The next day, Bunta picked us up at the hotel in the morning and off we went to Angkor Thom – more buildings and temples, but different from those at Angkor Wat. You enter Angkor Thom through a gate at the end of a long bridge, lined with “guards.” Many of the Angkor Thom temples have towers with huge Buddha faces built into them. Each tower typically has four faces, each one facing the four cardinal directions. Incredible. In some places, the jungle has taken over the temples, making for some interesting images. Again, I’ll let the images speak for themselves. 
Bunta was very helpful – calm and friendly and accommodating. And he was very “serious” about his job – always put on his official guide's vest and helmet whenever he drove and made sure we were safely in before taking off. We would point to a temple in our guidebook and he would say “that is nice” or “that one is very ruins.” If it was a temple that made sense to enter from one spot and then walk through to another, he would say “I will meet you over here” and then point that out on our map. Then, off we’d go and he would just be there, waiting, when we were showed up. I assume he just slept while we were gone. It was interesting to see how people from such different cultures can get along so easily. (Of course, the fact that we were paying him might have helped inspire cooperation but I got the impression that he was genuinely interested in making sure we enjoyed being there.)
We were pretty far afield at lunchtime, so we asked Bunta if he knew of a place nearby and he did. We both wondered if we should eat there – didn’t want to risk getting sick at this point – but the food was good and we were fine. The silverware showed up in a glass filled with hot water to disinfect it. And, even here, at this little restaurant with a dirt floor in the middle of nowhere Cambodia, they took American dollars. In fact, that’s how the bill showed up. Too bizarre. 
Bunta was very helpful – calm and friendly and accommodating. And he was very “serious” about his job – always put on his official guide's vest and helmet whenever he drove and made sure we were safely in before taking off. We would point to a temple in our guidebook and he would say “that is nice” or “that one is very ruins.” If it was a temple that made sense to enter from one spot and then walk through to another, he would say “I will meet you over here” and then point that out on our map. Then, off we’d go and he would just be there, waiting, when we were showed up. I assume he just slept while we were gone. It was interesting to see how people from such different cultures can get along so easily. (Of course, the fact that we were paying him might have helped inspire cooperation but I got the impression that he was genuinely interested in making sure we enjoyed being there.)
We were pretty far afield at lunchtime, so we asked Bunta if he knew of a place nearby and he did. We both wondered if we should eat there – didn’t want to risk getting sick at this point – but the food was good and we were fine. The silverware showed up in a glass filled with hot water to disinfect it. And, even here, at this little restaurant with a dirt floor in the middle of nowhere Cambodia, they took American dollars. In fact, that’s how the bill showed up. Too bizarre.
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