"Good Kind" Siem Riep

The latest dispatch is being typed from the "Good Kind Guesthouse" in Siem Riep, Cambodia. You know it is a new country when Rule #1 on the wall behind the counter reads: "It is against Guesthouse Regulations to have weapons or explosives in your room without approval." I like those last two words...

We arrived here safely yesterday overland from Bangkok, ripped off (inevitably) in the process of making the sketchy border crossing, but only for a few dollars and it was probably worth paying that bit extra for the comfort of knowing we would make it safely all the way. The Cambodian Riel is basically a nothing currency, with everything priced and paid for in US dollars. This seems a bit odd after all the countries visited, but obviously the costs remain quite low (ie. "bucket" of margarita at lunch = $5, etc..)

After a well deserved sleep-in this morning, we hired out some bikes and took an eye-opening cruise around the village on the uneven and mostly dirt roads, past "gas stations" that consist of glass and plastic bottles of gas on various shelves (empty Pepsi and Johnny Walker seem the ones of choice) and a crocodile farm and shacks built on stilts above the river that surprisingly house lots of folks watching television, for example. Basically just another good opportunity to see a country as it is, and how the residents go about their way in the world, day-in and day-out. Wish I was camera ready to snap the picture of that young guy, 8-9 years old, who sped by us on an adult bike, kickstand still down and holding what seemed to be a fish in water in a plastic bag in one hand, a cocky and contented expression on his face. Such are the random images that you remember.

After lunch and a bit of a siesta in our air conditioned room, we biked off to buy our tickets for Angkor Wat at the entry gate slightly north of the city. If you wait until an hour before closing, you can buy your ticket for the next day and they'll let you in for the remaining hour before close free of charge. It was a perfect little taste of what is to come, and I really enjoyed approaching at the bicycle's pace, as it provided time to let the final bit of anticipation build as we arrived at the main moat, stopped to watch some wild monkeys cavorting with tourists and amongst themselves for food, and then slowly made our way around to the front steps for the large, ancient Wat that gives the whole area its name. Now back for an early night at the hostel, as the guide and tuk-tuk driver are arranged for a 5AM start tomorrow morning. It should be a full and fabulous day, and I am right where I want to be, no doubt about it.

Not sure when it hit me today, but all of a sudden I realized that one year ago today, the 19th, I was waking up early on the Inca Trail to walk the last few kilometers into Machu Picchu. Now here we are a world away at Angkor. To say that it has been an extraordinary year of travel since that glorious morning would be a shocking understatement, to say the least. So many sights and sounds and magical experiences. Just keep 'em coming, baby.