temples and stuff

Today I ventured just outside Siem Reap to the Temples of Angkor, capital of Cambodia's ancient Khemer empire.

The temples - built between the 9th and 13th centuries - are the reason so many tourists are beginning to flock to this part of the world and why Siem Reap is visibly becoming more developed.

Set in beautiful green countryside that was strangely reminiscent of England - apart from the monkeys running around, obviously - the temples are what remains of a lost city that was once home to one million people at a time when London had a population of 50,000.

Pictures do tend to speak louder than words with trips like this. And all I will add is that I had a pleasant time - apart from when it pissed it down. Another annoyance was the constant pestering from people trying to sell souvenirs, refreshments, t shirts and other shit. If these people could take no for an answer, I wouldn't mind. But they can't. And it is fucking annoying.

I have been feeling a bit down over the last 24 hours. Part of that has been due to illness - a meal last night has caused more trips to the bog than any I can remember. Part of it has been the bad weather here. And another, I guess, has been a bit of loneliness.

My mood also tends to pick up when I know I have the next few days' accommodation and travel sorted out. While having flexibility with my schedule has many advantages, there are down sides. These being that a lot of time spent in one place can be spent arranging to get to another in humid internet cafes with painfully slow connections. Another is that booking accommodation is not often as easy as it might sound. For example, I e-mailed a hotel in Vientiane, Laos, two days ago to try and book a room but have had no reply. Ditto with another. This is both frustrating and time consuming.

Right now I yearn to be back on the beach with absolutely nothing to do...