Cambodia and the temples of Angkor Wat

Cambodia....
Crossing the border (if you can call it that) was a joke. I think that Canada's wonderland is more professional and has more of a secure border than these two countries. As usual, we bought a ticket that was supposed to take us from Thailand to Siem Riep, the region where the temple of Angkor was is located. At the border we were supposed to do our Visas to Cambodia on our own and then cross the border. SOUNDS pretty easy. The Thai people love to make money on stupid tourists. Since Marc and I pride ourselves on being the wiser of the bunch, we don't fall for tourists scams. When we got off the bus in Thailand to cross the border, a few really sleazy guys met us and asked for our passport and passport pictures so they can run to the border and do our Visas. The other tourists that got off the bus, complied with their instructions without hesitation. Not us, we knew better. They were asking for 1300 baht but we knew that Visas costs 1200 baht. We decided, not because of money but principle to do it ourselves. The sleazy guys looked really confused as if no one has ever done this. They said that the bus is not going to wait for us and that we have to do it with them. We said no and figured they would wait.

We crossed this joke of a border which housed several extravagant casinos along the way. At the visa office the sign said $20 dollars us and when we asked the guy beside the counter who looked like a police officer he said that it was 1000 baht. We were so happy that it was less than we expected, we forked over the money. Later we learned that $20 us dollars is actually $700 baht and we were jipped by the police man. I took that to heart. We're talking $7.50 is the difference but nonetheless, I felt like a fool. Finally on the Cambodian side we were looking for the sleazies to pick us up and take us on the bus to our destination but our guy was not there. In fact we waited for 20 minutes and watched other tourists cross the border picked up by their handlers and away they went. Other Cambodian sharks/sleeze/entrepreneurs I don't know what to call them (nothing nice comes to mind) tried to get us to pay for a private taxi all the way to our destination. They were telling us that all the buses have left and we will have no other choice. At this point I was really anxious to get going. I saw a tourism office right there and decided to go and complain about our experience.

Behind a small desk sat an older Cambodian gentlemen, he was scratching his feet and with one hand and used the other to pick his nose (we noticed that's a very common past time around here). He also had a mole on his right cheek from which he was sporting 7 long grey hairs. When he was done with his nose he would twirl the hairs as if to show that he was thinking. I explained what had happened to us and that we needed to get to our hotel. He listened and pulled out a card from his pocket that read: Ministry of Travel, Deputy General Director (I guess they like big titles around here). He was really nice and told me he was the right person to help us. Within five minutes we were in a private taxi on our way to Siem Riep. He also gave me some books and tips about places we should visit. He explained that in Cambodia majority of people are very nice and once in a while there will be a bad batch of people that will ruin it for others. He made me promise that this experience will not harm my opinion of the people of Cambodia. I explained that I agreed and understood him. I told him that in Canada we too have very nice people but there are a few bad apples along the way.

He was right, the people of Cambodia are very sweet and generous people. Although they live in complete poverty, they smile and try to help as much as they can. After Thailand we were expecting the worst but in turn we were pleasantly surprised. We love Cambodia, and extended our stay just by a few days. We tried some delicacy's while in Cambodia. When I say we I also mean Marc. For dinner we went to a bbq place and had Ostrich and Crocodile. They were actually quite delicious. Out of the two we both prefer Ostrich. We found a very good English book store and exchanged our old books for new ones. I already read 5 Grisham books, Hes just not that into you, and A thousand Splendid Suns (which was recommended by Irene and really amazing thanks). Marc is reading classics like Diary of Anne Frank, Death of a Sales Man and Animal Farm.

Angkor Wat... The reason we came to Cambodia. On Tuesday, we hired a driver who took us to this magnificent Temple. We also hired a tour guide, so I will recite what I learned. Angkor Wat was build by an Indian King that came to Cambodia in 1912 and married the Cambodian princess. The construction of Angkor Wat lasted over 50 years. It is a mix of Buddhist culture (Cambodia) and Hindu culture (India). The temple itself is quite large and it stands on the river bank, within old large trees. Its about 2km x1.5km. The temple has 5 large towers and the monks put offerings to Vishnu (Hindu god) and Buddha all in the same place. There are over 27 temples now and they are all built around the river. They used boats and elephants to transfer large rocks and haul them to the temple. We saw five temples the first day and another three the next. One of the temples we saw was used for the production for the oh so famous movie with Angelina Jolie, Tomb Raider. Being there truly felt like I was transferred to another time and another place.

Today we are in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. We are here to do our Visa for Vietnam. Tomorrow we are going to see the Royal Palace, The Phnom Penh museum, and S-21 (killing field not sure about this one but everyone recommends it).

We are doing really well, having a great time, missing our friends and family and talk about you everyday. Please keep the emails and comments and your feedback coming. It means a lot to us.

Kisses