Angkor What?

I wish I could claim the credit for that witty title, but it's actually the name of a bar in Siem Reap, Cambodia. A bar at which my friends and I have spent each and every single night since arriving in Siem Reap. It's mad grimy but a whole lot of fun.

When we haven't been drinking, we've been touring the jaw-droppingly amazing temples of this area. Angkor Wat is the biggest and most well-known, but some of the other temples we've visited have been either fascinating, beautiful, or both. I've seen quite a few things on this trip -- not the least of which were the giant karst formations during our junk cruise on Halong Bay, Vietnam -- but these enormous temples have just knocked my socks off. Much like the Kanheri Caves in Bombay, touring the temples is just a matter of poking around until you stumble upon carvings or Buddhas or perhaps a part of temple where the surrounding jungle is forcing its way in. Just as good is shimmying up the side of Angkor Wat for some truly spectacular views (unless look down and suffer from acrophobia).

I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the locale with the best sights also has the best nightlife. The boys and I went to Angkor What? the first night because our guidebook had recommended it. It was actually pretty quiet until we met a bunch of Italians and Australians. By night two, we were partying latenight with the Indian-born owner and the two Dutch bartenders. Last night, I was definitely dragged into a group photo of young Japanese tourists after dancing on a bench with them. The one chick on the end LOVED her some Alessandro. I had a terrific time until I took a wrong turn going home and ended up ankle-deep in mud. Then again, this is Cambodia. Mud happens.

Tonight is our last night in Siem Reap. In the (very early) morning, we hop a boat (woohoo no flying!) to Phnom Penh. We initially were going to the do the two cities in reverse until we noticed an extremely interesting -- and blatantly tourist-screwing -- thing: A ticket from Siem Reap to Bangkok costs $115, a ticket from Phnom Penh to Bangkok costs $45.50. Since Ho Chi Minh City to either city was the same (~$110) we opted to simply reverse our two Cambodian destinations and save some money. I have to say, it'll be sad to leave Siem Reap and, if Phnom Penh is anything like this, it'll be sad to hop our Air Asia flight back to Bangkok on Sunday.

Then again, my planned itinerary for Phnom Penh includes the "Killing Fields" and S-21, a notorious Khmer Rouge death camp. Maybe the beach (for those following along, we finally decided on Ko Phagnan) will be a welcome relief.

30 days of travel down, 9 to go.