Chinese New Year - Part ONE - Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

We had the privilege of going to Cambodia over Chinese New Year and seeing one of the wonders of the world: Angkor Wat. Little did I know that there were many of these temples, with Angkor Wat being the best-preserved of them all. The best part of our trip was meeting the local Cambodians and getting to learn a bit more about the history of this nation. Things in Cambodia were definitely more expensive than other places in South-East Asia. Our theory is that they're using the US dollar, and the Cambodian Riel is only for the "cents" part of the prices (there are no US coins in circulation here). It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few years if the prices continue rising - we talked to the locals to see if they paid what we were paying, and it was pretty close... I'm guessing the income gap is going to widen fast and furiously if something is not done (not to mention the seemingly huge influx of foreigners opening up businesses in Siem Reap... driving the locals out??) In any case, we've learned a lot and hope that you will enjoy this photo-story!

We arrived in Phnom Penh on a hot and sunny day, and were greeted in town by the millions of these "tuk-tuks" - they were INCREDIBLY comfortable, and we could've ridden in them all day long...

This is a replica (along the banks
of the Tonle River) of the famous Angkor story of the
"Churning of the Ocean of Milk"

Gasoline (often watered-down) is often sold in whisky bottles along the side of the
street yet it's almost as expensive as what we'd pay in Canada!

We took a 5 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh up to Siem Reap. It cost $10 - which was a lot more than we'd have thought it would cost - the buses in Mexico were a lot nicer, and cheaper. This photo was taken at a town along the way. I liked the way everyone was hanging about, chatting, as dusk approached. I also liked the cows going home... (they're white... do you see them?)

There go the last of the cows... you can see its rear-end - home to the Mobile Phone Shop!

The walkway up the the main temple.

These lions and the 5- or 7- headed snakes ("Naga") are
distributed all over Cambodia, and of course within
the temple compounds.

IMAGES OF ANGKOR WAT:

IMAGES OF US AND ANGKOR WAT:

I'm trying to attempt a spear-throwing pose...
but I'm nowhere close! :)





Outside of Angkor Wat await all the Tuk-tuks - you hire one with a
driver for the day for $12... it's nice having a chauffeur :)