Cambodia

One of the more confusing aspects of being in Cambodia is the currency. Officially, the currency is the riel, which trades at about 3800 riel per U.S. dollar. However, when I tried to withdraw money from an ATM at the Siem Reap airport (or, indeed, anywhere in Cambodia), it just gave me U.S. dollars. My first transaction in Cambodia was buying a blizzard at a Dairy Queen at the airport, which listed all of its prices in dollars (e.g., $2.1 for the blizzard I wanted). When I tried to pay with two singles and a dime, the clerk patently refused to accept American coinage, and helpfully suggested that I buy a hot dog as well, to bring it up to a round four dollars. We have since learned that almost all prices in Cambodia are quoted in dollars, and riel are essentially only used in place of coins for fractions of dollars. U.S. coins are worthless.

Our first -- and principal -- stop in Cambodia was Angkor Wat, which is the largest religious building in the world and so closely identified with the nation of Cambodia that its silhouette appears on the flag. Our pictures from the temple leave a little bit to be desired, since (as Katherine mentioned) it is difficult to photograph the whole thing, and there is currently scaffolding on a few of the towers for the ongoing restoration work. This is a view of Angkor Wat from the top of nearby Phnom Bakeng.

After spending the morning at Angkor Wat, we explored a few of the smaller temples. Among our favorites was the Bayon, which features 37 (originally, 49) face-bedecked towers. Later kings decided it would be too costly or complicated to rebuild this, the royal temple of the city of Angkor Thom, so instead merely added to it, creating a labyrinthine effect. This picture shows Katherine kissing one of the ancient faces.

On the morning of the second day, we began with Preah Kahn, which was a university after Buddhism reached the city in the 14th or 15th century. The structure was essentially ruined, so I happily spent the morning clambering around on the rocks, often emerging (only slightly embarrassed) from behind a "Do Not Entry" sign. Imagine our surprise when our guidebook described Ta Prohm, on the agenda for that afternoon, as a "ruined" version of Preah Kahn!

After meeting up with my other sister Gwynne and her friend Amy for an evening in Siem Reap, Katherine and I took a boat trip to Battambang the following day, which was not exactly what either of us had expected. I love this picture, taken from inside the boat along the way. Note that our captain seems unfazed by the fact that there is no water in sight.

We spent the evening in Battambang relaxing after the 8-hour boat trip, and opted for a bus instead to take us the rest of the way to Phnom Penh. Gwynne and Amy have enjoyed the capital city with us, and I'll have more on that later... tomorrow, on to Vietnam!