Hidden treasures in Cambodia

In Cambodia we encountered another highlight of the trip. One of the world wonders, Angkor Wat, is located in a mysterious and captivating setting and does not fail to impress. True, there are massive hordes of tourists arriving every day to take in the impressive sights and not without reason. However, the grounds and the temples are so plentiful that it didn't really feel jam-packed. It shouldn't surprise you to learn that scenes for Tomb Raider were filmed here in the past. Touched by moss, rain and time, one can't help imagining what magnificent structures once stood there centuries before.

Everyone's looking for Angelina Jolie... even monks.

"The wonder, the world wonder!"

At night, Cambodia revealed its true colors. The many tourists flocked towards busy nightmarkets, restaurants and nightclubs. Not exactly the lonely traveler feeling we experienced in parts of Lao but we can't exactly claim we didn't enjoy ourselves. This also thanks to Anne, the adventurous Dutch girl we met up north. Despite the fact that we tested her patience daily with our "special" personalities, she was still traveling along with us and secretly we were all happy about that. Not in the least because we proved an excellent late night dancing crew. Besides, she happily offered to carry some souvenirs back to Europe for us. Little did she know she would end up with four bags, including a Colombian machete. True story.

Great fun with Anne! We miss her already.

Our visit to the capital Phnom Penh was marked by the atrocities of the 'Khmer Rouge' regime of the mid seventies. We don't want to ruin anybody's appetite by going into the details but the stories we heard and the mass graves we witnessed, were proof of a darker side of humanity. A side that we haven't encountered much in our travels so far.

 Seriously Anne? Seriously???

After Cambodia we headed towards Bangkok in a horrible 20 hour bus ride with non-reclining seats and severely limited legroom. We enjoyed our first day walking around as zombies and taking in some of the peculiarities of this amazing city. Busy markets with heaps of street vendors, mixed with sketchy side streets intended for shady sex tourism. The end verdict: incredible palaces, imposing temples and great nightclubs. The city has it all.