Siem Reap 1

Slept fitfully, turning on and off the aircon and after about 5 minutes I got up at 4.45am. Tuk-tuk guy was waiting for me when I went downstairs; driving to the ruins in the pitch black with only the sound of other tuk-tuks with their own dawn seekers in the back was exhilerating. Walking over the causeway to the main Ankor Wat gate in the pitch black with nothing to guide me except my trusty pen-light compass combo (I knew I'd find a use for it!) was almost giddy. Went through the gate tower, with a blood red moon behind me (after a bit of wandering around in the dark) not sure where I was supposed to be going, decided to sit and wait with the horde of fancy-hotel-tourists-with-their-plastic-chairs and took photos of the pitch black along with everyone else until eventually you could make out Ankor in one. After it brightened enough to walk around a little I looked at my tiny photocopied map and figured I'd walk to the next big famous temple, Ankor Thom. Completely forgetting I'd have to walk kilometers I soon found myself alone on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere..moreso. I backtracked for ages and by the time I got back to tuk-tuk man I could see that I'd even been going in the wrong direction. Images of my dead body in the middle of nowhere with useless pen-light compass combo in my outstretched hand flashed before me. So we drove on to the next temple and its centerpiece, the Bayon. This is the one with all the stone faces on turrets. And it was class. There was hardly anyone around and lots to explore despite being a relatively small place - those huge faces I remember from tv aren't actually that big. And so while tuk-tuk man slept in the shade, I proceeded to explore everywhere in my bathroom slippers. Ya se, my feckin sandals have been leaving viscious cuts and pus filled blisters all over my feet that there was no way I'd be able to walk around all day in them. I'd tried looking for other sandals in a few shops back in town but there wasn't much. Then I realised I already had a perfectly good pear of sandals/slippers - just ones I'd been using for the shower. Not exactly the height of fashion but once they were covered with a few layers of dirt and muck you wouldn't notice. When I'd had my fill of the Bayon I wandered over to the driver, saw him still asleep (it was only about 7.30am) and decided to sit down at the nearby restaurant/tin shack and get something to eat. These shacks have popped up outside most of the big temples. They might even double for peoples homes. Dirt poor is a perfect description. I ate a stale baguette and coffee and watched a local baby roll around naked in the filth. Feeling like I was suddenly watching some sort of charity commercial I woke tuk-tuk man and we drove on. Visted a few more places, stopping and resting and checking the condition of my slippers. The next big recommended place was Preh Khan (or something that sounds like that), more low key than the other two places but intricate and pretty empty. There were even a few trees growing through the walls to look pretty cool. Despite visting a load of places by now it was still only noon and absolutely roasting. The next famous place was the temple with all the trees growing in and around the walls and doorways - Ta Prohm. It took ages to drive there and I was thanking myself I'd said goodbye to moto-man the previous day. Looking forward to seeing all the stuff seen in movies, but of course when we got there it was absolutely jammers. Every single wall with tree routes growing on it also had a korean couple posing for photos. Walked around and tried to enjoy it but actually, apart from those famous scenes, there wasn't much to see there as most of the place had collapsed to rubble. Gave up and allowed myself to be bullied into a dirt shack for some instant noodles in soup that I didn't want. I've skipped over the constant hassle by little kids begging you to buy stuff - tshirts, drinks, postcards, anything - some of it was heartbreaking, most just annoying. Tuk-tuk man had obviously had enough by the afternoon so I agreed to go back to the hotel knowing this was the last I'd see of him for the day. It was only later in the afternoon that I realised, with all my aimless walking around at dawn, I hadn't even gone inside the main Ankor Wat temple. So I skipped out of the guethouse, walked to a bar in town and downed a few beers for courage. Then grabbed a moto guy on the side of the road and we went back to Ankor for sun down. Walked around and through it this time (despite the hoards of tourists) and as the rain clouds moved in thoughts of a head-on motorbike collision in the rain made me walk very fast back to moto man.