Phnom Penh is still essentially an expat city - sure, there's the places like the Cloud Nine guesthouse where the travellers get so stoned they can't move and watch the sun set over the lake, and the Capitol Guesthouse who bastardizes independent travel like its subsidiaries over in Vietnam; but Angkor is different by comparison - the tourists are here. Not yet in droves, it's still possible to easily find your own space. But the doors have almost been blasted open. You can hear the rumbling from behind the gates, and it's getting louder by the day.
This will be good for the population - but Cambodia is already losing its mystique in Siem Reap. A rude Australian girl took my seat at a table at a restaurant the guesthouse runs. But these people, for the most part, aren't hardened adventurers or possibly even hardened travellers - they're spillover from Thailand. And my first impressions from the Bangkok airport make me loathe the place. Southeast Asia, mainland, has been overrun by bargain hunting backpacking tourists. Cambodia has avoided most of the scourge due to its bad reputation, but the glory days are over.




I think the Angkor complex would have been an amazing payoff for wandering through the jungle for days, avoiding rebels and landmines. Seeing it abandoned would have been something very special. But in the interests of the Cambodian people, the place is being turned into a giant resort. The backpacking hordes are slowly finding out that it's safe to venture into Cambodia, at least to Angkor.
You even see foreigners every so often when you wander Phnom Penh - showing that you are not alone. Even in Lebanon and Syria I was pretty much alone, aside from my diplomat friend, in the city; and here, there are more.
So with all of that said, I've decided to stray from my itinerary, if possible. Sunday I will attempt to make it to Battambang, and then to Phnom Penh by train. Perhaps Battambang is enough off the beaten path to feel like I'm covering new ground; or at the very least, I'll probably be the only Canadian in Battambang on that day, which is about as much as I can hope for.












Angkor's complex can best be described as overwhelming. And as per usual, with so many finely crafted temples, one after the other begins to look the same after awhile. But surprisingly, I did not grow bored of visiting the Angkor temples very quickly at all; I could have spent another day, I think, wandering the outlying temples(where all the landmines are).








The site is massive, and easily the most impressive thing I have ever seen. It is also easy to just lose yourself and lose all of the hawkers at Angkor Wat and find your own temple, your own space, and simply soak up the atmosphere. This place is like none other that I have seen - it is large enough that perhaps it will never be completely overrun. And there aren't any areas that are cordoned off to visitors, like a museum piece - climb all over the thing. Really, I am impressed.




But Angkor by far is not the reason that I am so fascinated by Cambodia - Angkor is impressive, but the surreal landscape and strange feel of the country is what gets me the most. In fact, I would dare say that Phnom Penh holds more secrets than Angkor, and is therefore worth more time. But I would also urge anyone to get out of the two major areas and explore the countryside - something that was nearly unthinkable for decades. Now, perhaps only a few months previous to my arrival, were people starting to explore some other parts of the country in reasonable numbers. But then again, the Canadian Embassy doesn't want you to go anywhere aside from Angkor and Phnom Penh without an escort, and registering with the Australian consulate.



Part 3 - To Battambang by boat, and then Phnom Penh by Rail
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