After the atrocities seen in Phnom Penh, I headed for the beaches of southern Cambodia, before heading back to the west of the country and seeing the famous temples at Angkor.

In the south, it is in Sihanoukville that I stop. I immediately feel there on vacation. During my few days there, I rent a small sailboat to explore the shores of the Gulf of Thailand, I go horseback riding, and I visit Ream National Park.

It is at the national park that I meet the hilarious guide Mao. He comes from the capital and previously worked there in construction. With the other workers, he lived directly in the building they were constructing. His current job pays US $ 100 per month, and he tells me it's a lot better than what he used to do. As the park is quite large, he often has to sleep directly in the jungle, and he only manages to come back to see his wife and daughter once or twice a week.

Mao and the other guides who get by in English thus share the guided tours in the jungle to have a little more income.

Mao also tells me that his wife works in a clothing factory of a Chinese company in the neighboring village. The clothes that are made there are all similar, but come with different selling prices depending on the label of the brands that are affixed to them before delivery. Knowing this, my guide doesn't seem to quite understand why one would pay three times the price for a tag. Mao marketing, marketing ...

Before leaving, I also take a day trip by boat around the neighboring islands. The water is super hot and the beaches fantastic!

of Angkor

In the north-west of the country, the Angkor archaeological site, with one million visitors per year, is Cambodia's main tourist attraction. It was therefore a must stop on my way to Thailand.

As you probably can already imagine, I'm not generally a fan of too touristy destinations.

On a trip to Peru a few years ago, I almost passed over the Machu Picchu for fear of being disappointed by its popularity. I had finally been there, and despite the crowds in attendance, it ended up being one of the most amazing places I have visited in my life.

So I had the same apprehension for the temples of Angkor, and in particular for the main attraction: Angkor Wat . But since I had been so happily surprised in Peru, I decided to give the temples a chance. And at $ 37 a day, in a country where a meal costs $ 1, it was better worth it! And after all, it's still here that the first Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed!

Angkor Wat

So I get up at 4:30 am to go to the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I got there around 5:20 am, slightly later than I would have liked. It must be said that it is not the next door, the temple being several kilometers north of Siem Reap, the city where all tourists stay. As expected, I'm not the first in line, but I still manage to find a place among the people who try to photograph the places with their iPad!

The huge temple built in the 12th century is one of the best preserved in the world. It is so important that it even appears on the national flag of Cambodia.

- Is it worth the trip? Yes.
- Did that take my breath away? No.
- Am I made a disagreeable jaded old man? Probably !

In fact, I think I can explain why I was not as enthusiastic here as in Machu Picchu. I had walked five days to get to the Peruvian site, whereas here I had less the impression of discovering a "secret site". Being alone, I did not take a guide either, and so I probably missed information that would have allowed me to better appreciate my visit.

And finally, the stifling heat on the site, even early in the morning, forced me to constantly change my sweater to try to evaporate my sweat ...! Not the best state of mind to appreciate architecture!

What else in Siem Reap

The vast majority of people come here very quickly, to see the temples and then hello visit. But I liked my hotel manager and the local vibe so I spent more time than expected in this welcoming little town.

On site, you can take pottery lessons (I sucked, but it was very pleasant!), Try to escape from a room by solving puzzles (I was even worse than pottery, if that is possible!), and going to the circus.

If you are ever passing through Cambodia, be sure to check out the Circus Lighthouse. Very similar to the Cirque du Soleil but (much) smaller. The athletes are absolutely fantastic. I was so engrossed in the quality of the acrobatics, the lack of net and the speed of movement of the show that I didn't even take any pictures myself! So here are a few taken from the internet.