Cambodia: Angkor what!!

Cambodia. The kingdom of Cambodia. That's where I've spent four days. I never thought I'd be in Cambodia. It baffles me. 

My time here was well spent. If your a map person, I am in Siem Reap. I spent Monday in a cooking class learning how to make some traditional Cambodian dishes. This class included a trip to the market to see where the food comes from. This trip saw a pigs head for sale, and I tried red ants. Surprisingly sour. 

Tuesday was biking! We rented bikes and trekked about a half hour out to Angkor Wat and the surrounding areas. (Its pronounced like 'anchor watt') It's the biggest religious site in the world. According to the guide book the temples were built over a thousand years ago and always in use to some capacity. The jungle overtook them and they were hidden from the average traveler. In the 16th century a Portuguese man discovered them and in the 18th century archeologists from Europe came to explore the site. It's under constant upkeep and many of the sites were rebuilt. I wandered around wondering what it would look like claimed by the jungle. What condition it was in when westerners came and how much of it was rebuilt. The area is so immensely touristy it's hard to tell. Being the fun folk we are, we had an awesome picture session. There were some ruins behind a food and shop area that weren't overrun by tourists because they were very significant. But we checked me out and had fun with panorama pictures and the timer. 

Biking was the best way to see the temple grounds. There was one temple that had faces carved into the towers. You could see the individual blocks and it made me wonder if the faces were carved before the blocks were put together or after. And the inside I could look up and see how the blocks all fit together perfectly to form the point I saw on the outside. About halfway thru the day, after biking past a temple being rebuilt with scaffolding and cranes, it just hit me.... How did a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?? ....... The same way they built the pyramids and the great walk of china..... The aliens helped them. (If you're not a movie buff that was National Treasure) But in all seriousness, it's amazing to see what people could do in the absence of modern tools and technology. 

Then today was a lazy day. Slept in a bit, sat by the pool a bit and got a five dollar massage. Feet and hands with a touch of shoulder. One hour long and only five bucks!!! So great. 

Oh and did you know that Cambodia functions mostly on United States currency? The ATM gave me US dollars. The exchange is about 4000 to 1. So when I buy a beer for 50cents. (Yes, fifty cents!) I can pay with one dollar and get 2000 Cambodian Riel in return. I don't know why they use USD. Perhaps because the Riel has such a low value. All I know is I got 100 out of the ATM and realized I couldn't remember the last time I had possessed a hundred dollar bill in America and here I am in Cambodia of all places with one. 

Tomorrow morning I'm on a bus to Bangkok to catch a train south once more. Headed for an island. 

Until next time. Love from Cambodia. 

Intricate detail carved into a block in the ruins at Angkor Wat.