M-whY

I woke up at 10am and went downstairs with the intention of going into town.

"Mister? Where do you want to go?" asked one of the motorbike operators employed by the guesthouse. I had talked to a couple of them the previous night and learned that for tours around Angkor, they charged US$10 a day. They seemed like nice people, and the price was fair, but since I had decided not to do anything today, I had plenty of time to shop around.

"To town. I want to use the internet."

"Okay, I can take you," he smiled.

"No, no, it's okay, I can walk." To be honest, I was still in defensive mode from the day before and wary of accepting any 'free rides.' I couldn't be sure if there were any strings attached.

"Let me take you," he insisted. "No charge today. I want to be your driver for Angkor." Well, at least he was honest about it all.

I eventually accepted his lift, and he took me to an internet cafe. Rather than going back to the guesthouse, he loitered around outside, waiting for me to finish.

"You can go back first," I told him. "I might take a long time, and afterwards I want to spend some time walking around town. I can get back to the guesthouse on my own."

"It's okay, I can wait," he politely replied.

"Are you sure? It'll be a while."

He looked at his watch. "About how long?"

"Maybe an hour and half?"

"I'll come back and pick you up here in an hour and a half then?"

That worked for me. All I wanted actually was to be on my own, so I could look around other guesthouses and check out how much it'd cost to hire a motorbike driver off the street.

Becoming familiar with Siem Reap didn't take that long. 'Downtown' consisted of only a few streets, and like most tourist places, was nothing more than a rows and rows of internet cafes, travel agents, and restaurants.

I visited a couple guesthouses, but they were a little more expensive than the one I was staying at. Facilities weren't that much better, making the hassle of moving not worth it. My other objective of comparing tour prices was just as fruitless. I didn't want to sign up for a packaged tour, and the freelance motorbike operators were extremely aggressive and rude. "You want ride?" they'd shout at me when they saw me approaching from 25m away. Extremely put off, I made up my mind to just hire a driver from my guesthouse.

I did find something that really excited me though. While wandering around aimlessly, I came across the Blue Pumpkin, a modern looking cafe which promised free wireless internet in a lounge upstairs. An internet addict, I promised myself to return back with my laptop as soon as possible.

Back at the guesthouse, I haggled the price of a driver down to US$8, and then rushed back to my room to get my laptop. When I came back down again, my driver, Khorn, was again waiting to do my bidding. It appeared that I would have free transport to town whenever I wanted. The guesthouse's inconvenient location was no longer a problem. I had him drop me off in front of the Blue Pumpkin, arranged to be picked up again at 3:30pm, and went inside to see if the place really did have free wifi.

I was amazed at what I saw. Spotless white sofas, sleek furniture, a fresh cold towel with every order. Was this really Siem Reap, with the dusty market just down the street? I fired up my laptop, and as advertised, was soon connected to the internet. This place rocked!

I checked email and did a some blog updates over a glass of Angkor Beer. At the appointed time, Khorn showed up, prompt and punctual. When we had returned to the guesthouse, he asked if I had any plans for the evening. I replied that I had not.

"Do you want to go see the sunset?"

"Sunset? Where?"

"One of the temples, Phnom Bakheng."

"Don't I need a pass to go?"

"It's okay, I can take you to buy one later."

And so at 4:30, we started heading to the ticketing booth to get my three day Angkor pass. At a price of $40, it wasn't exactly cheap, but it was one of those costs that couldn't be avoided.

We were there a little early though. In order for this day not to count against my three day allotment, the ticket would have purchased after 5:00pm. To pass time, my driver took me to a War Museum, founded and operated by a man named Aki Ra. A former child soldier of the Khmer Rouge, he was forced to lay mines, but nowadays, has devoted his life to informing visitors about the blight of landmines in Cambodia.

A group of young men who have had their lives affected by this curse ran informal tours of the grounds. As Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined nations in the world, many others are becoming maimed or killed everyday. In 1997, the Ottawa convention was ratified by much of the world, which banned the use, sale, production, and transfer of landmines, and aimed for a mine-free world by 2009. To date, 144 nations have signed on in support of this goal. Sadly though, it appears that this remains a far fetched dream, as world superpowers such as the U.S., Russia, and China refuse to sign and are unlikely to change their position in the near future.

Somewhat sobered by this stark reality, I returned to the entrance, and was taken back to the ticketing booth. After getting my pass sorted out, we were off to Phnom Bakheng. The oldest temple among the Angkor group, it was built by King King Yasovarman I sometime in the late 9th or early 10th century. It was only fitting then, that this would be the first temple I visited.

Khorn waited at the bottom of the hill, as I followed the procession of tourists up the rocky incline. The climb wasn't particularly difficult, though at one point when I stubbed my toe, I wished I had donned on my boots instead of flip flops.

I reached the plateau, where the temple stood waiting as it has for centuries. Up the steep steps, and I arrived at the top, where everyone was waiting to watch the sunset. I walked around the edge, admiring the impressive structure, keeping in mind this was only a minor temple, and the best was yet to come.

As it does every evening, the sun eventually disappeared over the horizon.

"How was it?" I was asked when I had once again reached the bottom.

"Pretty good!" And I had only scratched the surface of what Angkor had to offer!

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!