Cambodia-Where the world slows to a hault

It's amazing how 2 countries that are so close in proximity can be worlds apart. Back in KL this morning, I casually strolled to KL city center where I could do a city check-in with Malaysian Airlines. The station was clean, efficient and hardly a soul there. I took the express train to the airport which was comfortable and fast, boarded my flight to Siem Reap where I dreamed of Indiana Jones-esque temples to explore through the jungles of Cambodia. When I arrived in Siem Reap, I was greeted by a tiny air terminal, 5 different customs and visa forms to fill out to enter the country, and a lot of workers just hanging around. I was slightly dismayed that my hotel pick-up wasn't there to greet me. When I asked if I could call them on the nearest pay phone, the attendant's response was, "Sorry, we don't have any pay phones at this airport". No problem I thought, I paid the 2USD for a fun motorbike trip into town with a fellow named Kim.

On a side note, I'm not sure why I haven't been flying Malaysia Air more often rather than the low cost budget airline, Air Asia. Malaysian Air has a check-in you can do from the KL Sentral station, has a much nicer airport, allows you to choose your seat, and serves you food and alcohol. AND, it was 30 RM cheaper!

Anyway, back to my adventure. I planned to do a 2 week trip through Cambodia and Laos with as little planned as possible. The more I travel, the less I like packaged tours where every detail of your holiday is planned to the times you are supposed to go to the toilet. Where is the spontaeniety and adventure in that? In fact, I booked a one-way ticked to Siem Reap 3 days before I was set to travel. I don't start work again until the end of July so my travel is pretty flexible.

The only goals I have are to:
-See Angkor Wat
-Go to Phnom Penh (is it just me or is it the hardest 2 words to spell)
-Visit Laos
-Keep a travel blog of my adventures

My thoughts on Siem Reap so far:
-It is much grittier than other countries in SE Asia (Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand)
-Roads are dusty, somewhat chaotic, and hot
-Well established tourist scene with tons of small cafes and guesthouses
-EVERYTHING is in US dollars. Very strange considering how far away they are from the place. I haven't carried US dollars in quite some time.
-Beer and food is incredibly cheap. (Happy hour prices=0.50). This makes me very happy coming from KL!

That's it for Day 1. The next 2 days will be seeing Angkor Wat. I'm not a big temple person but friends tell me it is truely spectacular.