well, well, well, the OCR presentation went very well. Most of the presenters were INSEAD grads. They were honest, handled difficult questions well, offered good insights, valuable information and were extremely approachable during drinks (and sushis). I was pleasantly surprised and might even be tempted to find out some more about the company. They opened a new office in Singapore and still need to staff it. With a full-fledged campus here, it is much easier for us to access the current consultants and get first-hand info.

I am back to this good old stuff again...I am doing readings and case preparation for my first Applied Corporate Finance class, starting tomorrow. This is my last elective for this period. I hesitated, I thought that I could take one additional elective, but then between my sailing schedule and my club needs + my job search, I thought that it would be quite a stretch so I decided against that. I might or might not find myself with time on my hands in P5 - since some people in the industry will not be able to know who they might need 4 months in advance. We shall see.

It is high time I talked a little bit about my break. Cambodia was fabulous. However, it is saddening to see the contrast with Thailand - and realize the nefast effect 30 years of civil war and 3 years of heavy destruction can have on your economy. The Khmers Rouge did a fantastic job at making sure that all universities be closed, all schools destroyed, that people preferred death to a slow agony in suffering, that precious rice fields be mined, that the country be completely isolated from the rest of the world, that one third of the population be killed.

There were still signs in Angkor Vat warning people about mine fields. Most of the region was cleared, but parts of the forest were not.

Siem Reap, the city that one flies to on their way to the temples of Angkor sprung out of nowhere and lives mainly on tourism. People are extremely welcoming and helpful. Most of the time, you get around with Tuk-Tuks (little three-wheeled taxis). You can find a hundred different hotels (we stayed at Mysteres D'Angkor, which I recommend along Pavillon D'Indochine) - with or without pool, with or without air con - but take at least with fan.
It was probably 35 degrees C in the shade. We got up around 6am (temples open at 6am) to see as much of the monuments as we could. For those who do not know, Angkor Vat (meaning the Temples of Angkor) si where Tomb Raider was filmed. I have no idea how the film crew could stand the heat and how the actors could bear any kind of costume with this heat.

There are about 100 temples in Angkot Vat, two groups are away from the main remains (about 13 and 30 kms respectively) - all well worth it. The drive in the forest, in the middle of rice fields, and through various picturesque villages is extremely pleasant. If you are in a hurry, just do the Bayon and Angkor Vat. Three days seemed to be an ideal duration for a QUICK visit. If you are anything like a stone lover, you will still find something to dust off after weeks of studious wall scanning.

One temple wall was bizarelly broken - like a sinewave. We had not read about this temple but both my friend and I immediately thought about an Earthquake (a Californian syndrom). Our eyes immediately turned to the volcano-shape hill next to the temple. Why would you build a temple next to an area with a high level of seismic activity? Mystery...
Mysteres d'Angkor...

The roads around the temples are filled with monkeys trying to steal bananas from tourists in need of pictures. Beware, they are nasty beasts. There is also the possibility for you to do some elephant riding, and walk up to the top of a hill to watch the sunset from the platform of a temple. Trouble is that the WHOLE of Angkor Vat has the same ideas. We walked down before dusk to avoid having to walk down with half a million people.

I travelled with a friend, but we met some 15 to 20 other INSEAD students - like everywhere in Asia where tourists can be found, be prepared to meet INSEAD students. This made sure that our nights were also well filled. There isn't much to do actually in town, which is just as well since mosquitos bite at night and 6am is bloody early.

We did visit villages, avoided chickens as much as we could. When we drove past the hospital, there was a big sign asking for blood to help children in shock because of Hemorraegic Dengue Fever.

At the hotel, we met a French researcher who was studying some of the temples. He was saying that most of the writing was in standard Sanscrit which was fairly useful. Apparently people worshipped hundreds of deities in some of these temples, which turned the whole place into a constant celebration place, so full of life and energy.

One of the temples was heavily buried in the jungle. Some trees had their gigantic roots overtake the old stones and claim victory over the architecture that hundreds of people put together over hundreds of years. Now it feels like walking around an Alien ship.

After three days of about 12 hours of walking, 33596 steps, 347 galleries, 14890 bas-reliefs and various paintings, 24 trips over tree roots, 2 monkey attacks, 1 mosquito bite, 1 elephant ride, 1 massage and 12 lime shakes, we got our TPA sky high (Temple Point Average).

We were thinking of writing a little case study on the two French entrepreneurs who started Mysteres d'Angkor. Their story is fairly interesting, especially in a country with no business infrastructure whatsoever. The country in place (democratic for once) is struggling with local governments. People do not pay taxes in the provinces because they expect the taxman to keep a very large proportion of their money into his pockets - hence a vicious circle. Apparently, they were planning a country-wide campaign to explain what the money is being used for, and gradually try to replace the middlemen with more trustworthy collecting agencies. How these agencies will be profitable is a question that I have no answer for, which makes the whole system questionable.

Anyway, all in all, a place the wonders of which will no doubt rapt your mind with delights. Do go and visit. No need to arrange your Visa in advance. You need 30 bucks and you can have your picture taken at Bangkok Airport. Bangkok Airways has multiple flights a day, at convenient times and it is cheaper than via Singapore (including Bangkok stopover).
Stay three days if you can, two days if you must.

Most of all - wear comfortable shoes, bring an umbrella, liters of water, a fan - get a tuk-tuk or if you feel the courage of a Tuareg, rent a bike and slide along the dusty tracks in search of the lost pearls of an ancient princess.