First stop in #cambodia #siemreap #angkor

Away from the maddening city...

Siem Reap & Angkor

An actual explosion... all my senses alive again... the heat in Siem Reap, the vegetation, the jungle that was part of the city was just mind blowing... I suddenly felt I just belonged there, in that tropical world, far away from all that Europe entails: the speed, the stress, the opportunism, the craving for utterly useless things - consumerism... all that past Europe carries is sometimes a burden... here, in South East Asia, I have the feeling the world has just been born... my arrival in Cambodia felt like starting over...

Angkor Wat was the reason I made my way to Siem Reap in the first place. Walking around those amazing historical (if not legendary) Khmer constructions had been magic… I can also remember the sometimes unbearable heat, the thirst that was killing me while riding my bike to the temples and the utterly dangerous traffic (countless buses and tuk-tuks!) threatening me from all directions… I fell off my bike, hurt my hand, but went on! Bought the ticket (from the ticket office illogically situated miles away from the Angkor entrance - Why is that actually?!), went back to the gate asking myself: why isn't the ticket office signaled for in the city centre? is that kind of info property of the tuk-tuk drivers?

Anyway, using my blessed will power and endurance, I made it back to the main gate and walked all around Angkor… it was an exciting, unforgettable day! Phnom Bakheng (situated on a pretty high hill for my hand situation), Angkor Thom (Baphuon and many other temples), Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei (most exotic and most crowded) right in front of the Srah Srang lake, Prasat Kravan… and Angkor Wat... some amazing 7 hours, sometimes stopping for a cold drink, fresh fruit and ice for my wrist… now that was quite a trip!

When I think about it now, it all seems a dream… I live for that kind of adventure: that feeling, that endless enthusiasm, the adrenaline rush - that keeps me alive, breathing, thinking… pure vital energy! Obviously, this unbeatable optimism of mine kept me going, giving me the strength to go through that day in Angkor in the most wonderful of ways…

Nightfall, at approx 7pm… and I was walking back to Siem Reap in a darkness only the jungle could harness, with more energy that in the same morning. Incredible. I would have given anything to make that feeling last forever… Back at the hotel, I was received with such warmth by the owners - it's great to get help and have the right people around when you need it most!…