| Siem Reap and Angkor Wat |
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I caught a 6.5 hour bus with my friend to Siem Reap, the gateway to the legendary Angkor Wat. The city itself isn't much except for tons of tourists and tourist traps: Restaurants, pubs, "massage" joints, markets and tuk-tuk drivers. I must admit we spent a few hours buying gifts and souvenirs, bargaining like there was no tomorrow. Cambodians are lovely, friendly and helpful people, the local food is delicious and the scenery (ie temples, rivers and fields) spectacular. We relaxed in the hotel, which had free Internet, had a few beers and planned the visit to the temples. The next day we got up well before sunrise to catch it with the ruins of Angkor Wat in the background. We were not disappointed!  The temple complex is huge, so we hired a tuk-tuk to get around. I particularly loved these huge smiling faces!  Here are some details of the intricate base reliefs covering almost every column in these huge structures.   We were pretty exhausted and temple-fatigued after the early start and 8 hours in the sun, so we went back to the hotel to rest and returned for the sunset.
We had to try a local specialty - this is skewered snake. Tasty, but bony. Like a bony chicken.
My friend is now leaving for Laos, but I think I'll be heading towards the east of Cambodia to explore hill tribe people, unspoiled nature and freshwater dolphins. And yes, I will be careful and not step on any landmines. 
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