Sweaty in Siem Reap

Man, it’s hot. It is only 97F/36C, but the humidity means my body can’t cool down. Add in some tropical sun, and you have to pack around a lot of water to stay upright.

Siem Reap is an interesting place. In many ways, similar to Aguas Calientes – the tourist town below Machu Picchu. It is almost completely tourist driven. Large and sprawling, with new hotels under construction. The disparity is huge. It can cost more for high tea than hiring a driver for an entire day. A whole pineapple, cut and prepared for you for 50 cents. A baguette and jam, 25 cents. Across the street, some one is paying $300/night for their hotel room. Crazy.

The temples at Angkor are amazing. We have been doing the anti-tour circuit, trying to stay away from the busloads. It worked pretty well. But we wanted to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat this morning. A complete circus. There were more tourists packed in there at sunrise than I had seen all of yesterday. Ultimately worth doing, it was pretty fantastic.

We have one more day on our Angkor passes tomorrow, then a spare day, and then flight to Saigon/HCMC. Loving it so far, I could ride in the back of a tuktuk with a wedge of pineapple for a very long time. Until the exhaust kicks in anyway. Not too many catylitic converters over here.