Photoshop lies. Guidebooks lie.

I was looking at pictures of Cambodia on Pinterest today, and found myself a bit confused. One scene seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I had to do a little bit of research to figure out what the picture was of before I recognized it.
Let it be known, this is a post about how guide books and Photoshop lie.
What I found on Pinterest (and Flickr)-

Looks pretty and inviting, no? (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixfrix/page2/)

Here's what it looked like when I was there-

 (ahem, I'd like to add that I've lost 15 lbs since this pic was taken. also, i was hours away from the worst illness of my entire life. but really, i admit i looked this bad.)

Photoshop lies. Guidebooks lie.

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