Temples and crocodiles

Temples, temples, temples! What else do people got to Siem Reap for? And why not, there are enough temples in the area to last a lifetime. But that is not all that there is.

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Scooters, taxis, bicycles, tuktuks, walking, elephants, buses, trucks- all forms of transport seem to be available here. And at reasonable prices.

The Dead Fish Tower looks good on paper. And it is not so much that it is disappointing in real life, just not exactly what we were expecting. The room was nice but had no outside window. We paid $20 a night for a twin room which seems reasonable until you actually get to Cambodia and see what other prices are available. That said, the room was big and clean and cool. It had a TV- not that we needed it. The restaurant was really the highlight of the place. And there are many other types of room available with prices starting from $5 a night for a single room next to the crocodile pool.

Yes, crocodile pool.

Which is in the corner of the multilayer restaurant. The food was great and the building was very interesting. We spent most of the meal looking around in wonder.

The guesthouse also offers free manicures and pedicures and a 10% if you make a complaint- but we took advantage of none of these.

This was a great, relaxed bar with the tallest bar stools I have ever seen in my life! Even my mate, who is over six foot tall, was sitting there with her feet dangling in the air.

We went there for some beer but ended up staying for food too. And as two British girls, we were given the most convincing plate of chips that we had eaten in a long time.

The service was good and the ambiance in this old French colonial house was perfect for a bit of relaxation after a hard day sightseeing at the temples.

Angkor Wat, a.k.a the reason that many people go to Cambodia and certainly one of the main reasons for going to Siem Reap. One of the most impressive of all the temples in the area, Angkor Wat is hardly likely to disappoint. It appears on the national flag as it is rightly a symbol of the country's rich and vibrant past. It has also been marked by the more recent tragic history of the country.

It was built as a Hindu temple and decorated accordingly, the statues of Buddha being added at a later stage. We went before the sun came up and bought our temple passes for our time in Siem Reap for $40 for a three-day pass. One day passes are available for $20 and all passes give you access to all the temples in the area.

It is possible to climb all over the temple presently. Though there is a great view from the top it is a bit hairy climbing back down again- look for the staircase with the new addition of concrete even steps when you are trying to get back down.

Overall, from the grandness of the moat to the sight of the temple appearing majestically through the haze of the dawn, Angkor Wat is everything that you imagine it to be and more.

We were amazed and smitten with every temple that we saw that day, but one that was unique (hang on, they were all unique, is it possible to say that it was ‘more unique’? My grasp of English lets me down here!) and really stood out was Ta Prohm. This temple was built around 1186 and sometime between then and now the jungle has reclaimed it. Massive trees sprout from the walls and towers of the temple, their roots dripping down the walls like wax from a candle. The power of nature was very much evident here; huge chunks of masonry have been shifted and sometimes knocked to the ground by these gigantic trees. Hollywood could not have made anything better than this. I can’t say enough times how awesome it was and how no photo will every truly do it justice, believe me, my camera and I tried very hard to capture something of the spirit of the place.

The location of the village depends on the season and at this time in the wet season it lines the banks of the river. In the dry season, when the water level decreases, the whole thing moves back onto the lake. There are three ethnic groups living in a variety of boats and floating structures, the Khmers, the Vietnamese and the Khmer Muslims. And everything is on the water- the schools, the houses, the churches, we even saw a pig sty! At the time that we went the kids were all coming home from school, rowing themselves down the river back to their dwellings or lolling on the platforms in hammocks. We hired a boat which took us up the river to a restaurant and crocodile farm, where we drank coke and took photos. The boatman pointed out some things to us and told us that every one of the houses has a telly- powered by a car battery. It was really cool.