Angkor Wat?!?!

We woke up that morning before dawn and got to the temple at around 20 after five. There were lots of people there (particularly lots of Koreans - speaking of which, "Be the Reds" shirts can be seen all around Southeast Asia though no one reacts to the clapping). Too bad it was so cloudy that there was no sunrise to be seen over Angkor Wat.

It was really incredible anyway and I particularly liked Angkor Thom's Bayon Temple, if that's what it's called. It was full of Buddha images that take your breath away. Really, they do!

At the temple we were taking pictures with monks and D'Arcy suggested I put my arms around them, so I did, and they jumped back in horror. Apparently it's a sin to touch a monk. My mistake. They seemed to kind of like it.

We booked tickets that night (last night) to take a bus from Siem Reap to the border of Thailand. This bus ride is notoriously the worst road in all the land, kept that way because of corruption between the Cambodian government and the airlines. We got on the bus this morning and heard horror stories from people who had previously taken the trip. So at the last minute we jumped ship and took a taxi for 35 dollars which allowed us to sit slightly more comfortably in good air con and to avoid the gaping potholes and speed past cows and ducks littering the road. I saw a man cycling with a stack of eggs - unbelievable.

Once at the border we made the mistake of paying for a private bus to Khoa San Rd. It was two o'clock and the bus man said the bus would leave at 3 or 3:30. We rolled out of there at about 5 after placating our angry selves with ice cream. Then the bus from the border to Bangkok took only 4 hours instead of the anticipated 6 so all's fine.

I met up with Wendy when I arrived after a year of separation, which was great! It feels like no time has passed. The only problem is that she's sick and not sure why. I hope it's just a combination of lack of sleep/jetlag/culture shock or something like that. Hopefully she'll get some sleep tonight and be fine tomorrow or we'll be checking out the Bangkok medical facilities!