Sunrise (Angkor Wat), Sunset (Phnom Bakheng) quickly goes the days

The evening of the 24th we arrived at Siem Reap's airport. The weather was hot and humid but we were able to see a gorgous sunset in our Tuk-Tuk. We were disappointed to learn our hotel was not able to arrange a guide for us the next day, but we did secure a driver willing to take us to Angkor Wat at 4:45am to see the sunrise! There is an excellent system in place that allows you to pay one rate to see all the local temples. We were also impressed with the number and cleanliness of the public bathroom arranged between temples.

We spent the majority of the day being driven around to various temples. Each with it's own style. Angkor Wat is huge and the steps to get to the top level are so steep we went up on all fours. Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raiders II and Two Brothers was filmed) has not been restored and trees and roots are interwined with the ruins. Ta Keo was small and pyramid-like but few crowds and again a steep climb. Preah Khan was a maze and tons of tourists. Neak Pean is a small temple in the middle of a manmade lake with four smaller lakes surrounding it. Ta Som has a great gate with four faces on it.

After all of that, it was only 11:30 and we were tired and hungry so we headed into town. We had a great local lunch topped off with fresh lime sorbet. We spent the middle of the afternoon napping then headed to Phnom Bakheng (4:30pm) for sunset. It was a zoo! People everywhere and only one steep staircase to climb up and down. It was worth fighting the crowds as we saw Angkor Wat from a distance and the sunset was Brilliant!!! We both commented it is not often we watched the sunrise and sunset in the same day. The day was concluded with a few beverages and another fabulous Khmer (Cambodian) meal.

Today we slept in, changed hotels then rented bikes and head to see some additional temples. The major of the day was spent in Angkor Thom. We biked around 15 miles and although exhausted, filthy and famished it was a terrific way to spend a day visiting temples and enjoying the Cambodian countryside. For those of you who saw the pencil stash for the trip, you will be happy to know it brought many smiles to the kids at the temples.

We found Cambodian people to be friendly with a good sense of humor. The food has been very good also. The countryside is amazing and we are definitely interested in seeing more of this mysterious country. Another interesting fact is that the US dollar is the form of currency preferred. When we exchanged traveller's checks we received USD. Shocking!!