The last days in Siam Reap were spent in the steaming hot temples of Angkor Thom and Angkot Wat - the largest of the temple structures surrounding Siam Reap - and then relaxing by a pool for a day before the night bus to Sihanoukville - the southern beach town of Cambodia. The temples were a sight to be seen and took hours to explore. I felt like Indiana Jones with little Short Round Cambodians following me around trying to sell fruit, books and anything else I might need for the trek. These temples were monsterous and must have a sight when in their prime supporting over a million residents in the surrounding jungles.
Pools were then laid by and Siam Reap's cafe's and bars were visited a couple last times... We caught up with a couple NZ friends we met in Vang Vien and another Finnish friend that took diving classes with us in Koh Tao.
The overnight bus to Sihanoukville was a measly 10 hours in a reclining lazy-boy type chair and amazingly was quite comfortable and I slept most of the way to arrive in a blistering lighting and rain storm in Sihanoukville. The locals say this was the first rain in the three months and not surprising that we arrived at 6am to greet. The rain blew over in the early AM and we explored the town via scooter and the surrounding beaches. Not the beauty of the Thailand islands but still nice to be back at the beach all the same. After catching the sunset we at BBQ dinner on the beach and explored the nighttime offerings...
Today we sat on the beach all day (and one flat scooter tire later) and planned a trip to the outer island of Koh Rong Samlon were we will be diving and staying in a waterside bungalow the next two nights.
The Cambodian government has earmarked this area for extensive tourist development, the beginnings can be seen already, and glad I made this trip before another paradise is lost.
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