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• Kuala Lumpur

• Phnom Penh

• National Museum & Khmer silk weaving

• Fried tarantulas & centuries-old temples

• Tonle Sap Lake, stilt houses, and a scam in Siem Reap

• Big Three of Angkor- Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm

• Male genitalia and land mines

• Chaotic border crossing

• Train ride to Bangkok

• At a resort recovering from the 2004 tsunami

• Early food reviews

• Relics of a tsunami

• Thai cooking class

• James Bond island

• A lazy last day at Khao Lak

• Nai Yang Beach & back to KL

• Staying in a kampung house

• Lunching @ Menara KL

• Last day

Siem Riem (Angkor), Monday, 4 May

Another long drag up State Highway A6.  I've decided it's the worst tar-sealed road I've every been on.  Dave is a bit more cautious in generalisations, but says it reminds him of  roads in the back blocks of some African countries, like Ehiopia. Hardly a recommendation.

Some of the sights of the day included marquees for wedding receptions erected on the verge of the road, hardly a romantic spot for such celebrations.  We saw a couple of those yesterday, and another was still going today! 

There were all the usual overloaded motorcycles, bicycles and motos, so many I didn't blink even at the more extreme ones.  It seems there is no regulation here about vehicle weight etc.

Highlight of the day was when we peeled off the highway onto a bumpy dirt track (which was only just a little bit worse thn he main drag), leading down to a village on the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake.  Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia, and around its shores are several villages, some floating, others built high on stilts, to allow for the lake's varying water levels, depending on the season.  Well, it's now the dry season, and so these houses teeter above the level of the lake.  I wouldn't care to have to climb up to one of them. (see photos below)

We had our moments of drama before we actually got out onto the lake - our boat's motor didn't want to go, and after I'd gone to all the trouble of clambering on board, had to transfer to another craft for the ride out to the lake.

The village, and the lake are quite amazing, and it would be wonderful to see it in the wet season.

We spent the afternoon recovering at our hotel in Siem Reap, the town which has Angkor Wat on its doorstep. 

Today's Siem Reap is vastly different from the one we saw 10 years ago.  Then, it was a sleepy, small country town - now it's a big country town.  I doubt if there is such a thing as a town council, or its equivalent.  Siem Reap has virtually no street drainage, no kerb and guttering, no effective rubbish collection. Ten years ago, after visiting us in Malaysia, son Geoff said "all KL needs is a good high-pressure hose".  Well, Siem Reap needs more than that.  The garbage lying around is disgusting.

We joined the rest of the tourist population tonight in down-town Siem Reap, and all the cons, scam artists and touts were out in force. One woman, nursing an infant, picked the wrong target in DB. He gave her money, a few dollars, but she didn't want money, she wanted milk - and gestured she couldn't buy it herself.  So we accompanied her into the nearby small supermarket (her accomplice in the scam), where she picked out two cans of formula (right).  The price -$50!!!  Ah no, said DB, no way, and we left.  Much gnashing of teeth.  I guess she and the cashier would have shared the proceeds. 

We have another early start in the morning, 8am, which is actually a good idea here, to avoid the heat of the middle of the day, when sensible tourists retreat to the shelter of their air conditioned hotels.

Next: the Big Three of Angkor- Angkor Wat, Bayon, & Ta Prohm