the most impressive, but ultimately busiest, was Ta Phrom which has been overgrown by the jungle. Several trees have grown around the stone blocks carved with intricate stories and dancing Asparas, the roots pouring over walls and into the ground below, protecting but inextricably changing its structure. The second Tomb Raider was supposedly filmed here, involving a scene where Angelina Jolie picks a lotus flower before diving into a pool according to the LP guide.

At the next temple, I ran into some girls that I had very briefly met in Halong Bay on a boat tour. Though 2000km separated these two sites, it's still not that surprising to find travelers following the same path. They had joined forces with a guy that I had very briefly met on the bus from Hanoi to Hue in Vietnam. He had told them a bloated story about the bus hitting a telephone pole - I made sure the girls heard the true story that the bus had just pulled down some telephone wires and we sat and waited for an hour while the bus driver helped untangle them. It wasn't quite the drama they had been told.

I decided to stop for lunch at one of the many restaurants available along the journey. There I happened to run into the same gay couple I had met at the entrance. We ate together (I tried minced and bbq frog - the cliché rings trues - it tastes like chicken) and eventually once the rain let up, we continued on our separate ways.

More temples. More temples. And another bloody temple. I eventually found myself falling asleep in the courtyard of one. All of a sudden time had flown by and it was getting late. I wanted to make it to Angkor Wat before sundown, as I didn't really want to be cycling back in the dark. I rushed the 5km bike ride and made it there just in time.

Angkor Wat isn't as impressive as I had hoped. It is imposingly large, but does not have the wonder of the Treasury at Petra or even the Taj Mahal in Agra...hence why it only just missed out being the 7th Wonder of the World. The bas-reliefs on the lower level are however very impressive and, as a Hindu temple, depict scenes from the Mahabharata and Ramayana which I got introduced to in India.

The most interesting and as such most famous is the churning of the Ocean of Milk, the story of an epic battle between good, represented by Shiva, and evil, represented by a six headed snake and various demon gods, all in a tug of war. Shiva is in the form of a tortoise who, upon spinning, churns the Ocean of Milk to release some sort of syrup of immortality. I'm undoubtedly not doing it justice by describing it in such a lack of detail, but nonetheless it was great to see it before the light ran out. I can't say the same for the depiction of Lord Rama's battle with Lanka and his return Ayodhya represented on the last mural; the sun was too low to see it properly.

A storm was fast approaching as I left Angkor Wat, I quickened my pace and even began running as the dark clouds gathered overhead. I cycled as fast as I could, weaving in and out of the back lights of buses and tuk tuks in the dark for the 6km return to the hostel. Unfortunately I didn't beat the rain, but the rain did beat me. It was hammering down like the gods throwing a bucket of water on me from just off stage. I made it to the ticket booth where I found shelter for an hour to drain my shoes, trousers and t-shirt. I made it back to the hostel much later than I had planned, but nonetheless content that I had done it safely.

After a shower and another session of draining my clothes, I headed out for dinner. As soon as I hit the main road, I ran into the friendly gay couple again. They had already eaten, but decided to drink with me while I ate excellent Khmer bbq skewers. They had then planned to get massages, so I thought why not join them.

For $2, we sat side by side in an open courtyard just off the night market to receive a 30 minute foot, leg and shoulder massage. It certainly wasn't the best massage I have ever had, but it was excellent value and less unpredictable than my massage in Varanasi (and I like to think well earned after a hard day's cycling in the rain). The three girls giving us the massage followed a pattern that made it easy for them to follow each other, doing exactly the same technique at the same time. I must admit that I was overwhelmed with a sense of British awkwardness when all three girls worked their way up our calf muscles (safe), thighs (Danger Will Robinson), hips and crouch (not appropriate), then leaned forward resting their hands on the grooves of the lower Iliac crest. Luckily, they quickly descended back to the feet. Crisis averted.

A short night's sleep and another 12 hours of bus journey... I have now arrived in Sihanoukville. It lacks the gritty but fun flare of Siem Reap, as it is more of a relaxed seaside beach town. Tourism has rendered the locals bars, restaurants and other services exactly the same, though pricier, however. I feel myself getting bored already, though I have met two European girls with whom I am sharing a room. Some company should make this trip a little more bearable.

I'm hoping to spend the day scuba diving tomorrow and off to Phnom Penh for my final two days in Cambodia.