In Which I Find that Angkor Wat Exceeds Expectations (and Siem Reap Needs Improvement)

The last (new) city on my itinerary for southeast Asia was Siem Reap. And the temples did not disappoint (although, thanks to the 100 degree temperature and the high humidity, by 4 I'd had enough sightseeing for the day). After visiting the main temple (Angkor Wat), we headed to the "Tomb Raider" temple, which was entirely unfamiliar, as I tend to repress all action movie-related memories. Real name: Ta Phrom. The highlight (in part because it was not as familiar an image as the maon Angkor Wat temple) Bayon, which has 54 towers, each displaying 4 faces of Buddha. We also managed to get to Angkor Wat at 5:45 the next morning (painful) to catch sunrise. Totally touristy experience, but also really great. Expect photos in the next couple of days.

Unfortunately, lots of people come to Siem Reap. And many of them are young westerners that seem overly focused on getting drunk as quickly as possible. Their destination: Pub Street, which is full of (you guessed it) pubs (also restaurants catering to tourists). In fact, Angkor What? Bar (one of the oldest in Siem Reap, at 10 years and change) has a special: buy two pitchers of cocktails (not beer) at the same time and get a free t-shirt. Since people generally don't share t-shirts, this means that everyone (too cheap to spend $5 for a t-shirt) has to get two pitchers EACH. Good times. Basically, a Vang Vieng situation, but with an amazing historical site 15 minutes away.

And poverty was/is still a huge problem in Siem Reap. Lots of street kids selling things, lots of landmine victims begging. Plus, there's a great children's hospital that provides free service, but because its main source of revenue is charitable contributions made by tourists and tourism is down 70% in Cambodia, it looks like life for Siem Reap's poor children will be getting even tougher.