Left home on Tuesday afternoon having dropped the slightly disgruntled “kids” off at the kennels and headed to Heathrow via British Airways and Malaga. Arrived at around 23:00 and checked straight into the Terminal 5 Sofitel. Not before nearly freezing to death on the wrong level before finding the walkway leading straight to reception. Up at 8 the following morning and headed to Terminal 2 to check in with Thai Airways and their very hospitable lounge. 12 hour flight to Bangkok, for a 5 hr layover in Bangkok Airlines not so hospitable lounge, and then a 40 minute flight to Siem Reap, which is a recent addition to Cambodia and has been built to accommodate the huge number of tourists who descend upon the Ankor Temple complex. Checked in to the Victoria Hotel for a quick shower and Thai Beef Salad before heading out for the first of what will eventually be many Temple Explorations.
Hotel very civilised and their courtesy car is a reminder of the French Colonial era which dominated this part of the world for the best part of a century before a series of wars (including of course Vietnam and the ensuing mayhem of civil wars and Pol Pot´s Khmer Rouge and his genocide where 2 million Cambodians were massacred. An era that only came to an end in the nineties so there are still many “scarred” sites and people who I have to say seem to be bouncing back as a result of tourism etc !!
Next up Ankor Wat which is completely mind-blowing in its scale and that of its many neighbours………..