Culture Shock

So I've been trying to update from Siem Reap but the internet connection was horrible so I'm doing it from the airport as I'm waiting for my flight to Bangkok.

Siem Reap is a horrid little town, full of obnoxious Western tourists and not worth the time for the lack of charm it has. I've experienced a MAJOR culture shock coming from my lovely little Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. What happened to the beautiful Cambodia I've come to know and love?? Tourists, that's what.

I missed Sothear (guy that works at the desk), the moto drivers outside the guesthouse, the incredibly refreshing lack of tourists, the huge NGO community. Phnom Penh has nice people in it too, whereas Siem Reap is becoming so used to tourists that people are rude and aggressive. Both Cambodians and the tourists. While Phnom Penh is full of people working to change their society, Siem Reap is full of gargantuan sized blondies (deutch ja?) and aggressive little Japanese that try jocking for a place at the top of Angkor Wat and in process send people spiralling down three flights of ancient stairs. (Ok, no that didn't happen but it could've!) In short, I am rather disgusted by it.

Ok enough bitching about Siem Reap, its an ugly little tourist town that offers none of the charms that Phnom Penh has. So why have we come here? Simple, the temples. And despite all the trappings of this town, the temples are amazing.

We saw Angkor Wat at sunrise, along with nearly another 1000 other people, but it was amazing. These structures are impressive, and are about a thousand years old. They are incredibly well preserved, and the extensive restoration process has, if you'll allow a little mellow drama, brought out all their glory. The complex is huge, in fact its thought to be the largest religious building in the world. Climbing to the top of the structure, you can see all of the flat, open land out in front of you and the temples beyond it. I'll have to post pictures when I get home as its a difficult place to describe.

We visited all the major temples, Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Phrom, and various smaller unique temples a ways out of the main complex area. Its like an adults Disneyland. Climbing, exploring, simply put, gazing in awe at everything around you. The bas reliefs cover nearly every temple, all telling the particular story of whatever king built it in addition to religious stories and histories. Ta Phrom is undoubtedly one of my favorites (Tomb Raider temple). They have not completely resorted it and allowed the gigantic trees that have covered it to remain and so you see tentacles of roots everywhere, covering the structure in the most picturesque ways. In fact, its so amazing that this morning we returned since yesterday we had bad lighting.

So Siem Reap is worth it for the temples. I'll be posting photos when I get home, so stay tuned. (If anyone is actually reading this :-) )

I'm leaving for Bangkok and from there I have a red eye to Seoul. I'm super excited as I'm meeting up with my friend's husband and her friend and hanging out with them. Unfortunately I she has to work but it will be good to have someone to hang out with while I'm in Seoul. What I'm not looking forward to is the temperature. I'm going from consistent 90F to about 30F. Damn, that's going to suck.

Cambodia is amazing but I doubt I'll actually process everything I've seen here until I spend sometime at home. Its certainly inspired me and I think may push me in a direction I never thought I would go, law, but we will see what happens. I already have a list of the organizations I'd like to work with someday. Its a start. I have a lot to think about on the way home.

I'll post from home with pictures!