Ankgor Wow

hey guys, Yesterday we had a taxi driver (ok, taxi is a strong word. it's essentially a wagon pulled by a motorbike) take us our to the temples of Angkor, not far from where we are staying in Siem Reap. Nevermind Angkor Wat...what about Angkor Wow? All of the temples are unique and incredible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat). I can't believe how many incredible pictures we took. Although time hasn't been kind to the many temples, you can't help but imagine how spectacular they must have looked when they were built so long ago (Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century). Angkor Wat is obviously the biggest, but Bayon was incredible as well. In Bayon, there were faces carved into the rock. Even though it's been so long since the temples were made, the detail in the rock is awesome. Yesterday was also the hottest day we can remember. We both had steady streams of sweat in not too wonderful places within the first 20 minutes of being at the temples, and it didn't seem to stop until it poured later on in the afternoon. Thankfully there were many parts of the temple that were shaded, so the discomfort of being in the blazing sun didn't last too long. Surprisingly, neither Jason nor I wore sunblock (I know, I know...not super smart) but we didn't burn. One thing about Cambodia...they have trained their people well to get as much money from tourists as possible. The children are the worst at trying to use your emotions to sell you things, items of varying degrees of usefulness (from cold water to bracelets to postcards). They try to appeal to your emotions (by sending cute young kids), your ego (by sending older children to sell you things, and if you are not interested, using games like "what's the capital of Madagascar?" If you knew you could get a cheaper price on a book, or playing tic tac toe, and if you lost you had to buy whatever they were selling), or to your sense of pity by having a woman with a young child ask for money because the baby has nothing to eat. It's very difficult to say no...but I know that if we encourage this industry, they will continue to ask for more. Believe me, looking at a beautiful young child and saying no is not an easy task! Today we are off to make our connection to Manila, by flying from Siem Reap to Saigon, and then from Saigon to Manila, to catch our Manila-Sydney connection on Saturday. Hope all is well. Don't be shy, drop us a comment or two every once in a while to let us know that you're following along :) Photos of Angkor will be posted soon...I am writing this in a dairy queen at the airport waiting to board the plane to Saigon. The photos are gynormous and it will take forever to load them.