Here are some representative shots out of the 200 I’ve taken at Angkor Wat. Elyse and I spent 3 full days exploring the ruins and were barely able to take in all the major sites.

One of the highlights was watching the sun come up over the Bayon, the famous temple complex that has giant faces of buddha all over it. We were the only ones there and were able to explore the eerie morning ruins without running into tourists or monks. It was awesome.

We’re leaving Siem Riep town today for Koh Samui (Thailand) by plane. We’re getting near the end of our trip… We’ll be spending the rest of our time on the islands, taking in some sun, and relaxing before we have to join the real world once again. Elyse plans on taking her open water course and I’ll be doing some diving as well. We’re having fun and are not really ready to come home, but we miss everyone and are excited about sharing our stories.

See you all soon!
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So, after Saigon we headed south and west, into the Mekong delta. We had a few extra days, so we thought we’d take the long way to Phenom Pehn: bus and boat.

A few sidetrips included a visit to the Cao Dai temple and the nearby Cu-Chi tunnels. The tunnels were strictly for military use Jeremy.

The delta itself is densely populated, filled with small towns and agricultural villages clustered around the maze of rivers and canals of the Mekong as it reaches toward the sea. We stopped for one night at a village on a rather large island in the delta called tiger island. We stayed with a family and had an opportunity to see how they lived. It was a memorable experience.

From there we took a series of speed boats up a tributary to Phenom Pehn. Phenom Pehn is an extraordinary place, remarkable because it has come so far in recovering from 30 years of war. The Khmer Rouge pretty much cleaned the place out in 75-76, forcing everyone into the countryside into farming collectives (and slaughtering all artists and intellectuals). So the city was a ghost town between 76 and 79, when the Vietnamese invaded. After that, and prolonged civil war broke out, with the Khmer Rouge being funded by the US and Britain in their war against the Vietnamese puppet government. Nice eh? The history of Cambodia had been turbulent since, with a coup as recent as ’97.

Things are starting to get better here though, with two big influxes of cash: the UN and me! Yes, tourism, especially around Angkor, is getting bigger. The roads are getting better and the tourist buses are making it here all the way from Bangkok.

Anyway, included in this (and the following) post are tons of pictures. Enjoy.
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