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Cambodia.... as soon as I crossed that border, I was happier, which was hard to imagine. The people here are so energetic, friendly and are usually smiling. The streets are chaotic with traffic going both ways in all lanes at times, the tuk tuk and motorbike drivers are determined as ever to get a fare, but they do it with a giant smile in their face, which makes all the difference. Starting off in Siem Reap I got my three day pass to the 7th wonder of the world. Angkor, what can I say about it other then, impressive. Although many of the temples have been damage from the war, many restorations have been done to preserve the largest Hindu temple of the world. My first day I hired a guide so I could get a little more information about the temples, after getting to the grounds I realized that my guide didn't speak a word of English... so my guide became my driver and we still had a great time, I simply had to refer to google once back at the hostel. My next day I visited the temples by bicycle, it was a great day! It was nice to be able to take my time, revisit my favourites, backtrack when needed and stop for coconuts when I was thirsty. Weaving through the paths along side moterbikes, tuk tuks, monkeys and elephants was an experience on its own, but doing it at Angkor made it that much better. Obviously too many temples to see in three days but Mebon, Bayon and Chau Say stand out amongst the others I visited, not to mention watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. The early morning wake up and the 8 km bicycle ride in the dark was very worth it, even more so because when everyone left to go back to their hotels the place was empty and the busiest temples were basically empty. Siem Reap as a city was small, friendly, had a great pub street with 0.50$ beers and plenty of markets, cant argue with that. I also picked up a few books about Cambodia, ' First they Killed my Father' and S-21 really helped get a little inside perspective about the war and the people. Siem Reap was great, even my guesthouse gave out fresh towels and breakfast for 3.5$. I love Cambodia.
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