Angkor World- The Newest Disney Resort!

Two long bus trips through the flooded countryside brought me to Siem Reap, the city closest to Angkor Wat.  Once again, I booked my hostel in advance, and the tuk tuk driver was waiting for me at the bus station.  Mr. Bun was excited to see me, the girl who matched the name on his paper, and helped me with my backpack.  Then he said “this all?  Girls always have many, many things!”  Well thank you, Mr. Bun, I’m pretty proud of myself too.  As I climbed into the tuk tuk, he kick started it and said “today the flooding very good.  Yesterday- bad.  Today, water below the knee.”  Oh, goodness gracious.  What have I gotten myself into?  

This photo was the day that I left, when the road was mostly visible.  Mostly.

Mr. Bun navigated the flooded roads, swerving around the holes that he knew existed, but couldn’t see.  As we turned the last corner, there was another tuk tuk that hadn’t navigated around the hidden holes, and was stuck with its front wheel straight in the air, and its exhaust pipe filling with water.  Oh my goodness, please get me to the hostel in one piece.  

Mr. Bun's tuk tuk, and my ride for the tour.

We arrived within seconds, and Mr. Bun and I made plans for our sunrise trip to Angkor Wat the next morning.  I checked into the hostel, looked at the swimming pool, and was thrilled to be settling down for a few days.  I went upstairs to put my bag in my room and to change into my swimsuit.  There was a tall blonde guy in the room when I walked in.  He asked where I had come from, and when I told him Phnom Penh, he said he would be heading there the next morning.  He asked if I could recommend a place to stay.  I did, he thanked me, and he left the room.  (But, that isn’t where the story about him ends... I’ll tell you when you’re older)  

I swam a few laps in the pool, showered and called it an early night, but not before spending some quality time with the tall blonde man.  The next morning I was to meet Mr. Bun out front at 4:30 for our sunrise tour.  I jumped out of bed, tried to be as silent as possible while I got ready, and went downstairs.  Mr. Bun arrived after a thirty minute drive from his home, and we were off.  In the pitch black, we bumped along the mostly visible roads.  The flooding had gone down dramatically since the previous day, and I no longer feared for my life while we drove.  As the signs for Angkor Wat became more frequent, my heart started to race.  I was so excited!  As we entered the park, I saw more and more tuk tuks driving alongside us, on the roads I thought we would have to ourselves.  When we finally arrived at Angkor Wat, the most famous temple, there were tuk tuks everywhere!  There were people everywhere!  It was still pitch black, and there were hundreds of people with their appropriate walking shoes, their cameras around their necks and their maps.  This is not what I expected.  

I followed the herd of people to a dirt path directly in front of Angkor Wat.  The mass of people were standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for the sun to rise directly behind the temple.  I stood in the line for a few minutes before moving on.  I have a Canon Powershot camera.  There is no way that I would be able to take an amazing photo of the sun rising, and even if I do, the postcards will still look better.  So, I went into the temple.  And just as I did with the Mona Lisa, I took a photo of everyone else taking the same photo:  

Most people probably thought I was crazy for missing the sunrise, but they were the crazy ones!  I was able to take photos in the temple without a single person in them.  I had the temple to myself.  I explored the entire temple, completely alone.  It was magical.

From there, Mr. Bun took me on the short tour of the park.  I tried to take plenty of beautiful photos and “selfies,” but within a few hours, there were people everywhere.  At around ten o’clock, I finished a small walking tour of a few temples and came back to find my tuk tuk.  What I found looked like Disney World.  The parking lot was filled with vans and tour buses.  I am surprised the rows of the lot were not named and labeled.  “Oh, when you come back, the van will be parked in the Minnie Mouse section, row E.”

The day was incredible, and each and every temple was beautiful and unique, but the thousands of people took away from some of the magic.  By the end of the day, I struggled to take a photo without an umbrella in it, or a stick with a pom pom and streamers that a tour guide waved around.  Just like Macchu Picchu, the tour vans, and the men with walking sticks take something away from the beauty, but I tried not to let it bother me.  There is a reason the men with walking sticks flock to this place- it is amazing.  It is indescribable.  So, unless I pull a Hiram Bingham and discover Macchu Picchu, or the newest and greatest wonder of the world, I am going to have to be a tourist, just like the rest of them, dealing with the crowds.

Doesn't everyone love a good motorobike photo?