Angkor Wat and the rest

What an interesting day!
Mr Cheat turned out to be the perfect host for the day. Unknown to me my tour was more than the temples of Angkor.
I was picked up at 8.30 as planned. We travelled the 5km to the Angkor complex, there were three of us, Mr Cheat the driver, a really lovely Cambodian tour guide and two rather strange Germans from Heidelberg.

The tour guide spoke English and what she didn't know about the history of the temples was not worth knowing. Our first stop was Angkor Wat. Famous as it is, it was not my favourite. I just loved Angkor Thom and the one which had featured in Tomb Raider.













There were quite a few tourists around but the second two temples were less busy and just oozed history. Got some great photos. Lara Croft, I know you are in there somewhere!





After the first two temples we stopped for lunch at which point the heavens opened up and the last temple complex was a bit of a washout.







After the temples we dropped the unfriendly Germans off at their hotel and made our way to the lake. The trip was hairy. This time it was not because If the driving. The roads were flooded. About 3ft of water. At one stage I was convinced that we were going to be swept away, the water was actually in the car, swilling around my ankles. At one stage I did think i should suggest that we turn back, especially as Mr Cheat's only conversation was 'oh no, oh no!'







The Tonal Sap lake is an enormous part of the Mekong Delta that went all the way to Phnom Pehn, indeed you could get a boat between the two cities. At this time if the year it was twice as big as in the dry season. Didn't I know it. At serveral points in the journey I suspect we were actually in it.

The lake was home to a number of floating villages. The poverty out there was very apparent. Most of the villagers lived as fisherman and some of the homes were no more than a room on stilts.


I should news to me and then told I was also booked for dinner and an evening show. Not my kind of thing but did not want to offend. I was quite looking forward to a drunken night in pub alley. The food was not the best I have had in Cambodia. In fact it was shite. I was clock watching till Mr Cheat came to pick me up at 8.30.
In reality he had probably saved me from myself. I had to be up at 5.30am to be picked up for the airport transfer and a heavy night would probably not have been my best idea.





One common factor that exists right across south east Asia is a passionate dislike for the south Koreans. I had come across it in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and now Cambodia. I had my own views but asked Tat, the guide why?

'they are so rude, the put nothing into the local economy, they use Korean guides, eat at Korean owned restaurants and shop at Korean owned shops. '

The ones I had come across in the last 6 weeks were indeed rude. Pushing in, extremely short and sometimes quite obnoxious to the locals... Tat had them sussed.

I was picked up at 6.00 the following morning and transported to the airport for my return to Miri via KL. It had been a great five weeks adventure!!


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Location:Siem Reap,Cambodia