I left for Cambodia after my last training session at Jitti gym in the morning in which Serm repeatedly kicked my left arm, due to the fact that I had no energy to move or block I got kicked a lot haha! I said my farewells to everyone and made my way to Bangkok city centre to change my flights back home. The MRT went stopped right by the British Airways office which was handy. Changing my flight proved to be a lot easier than I expected too. If I wanted to change my route it would have cost me about one hundred pounds but the lady suggested I just change the dates of my two flights so I flew from Bangkok to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to London. By doing this I only had to pay a small admin charge of less than ten pounds so I was happy with that. I then headed for the North Eastern Bus terminal where buses to the border leave regularly. The Thai / Cambodia border closes at 8pm so I wanted to get there before as I didn't fancy wasting day, I wanted to get all the way to Seam Reap in one journey. The bus I wanted to go on was full so I had to opt for a slightly later one but it still got in twenty minutes before the border shut. However I did have to get visa so I knew it would be tight. The bus journey was comfortable and the conductor found an English book on the bus which she gave to me so I read that all the way to the border! We turned up on time and I had read in the guide book that next step of the journey is to get a tuk tuk to the border crossing itself as the bus station is a few miles away. So off we went at full speed, the driver took me to the Cambodian Embassy or Constellate (can't remember exactly as was in a rush!) where I got my visa which was pain free and then went straight to the border itself.
I arrived with a few minutes to spare but when I did everyone was telling me to run as it was going to shut, I said I still have 7 minutes I'll be fine but ran just in case which was so hard as I was shattered after the weeks Muay Thai and carrying all my gear! I forgot I had to go through Thai border control then Cambodian control but it all went swimmingly and I was pretty much the last person through.
I was greeted by loads of taxi salesmen which was a nightmare. I knew I had arrived too late for the buses to Seam Reap but couldn't be bothered to deal with them all so just sat and chilled out for a few minutes and contemplated staying in Poipet but it was a horrible place. Luckily I found an American couple who also needed a taxi to Seam Reap and we shared the cost which was forty American dollars about 450baht each which was pretty good. The drive there was crazy, the 'road' was insane, there were huge holes all over it and anything seemed to go. I was thankful to make it there alive as the driver was just crazy! We got to Seam Reap about midnight and after the American couple were dropped off at their hotel (out of my budget) we went in search of the cheapest place I could find. This was full and the taxi driver had left so I got on a motorbike with all my stuff and the driver took me to another cheap place he said was good (and this turned out to be pretty fortunate!). They had room so I dropped my stuff off and went for a quick wonder and to get some food as I hadn't eaten in since lunch time! It had a nice feel to it and after I found some takeaway noodles I headed back to the hotel about 2am for a much needed sleep!
I slept in until 1pm the next day recovering from the past week I think and then headed straight into the centre for a massage. After a two hour traditional Khmer massage I went to a fancy cafe which had lie down bed sofas and had a big lunch and read my book for an hour or so. I headed back to the hotel in the early evening and decided to go to Angkor Wat to watch the sunset. I brought a single day ticket for the following day but they allow you to watch the sunset the day before which is good. It was a beautiful place and I had a quick explore around the temple before the clouds came in thick and fast and there was not much of a sunset unfortunately! I had got a motorbike ride up to the temple and as it now began to rain cats and dogs I was getting soaked on the way back! Still it was a funny trip back! I spent the evening having some beers reading up about Angkor.
I awoke just after six to the sound of torrential rain! I got ready then went out to take a look at the rain situation. It was a bit gutting as it was horrendous but I had my ticket so no turning back! I opted for the tuk tuk instead of the bike this time as I didn’t fancy getting soaked the whole time I was out! I reached the first temple by 7am and would not get back until gone 7pm, it was very long but very enjoyable day. The first temple I visited was Ta Phrom and was one of my favourites. It was the temple chosen by Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient to be left in its 'natural state' as an example of how most of Angkor looked on its discovery in the 19th Century. As a result there are many trees growing in and around the temple. They wedge grow in tiny crevasses and take over entire sections of the temple. I took several pictures of these as they were amazing to look at. The path to Ta Phrom was a river when I arrived but the rain died during my visit there and the sun came out for the rest of day and it was the best weather I had in Cambodia. I visited several other temples before arriving at Angkor Thom. This was one of the largest of all Khmer cities and there were so many monuments (the Elephant Terrace was brilliant) here to see and I ended up spending a several hours here before moving to on to Angkor Wat. The Bayon temple which is located in the centre of Angkor Thom was amazing, I loved the many towers which are covered in faces (you can see these in my pictures too). After lunch here I moved to Angkor Wat and spent the late afternoon wondering around the temple. As it went dark I just sat and watched the sunset and took some pictures of Angkor Wat. They illuminate Angkor Wat in different coloured lights and it was a truly awesome sight.
I was very tired when I got back and was in the shower when I heard a knock at my door. I told them to go away as I thought it was the hotel and I didn't need anything but the persisted so I got out and opened the door to find John stood there! I was a bit shocked especially as John was upset. He had had a bit of a long journey from Thailand and after saying goodbye to Jo and learning I was returning home early (for my Grandma's funeral) he wasn't looking forward to traveling alone. We went out for food and beers and that put a better complexion on things and he cheered up. We spent the next day chilling out in the same cafe I had been to earlier in the week with the huge sofa beds and got a massage. It was my last night before heading to Bangkok to start the journey home so we had a big night out and went for curry and lots of beers! Getting up was going to prove hard....
