Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Siem Reap - Angkor Wat

After spending one night in Phnom Penh we caught a bus to Siem Reap, near Angkor Wat. The road to Siem Reap was so bad that I am awarding the Gold Medal for the worlds worst road to Cambodia's Highway 6. It took 9 hours to travel just over 200km but the worst part was that myself and Sara got stuck in the back row of the bus with two Korean women. We spent much of the journey out of our seat as the bus made its way over the worst roads I've seen in a long time. On reaching Siem Reap we decided that we would catch the boat back to Phnom Penh three days later, rather than endure that bus ride again.

ANGKOR WAT
Two days in Siem Reap was not enough. Angkor Wat is incredible and its only one of many highlights in the area. Although the weather was not always agreeable we spent the best part of two full days in the Angkor grounds and visited many of the surrounding temples as well. The personal highlight was crawling up to the top of Angkor Wat on hands and knees and making it to the top just before the rain came bucketing down.

The entrance to Angkor Wat

Climbing Angkor Wat

There were too many photo opportunities to document but below are a selection to give an idea of what the grounds look like.

Angkor Wat

Yesterday we returned to Phnom Penh - via boat this time - so that we could visit the Killing Fields, S-21 (the school where the Khymer Rouge tortured their prisoners), and the Royal Palace. With that now done we are about to head south to the beach town of Sihanoukville about three hours away.

Cambodia has been a real eye opener. The temples are stunning, the beggars are relentless and although the weather has been overcast for the best part of two weeks now, today is clear and at last the sun is out. Glen is still with us but by Sunday he needs to be back in Bangkok to catch his flight home. At this stage Sara and I are thinking of staying in Cambodia for a week longer.