Siem Reap is where the tourists visiting the Angkor temple complex eat and sleep. It's an unremarkable town, full of hotels, restaurants, cheesy bars, generic souvenirs and of course, tourists. The Cambodians are laid back, the mosquitos are aggressive and the weather is sweltering. It was over 100 degrees F and close to 100% humidity. I was sweating at 6am. I'm pretty sure I've never sweated as much as I did in Cambodia! (Does that count as a detox?)
But one doesn't travel here for the weather or the town. Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building. It was built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple. In its prime, the Khmer empire had a population of over 1 million, and built thousands of buildings. Hundreds of temples remain, and one could easily spend a week exploring them. I only made it to 4!
Cambodian royal costumes
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