Angkor HOT

So, we have made it to Cambodia, which was actually quite an epic journey. First we discovered that I really should take anti malarial tablets with food, and then several buses, two tuk tuk rides and one taxi journey later we arrived in Siem Reap, successfully resisting all Cambodian visa scams which is quite a feat. There were quite a few noticeable differences as soon as we arrived in Cambodia, they drive on the right (unlike Thailand), it appears much more agricultural (I am not just basing this on Bangkok, but also the six hour bus drive through Thailand), they have a few things in French and there is obviously more poverty and corrugated iron.
Last night we market wandered and enjoyed their amazing food - street food everywhere is delicious and I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to eat substandard UK rice again, I don't know what they do with it but it's delicious! We are about to go back to the markets and I think I'm going to succumb and buy a Tintin in Cambodia t-shirt, but probably not any silks until later in the trip.

This morning we went to Angkor Wat. We got up early and cycled (in future I will hire bikes from a proper cycle hire place with decent bikes instead of the hostel, it was extremely uncomfortable) for a good hour to arrive for the 6am sunrise over Angkor Wat. It is worth all the hype and, despite the number of people, it is extremely peaceful and very impressive, largely because of its size. The surrounding moats add to this, but also add to the insects... We cycled around all morning and saw a lot of very different temples. Like elsewhere, the building has remnants of different religions, Buddhism and Hinduism swapping prominence over time. It was quite interesting how it was restored as well, it had been protected by large amounts of jungle, although Angkor Wat itself has been in use pretty much continuously. Downsides - almost unbearable heat, sunburnt wrists (!) and nasty biting ants. To recover, we found another incredible pool to ourselves. but after several hours of cycling this felt more than deserved.