I took the train from Bangkok to the border town Aranyaprathet. From there, I rode to the border via tuk-tuk to get my passport stamped out of Thailand. Being stamped out of one country before being admitted to another was a surreal chaotic limbo at the border crossing to Poi Pet, Cambodia. There are people gambling away at casinos between the two checkpoints, while food vendors slowly push their carts along. I walked the 200 meters to the Cambodian border, ignoring touts offering help obtaining a visa. (It’s a scam.)

I quickly filled out the application for admission to Cambodia. The quiet Cambodian official stamped my passport and issued the visa without any problems. From there, I walked another hundred meters to a seating area for a vehicle that takes passengers to the bus depot, which transports to Siem Reap.

Poi Pet is a notorious crossing with scammers that could win Oscar awards with their convincing tactics. There were six backpackers, and a man who seemed like a compelling government official said that he could arrange a tuk-tuk to take us to the bus depot for just 100 Baht. (Cambodia uses both Thai and U.S. currencies.) We thought, sure, why not. It beats waiting an hour.

There was an uneasy feeling in my gut about this guy, though. He seemed…a little too enthusiastic as a guide. Surely enough, about 2 km in, he pointed and said, “that’s our van. We’re getting off here. That will be 200 Baht.”

If we had waited for five more minutes, that van would have been there to pick us up from the border. Also, he changed the deal on us. The six of us firmly made the driver pull over to the van. We had a deal, and that deal was to get us to the bus depot for 100 Baht–not to the side of the road for twice that much. Because we barely went anywhere, we refused to pay. We didn’t care if we were driven for just 2 km–scamming people is clearly never okay, and we weren’t going to let this guy get away with it. The “agent” was deflated because he was caught. He then said he should come with us to Siem Reap because there are language barrier “obstacles” he can help us get through. Our response: “Get lost.”

And that marked my welcome into Cambodia.

Practically the main reason people visit Siem Reap, Cambodia is to see the archeological temple site, Angkor Wat. The rest of the week in Siem Reap spun in motion.

There was one thing that was on my mind for a while. It didn’t matter that when I test drove a motorbike in Vietnam, I crashed into a wall. Learning to drive one was still high on my agenda, and crashing almost made me give up that goal on my list. But I couldn’t stop thinking about trying again. Sometimes, my stubbornness (determination?) can override all common sense.

At the hotel, I asked for the smallest engine they had, which was 100 cc. After test driving for 20 minutes without any incident, the hotel owner told me to go for it. So, I drove to Angkor Wat, and it went quite smoothly! It was actually easy once I got the hang of it. The traffic is more benign in Cambodia than Vietnam. The meditation and mindfulness practice must be paying off, because I had been able to stay cool-headed even when the traffic became heavy.

For much of my life, I was instilled with fear: “Don’t do this, don’t do that–you’ll fail and look like a fool. You’ll never be able to do that. You’re not good enough. You don’t even get things right the first time. You will get hurt and we need to keep you safe, so just don’t try anything where you’re likely to fail.”

Isn’t it amazing, how traveling can show us we might be more capable of things than we realize?

Before the sun was up, it was just me and the road. Sitting on the bike felt solid and stable, even before switching on the engine. I turned the throttle to accelerate, the cool wind rushing past my face. Breathing in every moment, the taste of freedom.

And that’s how I went around Angkor Wat. That entire site was at one point a civilization of one million people, while London was a mere 50,000.

My favorite part was Ta Prohm, where the ancient temple and nature have fused.

The trees have taken over the temple walls, and you could almost feel the life pulsing through. Every stone in the wall and every single root grown over was a reminder that the earth can heal itself.

It also served as a reminder of our own mortality, how we might remembered…or forgotten.

A while ago another traveler warned about “temple burn out” and I’m starting to get what he meant, but there’s still so much to see.

After Siem Reap, I had a 9-hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I met up with someone that our mutual friend set us up with. Yay for new friends!

And now I’m in Bali, Indonesia after a frustrating delay with flights. But everything is okay, so there wasn’t a need to worry. Really. If a few hours lost and lack of sleep are the least of worries, is it really that bad?

This is the last country I’m visiting in Southeast Asia. Then it’s off to New Zealand.

Holy smokes. I’m almost two thirds of the way done.