5am was a rude hour to be getting up. Still dark we made our way through Siem Reap in the tuk tuk. I was surprised to see people still in bars drinking and playing pool - hardcore. The air was cold as we reached the outskirts of town. We overtook several other tuk tuks with western travellers who appeared to be wrapped up in hoodies and sweaters (more prepared than us). We had predicted that the roads would be quiet. This was true, however when we arrived at the Angkor Archaeological Park to pay for our tickets we realised judging by the amount of people queuing that it was going to be a busy morning. The crowds of people were even thicker at the gates to Angkor Wat. We could hear young girls screaming and shouting, probably still pissed from the night before. My initial impressions were the site didn't have the same magic as Machu Picchu. We moaned about high prices in general, but it keeps the riff raff out. As I looked back I could see a convoy of tuk tuks bringing more tourists into the site. We decided to move inside the ruins to watch the sunrise.

We entered the gates and saw a sea of people sat on walls waiting for the sun. I wasn't in the mood to sit amongst a nosey crowd at 6 am in the morning, so we decided to walk to a quieter area on the ruins. Angkor literally means 'holy city' or 'capital city'. Khmer refers to the ethnic group in Cambodia which existed around the 9th and 12th centuries AD. At it's height the empire contained more than a million people. There is academic debate as to why the city fell into ruin. Experts believe that the rise of the Thai empire, economic changes, climate change pushed the capital to Phnom Penh. This move was to be permanent at the start of the French colonial period in 1866. There is a mass of information about this World heritage site - too much to mention here!

The sun eventually rose. I watched as a line of tourists in their hundreds gathered to get that National Geographical shot of the ruins reflecting in two small lakes either side of the temple. We couldn't be bothered to get caught up in the Mel lay, so we decided to grab a bite to eat for breakfast. It felt a little like being at a free festival as the crowds gathered. The breakfast area was quitet, but slowly filled up with people just as we decided to move on. I was surprised as their was nobody at the second lake taking pictures - the lighting was perfect and there was a colourful reflection in the lake. Either everyone else is an expert in photography or lemmings?!

We walked the ruins, fascinated by the carvings and the shear scale of the place. We couldn't help compare it to Machu Picchu - our thoughts were we preferred Machu Picchu. This was probably because of it's location up high offering scenic views. The sun climbed higher along with the temperature. We started sweating as we moved through corridors and passageways taking snap after snap. We spent about an hour walking Angkor Wat before moving on to Ta Prohm and Ta Keo by tuk tuk. Our driver was hilarious. Sweaty and clearly red in the face from the heat we found him slumped in the tuk tuk wearing his jumper and wooly hat. We told him he was crazy. He smiled and started up the motorbike. I found the other ruins more interesting. Probably because they were more what I had imagined the ruins to be like. Trees had grown between the stonework. Over time the tress had engulfed entire walls and towered 100's of feet into the air. We had timed our visit to the second set of ruins perfectly as there was less tourists. This gave us breathing room to take in the sites without the backdrop of the odd dreary slow American voice or overly enthusiastic giggling girls. I had observed that if travellers avoided eye contact with us then they were probably European French. I had decided to put my theory to the test. Whilst I was sat waiting for Julia a male tourist passed by Julia, then me. Bonjour I said - he looked up surprised and said Bonjour. Julia looked at me as she walked closer. I explained my theory and what I was up to - she laughed. Why are the French so miserable? One Belgium guy we met on the boat the other day agreed that as a race they can be arrogant and rude. He seemed to think it could be that it is because they still see themselves as a colonial race or that their English is generally bad. Either way you don't have to speak another language to be able to smile.

Hot and drained we returned to the hotel around 2pm. I enjoyed a kip. Ju watched the Expendables movie. We ventured out later in the evening for a tasty posh meal. We hadn't eaten properly all day and we were starving. Siem Reap had a buzz about it - a mature mix of travellers. We tried a traditional Cambodian dish called Fish Amok - baked catfish serve in coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaf - yum yum. We arrived back at the hotel just in time for another movie on the Fox Network called Hancock starring Will Smith.