Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor

Now for the happy part of Khmer history (and one which the book I bought on Cambodia did not cover and I therefore know virtually nothing about), the ancient part. The Khmer empire used to cover much of mainland South East Asia. The God Kings of Cambodia dominated over the Thais and Vietnamese, bitter enemies who later overshadowed them in military and economic power. To honor how bad ass they were, the Khmer kings ordered the construction of what are among the most beautiful and well preserved historical buildings I have ever seen: the Temples of Angkor. While the temple complex is sprawling, the highlight for me was Angkor Wat itself (sunrise pic above); the famous three tower building any Kingston resident will recognize from the walls of the many Cambodian restaurants in town. Anybody else, people who perhaps spend their time learning about the world instead of getting shitfaced and eating hangover food, may have noticed that it is also front and center on the Cambodian flag. Tomb Raider was filmed at another temple in the Angkor complex, so fans of Angelina Jolie's tits (is there any other reason to watch that piece of shit?) may also recognize some of the buildings.

Besides Angkor, and the hundreds of hotels that bear its name, the town of Siem Reap is an enjoyable place to be. The food is great and affordable, there is a giant club that has $.75 vodka shots and plays Christmas carols (as you may have guessed I needed to be informed of the music the following afternoon), or if your feel like relaxing, you can retard yourself with a happy pizza from a myriad of establishments. I decided to give back to the community by volunteering for several days teaching. Above you can see a picture of me teaching a group of students how to look like a hobo.... in English! Finally for the broke or cheap traveller (I'm quickly becoming the former), it would be foolish not to mention the abundance of fake books. Need a lonely planet for Nepal, but are only gonna read one chapter? No problem when an almost perfect counterfeit is available for $4.50 at the grocery store (it complemented the fake Nokia cellphone I bought in Lao quite well). So once again, go to Cambodia. If not, take the time to learn more about its history, ancient preferably, so maybe you can fill me in when I get home.