Siam Reap

Siam Reap is probably a pretty average Cambodian rural city, if there wouldn't be the world famous Angkor Wat complex close enough to reach it with the bicycle (1 USD per day). That's exactly what we did. The Khmer started their rule in the 11th century by revolutionizing the irrigation system that allowed them to produce a lot of food and allowed them to expand their territories and build their truly amazing temples. Since 13th century the Khmer adopted Buddhism as their religion and stopped building any new temples. The Siamese people looted the whole area in the 15th century. Internal problems such as slashing all trees, climate change and bad harvests lead to the decline of the Khmer. Angkor Wat is so important for the Cambodian now a days- who have been battered by history over and over again - that the national flag has the main temple in the middle.
It is fun to ride through the partly reconstructed complex even though information is pretty scarce. In Siam Reap we stayed at a hotel which offers one dollar beds and enjoyed the local food. But if you have seen Angkor, there is really no reason to stay in Siam Reap. So we headed to Phnom Phen - the capitol.