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We crossed the border of Thailand into Cambodia at Aranyaprathet. No one was able to do this crossing before because of Khmer Rouge activity. But the Khmer Rouge had now disbanded and the border crossing was now thought to be safe into Poipet on the Cambodian Side.

Cambodia story.

Jonnytelak
2005-12-25 14:37:33

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All credit to the locals,some of them old too, who do it regularly. I am Always impressed by the resillience of the people. To have been at war for over 40yrs and suffer inconcievable attrocities....hardships...and god knows what else..but still carry on and have time to smile and speak with me kindly and with patience.

So eventually we arrive at Siem Reap and we get out at the guesthouse. We didn't have to stop there he would have taken us around to other guesthouses till we found one we liked. But i didn't want to go another kilometer. I just wanted a bed to rest on. it was now early evening.The guesthouse was lovely, rooms from $5 up. they were clean and tidy and very nice. The owners were friendly and served food and beer too.So we stayed there. I recommend it to anyone...you can always go for the $1 a night place..Naga Guesthouse...but you get what you pay for ..generally.....so i stayed at Angkor guest house 286 Tahul Road...i have scanned in the card at the side of this page.

That's the least i can do for them, the tout was also working at this guesthouse AND was our guide for Angkor. If you want to see Angkor you have to buy an entrance ticket..$20 (american) for one day....$40 for three days or $60 for 5 days. You also have to have an official guide and they come with motorcycle for about $6 a day...more for a car.

So our new found friend and guide took us round Angkor. A truely amazing place. should be one of the seven wonders of the world. The jungle has grown on the city and there is a very slow process of trying to rebuild it and uncover it.....they have a long way to go!
Unfortunately the Khmer Rouge saw fit to try and demolish as much of it as they could which adds to the destruction.

As you approach Angkor you have to go through one of the 'gates'. and lined up either side of the passage leading to the gate are statues of mythical creatures pulling on great serpents. I forget the meaning of this, but the heads of the mythical beings have been decapitated by the Khmer Rouge. A few of the heads have been restored and You could see what a powerful sight it must have been when all the heads were in place. It was really on my second trip through the gate that i felt the powerful gaze of the few heads that were there. So it is important to go back at least one more time to the places that you liked the fist time around. As the feeling and power of the staues and monuments build up inside you slowly.

I watched the sun go down on New years eve sitting on a Temple in Angkor..... it was perfect!
In all i spent 3days looking round Angkor which was enough ..Just...the more you are into it the more time you could spend there. I wished that i had read up about Angkor more before i came. It would have been nice to have a book on the bas reliefs that adourn the buildings so that i would know more of what i was looking at.