February 07-10, 2008: Siem Reap

Siem Reap was just as interesting, just as breath-taking, and not as tragic or depressing. Siem Reap is where the temples of Angkor were built. Angkor Wat, the biggest of the hundreds, is simply out of control huge. It's arguably the largest religious (which I've read is a debatable term for Angkor) buildings in the world. The worst part? The number of freaking tourists. We're all there to see the same things, but there's just so many. It seems like the Taj, I haven't been yet.

We left Phnom Penh in the afternoon and took my last long bus ride to Siem Reap, and woke up late the next day to explore several temples. There's so many, it would take weeks to see them all. The next morning, we woke up before the sun, and watched the sunrise. The last day we didn't go to the temples, as many of them, as unique and interesting as each are, start to look too much the same. The picture opportunities were overwhelming, and I wished I had all my gear (or at least a wide angle).

I flew out as late as possible to Bangkok, and spent a long, boring night at the airport. The morning of the 11th, I flew out at 0645hr, and arrived at 0930 in SFO.... on the 11th. I had the rest of the afternoon to acclimate to culture shock. Something that's really depressing when leaving such beautiful, poor and underdeveloped, yet so much more real and rich, countries.

The slideshow is a long one!

Sadly, thus concludes my month-long trip to Southeast Asia. I love it, and I'm going back to explore even more. Come with me.......

Photos & Copyright Jeremy Hohengarten 2008
For editorial use only.