Jean and I found a really good Mexican food place in Siem Reap. Everyday, for seven days straight, we had a least one meal at Viva.

19 November 2010 J7's Facebook Profile Pic Jean and I visited the Angkor museum in Siem Reap a few days ago and while a little pricey we found it an invaluable source of information concerning Hinduism, Khmer architecture, and the history of the Khmer empire. One of the superstars of the antiquity was King Jayavarman VII. In the late 12th century the Khmer empire had faltered. Internal conflicts, rebellion in the provinces and disillusion after several failed military campaigns gave the Cham empire (in modern southern Vietnam) the opportunity to seize power. The Cham held Angkor for four years before Jayavarman VII rallied the Khmers and recaptured the city. He then proceeded to drive the Cham out of Khmer territory. Later, he would mount a campaign that would take over all of Champa extending the Khmer empire all the way to south Vietnamese coast. During the struggle with the Cham, J7 was also building and building a lot. During his 40 year reign he constructed his cap...

19 November 2010 It was still dark when Jean and I stepped onto the ancient causeway spanning the massive baray, a moat meant to symbolize the oceans of the earth. The road noise and hawkers' cries soon faded and gave way to the slap of flip flops against the smooth flagstones and murmurs of other pilgrims who like us were bound for a dawn encounter with one of the world's great wonders After yesterday's grueling dawn to dusk cycle temple tour I was surprised Jean and I managed to rouse ourselves at half past four. We peddled out of our guest house's courtyard, through a desolate traffic circle and north along to the river. At five the city was already beginning to stir. We soon passed out of Siem Reap traveling on a smooth two-lane road accompanied by a steady stream of tuk-tuks, motorcycles, passenger vans and a few other cyclist all bound for the ancient Khmer (Cambodian) capital of Angkor. The Angkorian era began back in 802 AD when Jayavaram II proclaimed hi...

18th November 2010 Today Aaron and I have seen more Ankgorian temples than you could think possible! We left our hotel about 6am, rented bicycles and headed north, towards Angkor. The site is named Angkor, meaning "capital city" as it was once the capital of the Khmer empire. "Khmer" is the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. On route Aaron and I both purchased tickets which allow entry on any 3 days within the next week. After having visited Angkor National Museum yesterday we were excited to see the monuments in real life. We decided to begin with the temples on the "grand circuit" today and build up to the great spectacle of Angkor Wat, thought by some to be the 8th wonder of the world! The route we cycled skirted around the edge of Angkor Wat, but the trees blocked our view, so the suspense was maintained. The first stop on our tour was at Prasat Kravan, constructed in the early 10th century during King Harshavarman I's reign o...

16th November 2010 Today we got a bus through Cambodia from Kompong Cham to Siem Reap (meaning Siamese defeated), where were met by a frenzy of tuk-tuk drivers. Our guidebook is always warning us to avoid touts and mostly we follow their advice as there are a lot of scams. But this time when we were met by Mr Sree we took a chance and viewed his hotel. We lucked-out with a nice, quiet, reasonably priced hotel on the edge of the city. In the evening we walked into town which was buzzing with people everywhere. We haven't seen so many westerners since we left Europe. The streets were lined with bars and restaurants, each stylised with different themes. It was very surreal after cycling around the Cambodian countryside yesterday. It felt almost like walking down sixth street in Austin, except there were a lot of motorised tuk-tuks and the restaurant staff were khmer. We found a restaurant with a show of traditional Khmer dancing, including A...