2 July – Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat is the most well preserved temple complex of Angkor. It was probably never abandoned, so the jungle never got the upper hand. Angkor Wat is the flagship of Angkor, and the tour buses are many. The complex is beautiful, but the many tourists and all the restoration efforts have resulted in a lack of soul. At least in our opinion. We actually preferred the ’wilder’ and less polished temples of the Angkor region.
Nevertheless, Angkor Wat is spectacular. The moat is almost 200 meters wide and 6 km long. The buildings are enormous and perfectly symmetrical. The sculptures and bas-reliefs are very well kept.
Angkor Wat was the last temple we visited during our journey. It was quite a Grand Finale!

1 July – Ta Prohm, Cambodia

We eagerly continued our temple safari. Admittedly, there were times when the children stayed in the air-conditioned car while their parents chased through some less famous temples...
We stopped to admire some of the entrance gates to Angkor Thom.
Ta Keo, a pyramid-like structure was impressive in its massive form. The steps were so steep that quite a few travelers must have ended their journeys here.
Preah Neak Pean was very serene and lovely with its five pools and a small temple structure in the center.
Ta Som is famous for the strangler fig tree which has all but swallowed one of the entrance towers.
Banteay Srei, from AD 967, is known for its pink sandstone and exquisite stone carvings.
The highlight was Ta Prohm, an enormous temple which has been invaded by equally enormous trees. Clearing the trees and vegetation would probably result in a collapse of the ruins, so the trees are allowed to continue their silent invasion. The result is spectacular for the visitors.

30 June – Angkor Thom, Cambodia

The Angkorian period spans from AD 802 to 1432. During this long period, a vast number of temples were built in the area around present-day Siem Reap. At its peak, the city of Angkor is believed to have had more than one million inhabitants. Today, only the sandstone temple ruins remain, since the normal houses were built of wood. The centrally located temples are spread over an area of more than 500 square kilometers, but there are many other Angkorian temples further away from Angkor (e.g. Beng Mealea).
We bought a three-day entrance pass to the central temples of Angkor. We spent our first day exploring the enormous temple city of Angkor Thom (Great Angkor), constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries. The city is surrounded by an eight meter high wall, and a 100 meter wide moat, 12 km long. There are five impressive gates, guarded by gods and demons. We managed to pass through the narrow gate with our car.
The highlight in Angkor Thom was the Bayon Temple. It is located in the very center, and it was built in a different style compared to the other temples in the area. The temple has three levels and is crowned by 54 towers, each with four enormous faces, carved from the stone blocks, glazing enigmatically into the distance.
Children and adults were equally thrilled with Bayon and we did not want to leave, despite the scorching sun.
On the outer wall of the lower level, there are fantastic bas-reliefs, 1.2 km long, depicting life in Angkor during the 12th century.
Other favorites in Angkor Thom included:
The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants.
The hundreds of apsara sculptures on the Terrace of the Leper King.
The elevated walkway to the Baphuon Temple.
The beautiful Kleang structures, between which line dancers once entertained the Angkor kings.
The Preah Khan Temple, with its narrow vaults, beautiful sculptures and Hindu symbols.

26 June – Beng Mealea, Cambodia

Our visit to the 12th century Angkor temple of Beng Mealea was a real highlight. It was abandoned centuries ago and the jungle has all but swallowed it. Even though many of the massive structures have collapsed, it is still a very impressive temple complex. Trees, bushes and vines grow everywhere and are completely intertwined with the stone structures. We had the place to ourselves and felt like real explorers!

25 June – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap is the base camp for exploring the many ruin complexes of the Angkor area. We found a lovely guest house, Earthwalker, where we could prepare for some serious temple sightseeing, and for the final leg of our journey.
We enjoyed the tasty Khmer food in the many good local restaurants around town. Banana blossom salad served on banana leaves, steamed fish served in coconut, lotus root salad, chicken in amok sauce with crispy vegetables, beef lok lak, and much more. And perhaps a dragon fruit for dessert? Yum!

24 June – Sambor Preikuk, Cambodia

Driving through the Cambodian countryside is very scenic. But we stay on the road. Land mines and off-roading are a bad combination.
The 200+ temples at Sambor Preikuk, halfway between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, are lovely. Most of the brick structures are from the 7th century, hidden in dense jungle. They predate the great temples of Angkor by about 500 years!
Our self-taught guide, Bun Teng, made our hike among the temples a very memorable experience.

22-23 June – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We followed the Mekong River south towards Cambodia. We felt very good. Once again we had stood up against the ugly face of corruption. You can of course question if it was worth two days of hardship. We felt that it was.
Cambodia’s history makes you cry. Wars, civil wars, mass murder, communist insanity, more mass murder. The Khmer Rouge are said to have caused the deaths of about two million people (a quarter of the population) during their reign 1975-1979. The Khmer Rouge were collectively insane. This meant that even if they were defeated by the Vietnamese, who marched in to save the three quarters of the population who were close to dying, in 1979, the Khmer Rouge under their lunatic leader Pol Pot continued to wage a war on the Cambodian people during the next 20 years until Pol Pot died in 1998. The Khmer Rouge leadership is still to receive their punishment. Several of them are in leading positions in Cambodia today. The children of Cambodia are not taught about the Khmer Rouge in school. The subject is said to be too complicated.
In Phnom Penh we were invited to stay with Karl-Anders who works with Swedish development programs in Cambodia. Thank you for your hospitality Karl-Anders!
We did the tourist things in Phnom Penh as well.

We can report that the Silver Pagoda has a guard at the gate who wants people to bribe him in order to be let in. In our case, he did not realize who he was messing with until he stood there with his pants around his ankles.
After a visit to the National Museum and lunch at Friend’s (excellent place where street kids are given a second chance), the girls demanded to have their nails done. Glittery silver color. Beautiful!
We loved the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, a classic colonial institution by the confluence of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong Rivers. This is the place to spend some spare time in Phnom Penh!

19-21 June – No Man’s Land

The road through southern Laos was much better than expected. Our temple visits rained away, so we went to see the Khong Phapheng waterfalls instead.
After only two days we had reached the border to Cambodia, formerly the death camp of the communist Khmer Rouge. We were speedily stamped out of Laos, and presented our documents to Cambodian immigration and customs.
Immigration said welcome. Customs said ’NO! GO BACK LAO!’


At some point we will tell the whole insane story about what happened over the next 48 hours. The summary is that we refused to bribe the Cambodian customs officer, he refused to let us enter with our car, and we refused to leave and camped in the middle of the road in front of the border gate for two days.
The Swedish Embassy tried to intervene but was interrupted by the weekend. Finally, through the brave intervention by provincial tourist manager Theany (a wonderful young lady with strong integrity), the vice minister of tourism in Cambodia heard about the Swedish family who was kept hostage at the border. He ordered that we should be released immediately. His will be done.