Bye bye Siem Reap, hello Phnom Penh

Journey aside; we had a lovely time in Siem Reap. The only reason people visit is to see Angkor Wat, rather than the town itself, so it retains the charm of a small relaxed town rather than a busy tourist hub. The people were all warm and friendly, and even the tuk-tuk drivers were more interested in showing off their vehicle than trying to rip us off.

Angkor Wat is a world heritage site, one of the wonders of the world, and apparently, the biggest religious building ever constructed. It’s all that Cambodia seems to have going for it, and pictures of Angkor are on everything from the flag to beer and cigarettes – the message being that Cambodia might be in a bit of a state now, but the Cambodians built Angkor Wat, and it doesn’t get much better than that.

There are two war museums in Siem Reap, and they are themselves at war. The owner of the one we chose to visit was arrested when a former army general decided to open a competing museum. Strangely, to secure his release, he’s scrapped the admission charge (so that his museum is no longer classified as such) but this has only increased its popularity. Lots of photos of the museum and Wat to follow.

Keen to avoid the Cambodian roads, we booked a flight to take us to Phnom Penh. The flight was smooth and only 40 minutes. There was just enough time to take off, throw some food at us, and then land again. We took a taxi to a hotel that we’d pre-booked only to find that the price had gone up 50% overnight. Neither of us felt like being ripped off again so we took a tuk tuk and fortunately managed to find a reasonable hotel on the other side of town.