My Name is Jones

Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia

NP: Infected Mushroom - Symphonatic

Mood: Impressed

Siem Reap - a town that stands as a testament to an age-old conflict with Thailand, previously known as Siam - resides near the number one tourist destination and sight in Cambodia. Angkor Wat and a plethora of old Khmer Empire's temples nearby easily offer even the most disinterested tourist hours of exploration.

We spent over ten hours at the temples.

Someone who takes a keener interest in history might even stay in the region for days just seeing the sights without a thorough study. For us, however, paying $20 for a single day's pass to the area and another $15 for the tuktuk driver's services, ten hours (from 5 AM to past 3 PM) of constant walking and wondering without food (by our own folly) was enough.

Still I can't quite shake the impression Angkor Wat by itself made on me.

We watched the famous temple at sunrise, which was not as spectacular as hyped. Yet the temple itself was a marvel to behold, and would've certainly left an even deeper impression without the flocks of tourists that spoil one's need for solitary exploration. Walls lined with bas reliefs depicting battles from ancient Indian tales, apsaras shaped on the walls and walls shaped in decorative patterns for a purpose unknown... Even the stone floor I stood on was in many parts decorated with odd shapes.

And then there was Bakan, the principal sanctuary of Angkor Wat's uppermost terrace... To reach it, you climbed steep stairs newly built on top of the old temple steps on one side. Inside one found a garden of stone built of pillars and slabs, open to the sky. Gazing out the window you could spy over all of Angkor Wat, all the way to the outer walls behind the long pathway of stone to the temple.

Leaving Angkor Wat behind our tuktuk driver took us to the gate of Angkor Thom, then to Bayon (from which we walked to about eight smaller temples, including Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King, and climbed up Phimeanakas). Bayon was an impressive structure with its giant faces and I liked it second best after Angkor Wat.

After Angkor Thom's temples we were already quite tired and ready to call it a day, but there was much more left to see. Chau Say Thevoda and Thommanom would be our next destinations, followed by Ta Keo temple-mountain, which was an interesting climbing experience not recommended for the elderly or careless people, as the stairs are very steep, partially broken and there are no hand-rails to hold on to. Good luck breaking your neck! But the view from the temple's top was decent.

The stairs of Ta Keo temple-mountain.

At Ta Prohm I just wanted to pass through it quickly, but I now regret my haste, as Ta Prohm was the perfect Indiana Jones experience - ancient ruins swallowed up by the jungle in its most visible form. Huge trees had penetrated the temple floor and thick roots ran through the broken stone pavement and partially collapsed buildings. It only lacked pit-fall traps and gigantic, rolling stones.

After Ta Prohm there was still Banteay Kdei and Sras Srang to explore... both of lesser importance, claimed my aching feet and exhausted head.

Angkor Archaeological Park offered by far the roughest yet most rewarding day of all on this trip. A large bottle of water does not for ten hours last - making me a sad individual just trying to survive in the heat at one point on the trip. Luckily, unlike the food, water and soft drinks were not always overpriced in the park.

The unfortunate thing is that the battery on my cell phone died already at Angkor Wat, and Mika's new camera shut down somewhere at the smaller temples.

So Mika bought a t-shirt with my money ($2.5) to remind him of the place.

I would've preferred a whip and a fedora.