We flew into Siem Reap direct from KL. We hit the ground and had our first, real experience with militant immigration and visa applications. We were first in line and as such, didn't have any direction to follow. We wandered up to the first counter and had a staredown with the agent. After about 2 minutes, we were ushered forward to hand over our passports and then were summarily dismissed to "stand over there." We went to the next person who sent us to the next person who sent us to the next person. We reached the correct counter and stepped up. The agent promptly told us to step back into line. There was no line. We dutifully stepped back 2 feet and watched the agent do mysterious things with our passports. Finally we were summoned forward, paid and got our visas.
I had another dumbass moment and got stuck outside the airport without my passport and Molly was inside waiting for me. I got a security agent, went to all sorts of places that I was not supposed to go and eventually made a security guard go inside and retrieve Molly. We eventually got our Tuk-Tuk and headed into town.
Siem Reap is almost bipolar. There is a significant segment of the population with wealth, and they like to show it. I saw more Toyota Landcruisers and the Lexus counterpart than I have ever seen in my life. They were all over the place. Most were tagged with foot high letters declairing "Land Cruiser" or "Lexus" as well. Comparatively, the bulk of the Cambodian population live on roughly $1 a day.
We hit up Pub Street, the Old Market and the Night Market(s) nearly every day. Pub street is the major backpacker hub, the Old Market is the green market and seafood market and the Night Markets are where you get every assorted piece of crap you never knew you needed. There are multiple night markets, all with neon signs pointing this way or that, directing you to an ever cheaper assortment of goodies.
Siem Reap is also the gateway to Angkor Wat. This is a massive array of temples, palaces and other assorted ruins north of the city. They have been the sight of many movies, notably Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The Emperor and Liu Kang's final fight? Angkor Wat.
The ruins are incredible. The thing that pictures can't really describe is the sheer scale that these are built on. The temples are massive and we spent hours traversing individual complexes. But the real kicker is the size of the complexes. The first day we took a Tuk-Tuk to the first temple complex which is actually called Angkor Wat. After a few hours there, we walked to Angkor Thom and the Bayon temple complex. It is over a kilometer just to get through Angkor Wat and another half a km to the south gate of Angkor Thom. We saw the gate and started to celibrate. We took a bunch of pictures and headed into the complex. The road is rail straight and so long that you couldn't see Bayon. It was 2 km more INSIDE the walls just to get to the temple! This is a walled, controlled area. It houses 10 major and minor temple complexes, a Tuk-Tuk parking area and a food court. We also hit the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.
At this point I was tired, sweaty, sunbeaten, dusty and just generally over life. We nabbed someone else's Tuk-Tuk (this is why you don't pay in advance) and headed back to the hostel for a good dose of A/C and swimming pool. The next day we took the more traditional tourist routine which is a Tuk-Tuk on the small tour. We focused on the second half from the giant buddha statue and back around. We climbed to the top of a ziggurat and took some cool pictures. The bridge was razor straight and over a hundred yards long. Once again, the sheer scale is incredible.
Another feature on the small loop is the "Tomb Raider" temple. It hasn't been as managed as most and features the wilderness slowly eating away at the temple. Trees, hundreds of feet tall, have eaten huge chunks out the the temple complex and its walls. While a serious tourist trap, the temple keeps up with the hype. At this point my camera overheated and we were down to just Molly's. We finished off the loop, headed back to Angkor Wat and hung out for sunset over the temple and the moat.
Day three we took a Tuk-Tuk on the big loop past the aquifer and through another temple complex. We picnic'd at a temple and caught the sunset again. After the first day, we had decided to take it a lot slower the second two days. We took advantage of the transportation, brought snacks and books to read. The three day pass is a pretty sweet deal and we tried to use it to the max.
The three day pass is $40 and you can use it over the course of a week. We did the first day, took a couple of days off to hang out in town, and then did the second and third day back to back. There is a 7 day pass which can be used over the course of a month for $60 and also a one day pass for $20. For us, the 3 day pass was just about right for our budget and ambitions.
Hahahahahaha!
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