Cambodia

The temples and ruins around Siem Reap are truly amazing. But I have to say, Angkor Wat was not quite as impressive as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong. I still thought it was incredible; but having wanted to see it for such a long time, I think I built up a certain image of it in my mind. And when the actual buildings didn't quite match what I had imagined, I was a bit, just a bit, disappointed. In actuality, to me, some of the other temples/complexes there were more impressive than Angkor Wat.

Of course, the one temple all the guides said I "must see" was further away than the rest and thus cost more to go to. it was small but nice, especially the carvings, but "must see"? eh ... That one temple being further away than the rest brings up a problem with touring the area around Angkor. You can either buy a one-day ticket or a three-day ticket.

A two day ticket would probably be better for many people since the drivers or guides tend to make your forays to the temples end rather early in the day if you started out early in the morning. This is to give you something to visit on that third day. With a two day ticket, you would stretch those day out longer to get to the more distant temples instead of wasting the afternoons and spending the last day visiting only one or two temples, just so you don't waste the third day of your ticket. And, you wouldn't have to pay for a third day of driving. Sounds a bit complicated, but I think it would work.

Of course I am looking at this from a skinflint's perspective. If you have the time and the money, then definitely take your time and enjoy the temples. There is certainly enough to see there, and you may want to spend some time contemplating some special place.

One other thing that was interesting, when heading out to the temples, you certainly know when you are within the Angkor Archaeological Park. Outside the boundaries of the park there are hardly any "real" trees. Palm trees and a few young trees here and there, but nothing like you see when you cross that invisible line which means you have entered the park. Within the park, all the trees are protected and some of them have been there for a long time. Huge, stately, giant trees. Real trees. Maybe you can tell I have a penchant for the large and incredible in the natural world.

There is not much more I can say about the area. It really needs to be experienced. My pictures certainly won't do the area justice, but perhaps they can give you a taste of what you could expect to see. But let me warn you. I took a lot of photos, and I mean a lot. And when going through them it was difficult to toss any out. I am sure there are some that I kept that I shouldn't have, but to me, any that weren't blurry still said something special. I did toss some out though. I wouldn't want you to get too bored. Don't feel obligated to look through each and every one. Nothing is worse than having to sit through uncle Joe's travel slides. You are better off clicking the link and looking at the gallery view of all the photos. Then you can pick and choose the ones that strike your fancy and that you want to take a closer look at. Oh, and remember, they are geo-coded, so you can see where they were taken on the Google map, in satellite view.

I hope you find something you like. Here is the first set. (Yes, first... of three.)