been a while. everything seems to move a little slower in cambodia, and i suppose that includes internet connections. the biggest adventure we've had since i last wrote has been our visit to angkor wat. for those of you who don't know, or don't watch the amazing race, angkor wat is a massive complex of temples built between the 7th and 14th century by the kmhers. the main temple itself is the largest religious structure in the world, but there are dozens of enormous temples scattered around, most of which have been reclaimed by the jungle, and tourists. we spent three days there total, the first two cruising around on bikes, and the last in a tuk-tuk. i know this is a cop out, but it seems impossible for me to give any kind of description of this place without doing it a disservice. just imagine the opening scene in raiders of the lost arc, but replace the angry natives with locals selling postcards and orange sodas. or think the shire, but with monkeys instead of hobbits. anyhow, just look at the pictures. we took loads.
on our third and final day we opted for the tuk-tuk so that we could make it to the main temple to watch the sunrise, and stay late to watch the sunset. the first part didn't pan out as hoped since the morning was overcast and we didnt see the sun until noon, but the sunset was fantastic. about two hundred people gather on top of a mountain temple that overlooks the whole park, and we were the only ones with enough foresight to bring a bottle of wine. it was a little bizarre when the sun went down, to watch throngs of people feverishly photograph the sun set as though it doesn't happen in their own country. i cant imagine coming home from a trip and having anyone i know showing a genuine interest in wanting to see photos i took of the sun.
anyhow...
after angkor wat we made our way back to pnomh penh to watch the election results. needless to say we were very excited, almost in disbelief, and even still, feel a little bit like it can't possibly be real. it's been such a long road under george bush that i've forgotten what it feels like to have a president that doesn't seem somewhat evil. we celebrated with about 200 other americans at a party put on by "democrats abroad"but called it an early night so we could wake up and make it to sihanoukeville, our current location.
sihanoukeville doesn't have a whole lot going on. it's on the beach, the water's warm, and the seafood is dirt cheap, but we need activities, and here there are none. the most interesting report we have from here happened yesterday when we were walking home from the beach, and out on the street, cooking on a huge barbeque spit, was a dog. it was unpleasant and i will be avoiding all red meat for the rest of our time in cambodia.
tomorrow i think we'll head to kampot, a city that reportedly has less going on than sihanoukeville, and then onto kep, which is even slower than kampot. we're just trying to run out the clock until we can get to vietnam.