Angkor Wat

Chris' prediction that our trip to the Angkor Wat temple complex was going to be the highlight of our trip so far wasn't far wrong.

We were sobered by what we saw in the country's capital Phnom Penh, but we were awestruck by what we saw here at Angkor Wat, five and a half kilometres from Siem Reap.

At $20 per person for one day's access to the complex, it's not exactly cheap as chips to come here. However, it's completely worth it. Many people take two to three days to explore, a sensible option. As per, chris and I were short on time so did as much as we could in just a day.

Built in the 12th century, mainly from sandstone, the complex of temples is immense at 1000 square kilometres. Angkor Wat itself is so magnificent, one wonders whether it's even worth visiting any of the others!

Our favourite however, was the Bayon temple in Angkor Thon: with hundreds of faces staring out at us, there's an eerie sense that living mortals aren't the only ones around!

Strangely, that evening on HBO (on our satelite TV in our $10 air-conditionned room, don't you know!) Lara Croft appeared before me at this very site! Having never seem the film Tomb Raider, I couldn't believe part of it was filmed at the very temple I had visited just that day!

Our tuk tuk driver did a great job of taking us to the largest and most magnificent temples and we were completely overwhelmed at each.

This vast Khmer temple city once was home to a million people at a time when London had only 300,000. We tried to imagine these jungle-covered ruins in all their majesty in the 1850s when the French rediscovered it in all its splendour. It took them five years to just clear the vegetation before beginning preservation. Chris proclaimed it to be real Indiana Jones exploration:

"You do feel a childlike sense of discovering a new hidden place. How incredible would it have been to explore this ancient city with the French archiological school of Indochina? " (Quote from Christophe!)

As has happened a few times with us on our travels, especially in India, the tuk tuk got a flat tyre. This was one of our only experiences in Cambodia to get off the beaten track and meet people living out of the 'dollarised' cities that the tourists flock to. We were nothing less than thrilled with this chance to meet some locals who live very simple lives on the doorstep of Cambodia's biggest tourist attraction.

Strangely, we were touring Angkor Wat the same day exiled ex-Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra headed for a game of golf with his mate the Cambodian PM. This relationship is enraging Thailand. He's closer than ever to his native Thailand after being ousted from rule. The Cambodians however refuse to extradite him. As helicopters fly overhead and we whizz past hundreds of military police on the way back to the hotel, our tuk tuk driver explains that he is convinced that there will soon be war.