Angkor Wat on a Flat Tyre and a Hangover

The decadence of Hong Kong is now but a distant memory and we find ourselves deep in the jungles of Cambodia with Lara Croft, seeking out the ruins of ancient temples...

At any rate that's what we were expecting. The reality in the town of Siem Reap near the ruins of Angkor Wat is a tourist fest of swanky hotels and bars with names like "Molly Malone's", where all the prices are in dollars and staggering.

We spent long enough in Bangkok's Khao San Road to get our fill of young westerners dressed like they're on the beach, ugly men finding love in the calculating arms of Thai girls and to receive offers from the odd lady boy whom Rachel still fails to spot. Then, ignoring our own instincts, we took the lazy option of a tourist bus to lead us by the hand across the border; we were thus condemned to a day of being shipped like cattle, talked at like kids and scared into paying commission for people to organise visas.
After air con coach, video and smooth road from Bangkok, the change in Cambodia could not have been more marked; we innocent passengers, 25 of us packed into a 15-seater minibus, shrieked in ignorance as the driver careered for 6 hours down a rutted dirt road, oblivious in the dark and the dust to the potholes, bumps and even a 45 degree camber which nearly toppled the bus; by the end we had all learned the Khmer for "the louder you scream, the faster we go!"
After such a long day, surely on arrival we would just need a shower, some food and a good night sleep? Foolishly not; after chatting to another Brit couple on the journey, Michelle and Dave, it turned out that he has relatives in Mold and that I used to be childhood friends with her older brother; and so a wine-fuelled meal and a natter turned into drinks and a club, raucous dancing and the write-off of many dollars and the entire next day!

And so eventually we got to see the largest religious complex in the world, the site of Angkor Wat and the temples dating from the 9th century when most of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam formed part of the Khmer empire under the devaraja god-kings who ruled from Angkor.

Such is the scale of the site that we intended to allow 3 days to explore, but having lost a day we would have to do it in 2...we coughed up a fortune and allowed a tuk-tuk driver to convey us round at first, dutifully getting out to clamber up and wander the overgrown and crumbled ruins which are being restored by various governments (the Japanese effort looking efficiently finished, nothing happening at the Indian one...). Our stamina gave out in the heat and we hit upon a cunning plan to go back and forth to see the sunrise, sunset and the other main sites the next day; by push bike!
This meant setting out and returning in the dark, with no lights of course, and it was only after an hour's peddling at 5am that we worked out why Rach was knackered and slow; she had a puncture! To top it off, after being passed by every other tourist in a rickshaw, when we arrived bathed in sweat, our sunrise was almost ruined by a dawn downpour; although at least it scared away all but the most devoted tourists.

All in all, the temples are impressive but not the breathtaking spectacle, on a par with the pyramids and great wall, that we were led to expect; what's more, with the innumerable international hotels and restaurants catering for coach loads of tour groups, the place is fast becoming too expensive for backpackers.
And so, we shall take ourselves away from the madding crowd and off to the capital, Phnom Penh...at least, after another swim and this fat cheeseburger!