Vientiane to Siem Reap - that's Laos to Cambodia to you

After pulling ourselves off the bathroom floor, wiping away three days worth of mascara and shaving my armpits we finally left Vang Vieng, thank god! And as I mentioned we spent a few days in the capital of Laos, Vientiane. It was nice to be in a city again, even if it is a small one. And Vientiane proved to be both restorative and memorable. We spent one afternoon at a fancy hotel pool and had several amazing dinners. Overall the food was amazing in Vientiane.

We had heard that the unofficial overland border crossing from Laos to Cambodia was an absolute nightmare so we opted to fly to Siem Reap instead of bus. And frankly it was the way to go. Not only did it only cost us about 40$ more to fly, we got there in an hour as opposed to 24 hours on a bus. And we didn't have to pay any of the ridiculous "fees"that people are charged at the overland border. And even though Laos Airlines was totally confusing and disorganized it was a relatively uneventful travel day for us. It didn't hurt that Justin had already booked our hotel in Siem Reap and that we got a free pick up at the airport.

We arrived at about 9:30 in the morning and my first thought was, fuck it is hot here."" And it is. I know I keep saying that but honestly this is unimaginable heat. The biggest downside to the heat is that it makes you so unmotivated to go out and do things. I can literally only handle being outside during the day for a few hours at most. The humidity is practically 100% and we just sweat all day long. Thankfully our hotel is really nice, we have a big room with air conditioning and a TV. Yeah I know super cultural right? The other noticeable thing is that they use American currency. The official Cambodian currency is the Riel but nobody uses it and the prices are all listed in dollars, and all you get at the atm is American money. It is really bizarre actually. After we got into town we took a nap and then decided to go exploring in Siem Reap. While we were out we ran into Mike, the Scottish guy we had met in VV and made plans to go out that night with him and his travel buddy Seb.

The nightlife in Siem Reap is really fun. Despite having heard there was a bit of gay scene in Siem Reap we haven't seen much of that. But we've had a good time nevertheless. Angkor Beer is amazingly refreshing and drafts here are fifty cents! Can't beat that. The first two nights we were here we went out with Mike, and then he took off for Phom Penh. But the next day our friends Jaylene and Travis, who we had also met in Vang Vieng and had dinner with in Vientiane, showed up as well. They had also met another couple James and Jen on the bus. So we all went out to Angkor Wat that evening to see the sunset over the temple ruins. You may not think you know what Angkor Wat is but I guarantee you have seen these famous temples in dozens of movies and the main temple is considered an unofficial 8th wonder of the world. There are 100's of temples near Siem Reap but the largest and most famous is Angkor Wat. So that is where we headed for sunset. And it did not disappoint.

We agreed to get up early the next day and do sunrise at Bayon one of the other famous and impressive temples. Since we had a full day of templing ahead of us we all turned in early that night. But at 4am when the alarm went off I definitely had to force myself our of bed. But it was worth it. We spent 6 hours wandering around some of the more famous temples at Angkor and while it did get a bit monotonous near the end they were all really beautiful and different. I can't say exactly which was my favourite but I loved Pre Rup, because it was originally a Hindu Temple and one of the spires was dedicated to Lakshmie, my favourite Hindu goddess. I also loved Ta Prohm, which you may recognize as it was made famous in Lara Croft Tomb Raider. But as much as we loved seeing all of the temples by 11 am it was so hot that we needed to head back to town and cool off in the pool.

Thankfully the rainy season has started and so we are guaranteed at least an hour of rain a day, usually more, and that really cools things down a lot. It means that when we go out after sunset it's hot but not unbearably so. The night before last we all went out to dinner and dancing and had one of the best nights out of the whole trip. But I am definitely starting to get itchy feet and I am looking forward to heading to Phom Penh tomorrow morning. I know the killing fields and the capital are going to be emotional but I am so excited to get there. Cambodia was definitely the country I most wanted to see and so far it has not disappointing. The people are so warm and friendly, and the food is so delicious. It has been amazing.