June 2: Siem Reap/Angkor Wat

Today was the day to visit Angkor Wat, the magnificent ancient temples that brings most of Cambodia's foreign tourists to this country. Angkor Wat is actually justthe name of one temple in an area full of temples and a magnificent walled city.

They weren't anywhere close to my main reason for coming to Cambodia, though I can't put my finger exactly on why I have wanted to travel here for more than a decade. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that, Angkor Wat aside, "nobody" comes to Cambodia.

I hired Bunny for the day to drive me to the temples and ferry me from one to the next. They're well spread out, and walking from temple to temple would be too exhausting on a short visit. As a point of reference, there are two "courses" for visiting Angkor Wat, the mini course and the full course.

The "mini" course is 17 km.

That's more than 10 miles, just for getting from one temple to the next.

The temples are truly amazing, and I enjoyed visiting them, though one day was enough for me. A one-day admission ticket is $20, three days cost $40, and a week sets you back $60, so it's clearly a better deal to stay longer.

From sunrise over Angkor Wat itself to the immense size of the walled city of Angkor Thom to the crumbling temple of Ta Praham, where parts of the 2000 Angelina Jolie movie Tomb Raider were flimed, my day was full. Like the ancient rulers who built Tikal, the kings who built the temples at Angkor didn't suffer fat, out-of-shape tourists kindly. Steps to the top were, to say the least, steep.

Throughout the day, I had the chance to talk to many Khmer -- most of whom were trying to sell me something -- who live and work around the temples. I met a girl named Sri Kreung, or something close to that, who I talked with for probably 30 minutes as she tried to sell me a tablecloth. The truth of the matter is, I did like the tablecloth, but I was enjoying talking to her and she seemed to enjoy talking to me. She's cute, smart and a good businesswoman: she anticipated all of my reasons for not buying -- don't worry, I have a plastic bag for you so it won't get wet if it rains! don't worry, your driver can lock it in his tuk tuk so you don't have to carry it! don't worry, if your wife doesn't like it, you can tell her that you're a better person because you bought it from me!

She's also talkative: She told me that her parents and teachers tell her that she talks all the time. Having this particular affliction myself, we made a good pair for a conversation about, essentially, nothing.

Sri Kreung told me that she is in 9th grade and that her whole life will probably be spent hawking stuff at Angkor Wat. She had started selling flutes and bracelets when she was 5 years old, and had graduated to shirts and tablecloths after people started telling her she was too old to sell bracelets. She said that most tourists won't talk to her aside from "no thanks" and "go away." I knew this was the case, and wanted to actually talk to the people. What's the point of traveling if you don't meet the people who live where you are traveling?

Eventually, I bought the tablecloth. When I travel to developing countries, I would rather support people who are working, rather than those who are begging.

Another aspect of the temples is that it pays to be there early. I arrived at 5:30 for sunrise; by 9:00, I was being overrun by Korean and Vietnamese tourists. By 11:30, I had the temples mostly to myself again, as the package tourists headed back to their hotels for lunch and a rest.

In retrospect, a rest might not have been a bad idea. By the time I finished at 3:00, I was beat and probably had a small case of heat exhaustion. By 6:00, I was shivering with a fever, taking cold showers, drinking icy banana shakes and eating salty food. After another 11 hours of sleep, I woke up Saturday morning with everything back to normal.