Wat Athvea

Siem Reap is loaded with Wats or temples. Many of them are off the beaten track, several kilometers away from each other, and incredibly hard for the western brain to comprehend both in their size and their age. The most famous of Wats is of course Angkor...plans are in the works for us to purchase a three day pass which will allow us entry to Angkor (considered to be the largest religious structure in the world). In the mean time we have begun to check off the list of surrounding (free) temples in and around or part of town.

The photographs posted here are from one such temple: Wat Athvea. Built in the 11th century this particular Wat gets little attention from visitors but well worth the tuk tuk ride. Made of sandstone it was built by Suryavarman II who would leave Wat Athvea undecorated and polished to go on an build Angkor Wat. Nevertheless, walking around Wat Athvea's ancient walls and structures is the true definition of awesome. Just outside the enclosed wall lies a modern day Wat run by the Buddhist monks (where the photograph of the golden Buddha is from).

Tuk Tuks

Getting around Siem Reap is quite easy. Walking is great, though it does require one to pull out some skills from the arcade game Frogger. Traffic lights, stop signs and crosswalks are all optional in Siem Reap. So what to do? Take a ride on a tuk tuk (took took). What is a tuk tuk? Think of a moped attached to a miniature covered wagon (sort of). But the best way to think of them is that they're the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to get around the city.

And since those living outside of Cambodia can't ride on one, we thought we would bring the tuk tuk to you. Just click here to experience a ride we took the other day.

Enjoy!

Hello from Siem Reap! We got in around 11:00 pm local time on Thursday night after long, long plane rides. The flight from Atlanta to Seoul was 15 hours and 45 minutes. We made it through by watching movies (The Hangover), reading and sleeping for about 5 hours. We flew Korean Air, and it was the best airplane food we've ever had. Then we flew from Seoul to Siem Reap on a flight full of people going on vacation. They drank beer while we slept for another three hours.

We went to bed at 1:00 am and slept until 2:00 pm the next day. The guys at the front desk thought that was funny. We're staying at a great guesthouse that's family-run and very friendly. Our room is clean, air conditioned and has a private bath. There's also a simple restaurant downstairs that serves good, homemade food. Each meal is about $2.

We've spent the last three days just trying to get over jetlag. It's an 11 hour time difference, so we've been a little loopy. But we have explored town, and we found some good restaurants, visited a small temple and toured a silk weaving shop. Tomorrow we're visiting ConCERT, a volunteer placement office in Siem Reap, and I'm hope they can help me (Lynsey) find a good project while I'm here.

It's midnight here, so we're heading to bed. Hope everyone at home has a good afternoon!