Wonder of the world

The trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was long indeed but at least everything went smooth unlike a previous and unforgettable one we had in Laos many years ago. There were roadworks for the whole first 150 km making driving very slow and bumpy. However the nearer we were approaching the town,  the more the road was improving and suddenly the roadway became large and smooth : we were in Temple Town.

We spent our four days in Siem Reap in the very nice River Queen Guesthouse managed by Richard and his friend, in a fantastic location near the river : close enough to nightlife and far enough to feel a more khmer atmosphere. Richard is the author of the blog I mentioned before (link on the right). We were offered a room (deluxe room) with a large balcony overlooking the river, and I immediately felt that I would come back once again. Although being generally fussy about accommodation, my boyfriend liked it too and he quickly became friend with the two house dogs.

Our three full days there were rather exhausting with two days and a half visiting the main Angkor temples and the last afternoon visiting the Thonlesap lake. The guesthouse gave us a nice tuk-tuk driver who spoke good english and his son who replaced him on day 2 was pretty cute too ; visiting more far-away temples as well as the lake gave us a good insight into khmer country life.

Angkor Wat boys

Your tourist guidebook will tell you about the Angkor temples much better than me. Although not being too much into old stones, I can only confirm that everyone of them is worthwhile, each one having its own caracter and charm. Marvelous, huge, fine, are some of the worlds which come to mind and I can understand why some people can stay many days or weeks exploring them. The weather was not very fine but I think that hordes of tourists which visit the temples at high season would be a bigger annoyance han lack of sun. I came here for visiting the temples and possibly meditating among these mighty and magnificent monuments, not for shooting professionnal pictures.

As for the lake, the trip to Khomphong Pluk is worth the long and bumpy ride ; it allows to feel the might of nature which elevates the level of the lake in the rainy season about 10 meters higher than in the dry season, thanks to the water coming from the Mae Khong River, and to appreciate how finely the locals have adapted to this exceptional natural phenomenon.