Sam flew to Siem Reap and I took a train to the border and then a bus from there. The train was over an hour late arriving at the destination and I was a bit worried about crossing the border before it closed. I was on the last day of my Thailand visa and ended up crossing with 15 minutes to spare. When I got on the bus to Siem Reap the next day, the guy in charge told me that I would have to changes buses half way and pointed out a Cambodian passenger who was also going there that I could follow or ask for help if I got confused. After we had changed and been on the second bus for an hour or so, we stopped and the guy I was following tapped me and said that I should get off here. After I got off and the bus drove away, I got a sinking feeling that I was not in Siem Reap. The guy I was following had disappeared and I was standing in a very small town consisting of all of two streets. After asking around, I found out that I was about 50 km away from my destination. I was offered a taxi for $20, which I'm sure I could have negotiated down, but since I wasn't in a rush, I decided to try and wait for another bus. Nobody would give me a straight answer about when the next bus would come through. Definitely there would be one that night I was told. After about half and hour of waiting, I saw a bus drive by heading the right direction and as I started to try and run it down, it pulled into a shop down the street. Sure enough, I was in luck and I was able to get on for $1 paid directly to the driver and I'm sure he kept it for himself.
October is the rainiest month in Cambodia and Siem Reap flooded after it rained in the afternoon each day. The streets were covered in water half way up my shins. I actually enjoyed the city move because of the flooding. It was fun to wade around town barefoot with my pants rolled up above my knees and to bike around with water spraying up from the pedals. Schools were closed due to the flooding and the local kids spent their days playing in the overflowing river, including doing backflips off a bridge and climbing trees, jumping from the limbs into the water.
Siem Reap is home to the famous Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. Most people hire a tuk tuk to take them to the temples, but Sam and I rented bikes for $1 a day and rode there on our own. We encountered families of monkeys repeatedly through the area, which were always fun to watch, especially the young ones playing.
The temples absolutely blew me away. They are known for being packed with tourists, but the advantage of coming in the rainy season is that the mornings were still dry and there were only tourists here and there. The lesser temples were nearly deserted and the major ones weren't crowded either. The rear potion of Angkor Wat itself we had nearly to ourselves. My favorites were the unrestored temples that the jungle had started to take over. The fallen stones were covered in moss and 200 year old trees rose above, their roots strangling the walls below. Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider have both been filmed there and I can't imagine a more enchanting setting.