Asian Vacation, part 2

From Phuket we flew to Bangkok where we switched flights then headed on to Siem Reap, Cambodia. When we landed in Siem Reap we were ushered into a line that lead to a huge desk running the length of the room. When we got to the front of the line we found out we had to pay $20US each for a tourist visa. Then about 50 workers took our money, looked at our passports, stamped our passports, entered our info into their system, and gave us back our passports at the end of the desk by calling out our names. Awesome. A shuttle from our hotel picked us up at the airport and drove us about 10 minutes to the hotel.

Our shuttle driver was also our hotel checker-inner and our bell boy and our tuk tuk driver hirer our tour guide and our our restaurant guide. He was so nice that I kept whispering to Josh that we were probably getting scammed. Our hotel was old and gorgeous and run down. Lots of big windows, a formal dining room, huge rooms and baths, really pretty ceiling molding, and a great staff. It was very strange to be in such a fancy place that was mostly empty.

Anyway, Siem Reap was somewhat confusing because everyone we met was helpful, kind, and generous. On the other hand Cambodia has had such a violent and tragic history, and human trafficking is a huge problem there.

Regardless, we only had 2 days so we only focused on Angkor. There were so many temples and ruins that it could probably take weeks or months to really see all of them. Our tuk tuk driver, Mr. Sarth, was very helpful and helped us decide where to go.

It's hard to describe Angkor. Imagine driving through the city, past rice fields, and into the jungle. The road curves and there are huge ruins made of cut rock and carvings, and being held up by trees and vines. It really is that amazing and mysterious.