Tourists walk along the causeway in front of the majestic temple complex of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap -- Photo by Anat Givon, AP

Monsoon season in Cambodia can be difficult to predict. If you're lucky, it rains for an hour then returns to the blistering sunshine. If you're not so lucky, it might be days before the clouds let up. Emerging from a forest-strewn temple, it was pretty clear that the shower wasn't one of the long ones. It wasn't coming down hard and it just didn't have the feel of a long rainfall, but it was enough to take shelter from.

I found my tuk tuk driver, Lucky, with his feet up in a nearby merchant's shack. Go to any temple in Cambodia and you'll find these shacks nearby, and someone will be there to try to sell you something, be it a cold drink or a trinket.

I joined Lucky to wait out the rain with all the other drivers and their passengers. I had barely sat down when a teenage girl came over with a selection of scarves at $3 US each. I politely say no, but I was stuck in this shack until the rain let up and she wouldn't let up -- every time I said no, she laughed and tried another pitch.

Since the end of the Pol Pot regime, Cambodia has been trying to rebuild itself. One of the poorest nations, the southeast Asia country has been marketing its tourist potential to attract visitors.

Still a backpacker's destination to get away from it all and experience the other side of life, Cambodia can now boast first-class hotels. And its crown jewel to attract tourists of all types is Angkor Wat and the many jungle ruins of the old Khmer empire.

Once a mysterious lost city temple, Angkor now draws throngs of visitors to see one of the world's largest complexes of ruins. Sprawling temples that cover acres, "lost" temples overgrown by trees, and the feeling that you are in the middle of a jungle are helping make Cambodia a literal tourist gem in the rough.

And I do mean rough. While there are first-class hotels to be found, this is a Third World country and the poverty and conditions can be a shock if you're not used to it. Even getting to the Angkor area can be an adventure.

Cambodia's second city, Siem Reap, is your launching point to the country's many ruin complexes with Angkor Wat sitting on the border of the city. There are only four ways into Siem Reap -- by air into its small airport, by boat along the Tonle Sap Lake, by road from the capital Phnom Penh, or by taking the legendary Road to Siem Reap from Thailand's border -- reputed to be Asia's worst highway.

Ever the adventurous type, I took the Road to Siem Reap and found it lived up to its billing. Crammed into a taxi with four other strangers, we bounced through the potholes for four hours. There was even a detour into a UN camp because the bridge was washed out.

TEMPLE CITY

Everyone who goes to Siem Reap has one thing on their minds: Templing. No one leaves disappointed. Other historical centres around the globe restrain visitors from all areas of the sites. Not Angkor. Here you can climb over every inch of the sprawling temple city of Angkor Wat, explore every nook and cranny of the old city of Angkor Thom.

The major temples are awe-inspiring, but so too are some of the small ones. My personal favourite was one I was directed to by a little kid just outside of Angkor Thom. He called it the lost temple.

Everywhere you go, people will be selling you something. Mostly, it's kids trying to sell books or souvenirs. There appears to be a rule that they can't sell within the ruins themselves as several followed me towards the ruins but stopped at the gate.

Inside, however, you may come across kids offering to show you around, but they expect payment for it. In one of the Angkor-area temples I even came across a police officer trying to sell me his badge.

The overzealous capitalism is a product of a surging tourist economy meeting poverty. But it's also part of Cambodia's charm. None of the sellers get mad if you tell them no and it almost feels like they're playing a game.

If you really want to get away from it all, take a tour to some of the remote temples. I managed to find Paul from Hidden Cambodia Tours at the Earthwalkers Hostel. He specializes in adventure tours that may take you into the jungles for several nights, but he agreed to take me on a day trip to Beng Melea, a prototype for Angkor Wat nearly 60 km away.

There are other things to do if you get tired of templing. You can swim in the West Baray, an ancient man-made lake built for the temples. Siem Reap offers several art galleries as well as a Cambodian cultural village, balloon rides, a landmine museum, and traditional dance performances. Tours can be arranged to take you into some of the rural villages or even to the floating villages on Tonle Sap.

Cambodia is still for the tourist who wants the backpacking lifestyle and to experience the roughness of a Third World country. But the increasing tourism economy means there is plenty of luxury to be found with one of the world's most important heritage sites at your steps.

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BOTTOM LINE

- Cambodia's currency is the riel, but it's devalued so much the real currency is the U.S. dollar, so bring plenty of greenbacks.

- The best way to get around Siem Reap is by tuk tuk, basically a motorbike with a carriage attached. Foreigners are not allowed to drive in Cambodia, but tuk tuks will take you anywhere in Siem Reap for $1 US.

- Getting into the Angkor Archeological Park is $20 for a one-day pass, $40 for three days, and $60 for seven days. Hotels, hostels or guest houses can arrange to rent a tuk tuk and driver for the day to take you to all the sights of Angkor.

- There are first-class hotels in Siem Reap, but if you're looking for cheap accommodation I recommend the Earthwalkers Hostel as part of its profits are donated to the Angkor Hospital for Children. Visit earthwalkers.no.

- Best place to eat and keep in touch with friends back home is the Deadfish Tower. It offers great traditional Cambodian food and free Internet access.