I am sorry that I have gone MIA for a couple of days but I just needed to take a break. It was extremely hot in Cambodia and I wasn't feeling great so I needed to prioritize sleep over blogging.
We only spent two days in Siem Reap, Cambodia and it wasn't long enough. I already know that I need to come back to Cambodia. It has a very different feel, quieter and the people are lovely. What was difficult was the heat and humidity, hitting temperatures in the high 30's. That knocked the wind out of everyone but it was worth the discomfort to see what we came to see.
Our first day we visited Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world. It is massive and amazing! It is hard to describe it, maybe the pictures will help. The lighting wasn't great but I think I got some pictures that are ok. While we were waiting for everyone at the meeting point, a few people went to grab a cold drink. Jan and Bill got held up waiting for their smoothies so I stayed behind to wait for them. By then the whole group had disappeared to the bus. We grabbed a Tuk Tuk and raced to the bus, just to find out that we got ahead of the group!! Many of the others were wishing that they had taken a Tuk Tuk rather than making the long walk in the heat!! I think I saw some nasty looks aimed our way! We will know better next time!
In the afternoon we visited Angkor Thom, the ruined capital of the Khmer Empire. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Many of us preferred this temple site as it had a more serene feeling than Angkor Wat. Once again, too hard to describe!
In between temple visits we went for an included lunch. They were like Vietnam, brought food until we couldn't eat any more! It is hard to have a big appetite in that heat! After lunch we returned to the
hotel for an hour to freshen up and cool off, it was much needed!
In the evening we went for a lovely dinner at a beautiful outdoor restaurant. Many of us were feeling a bit "off" today so we couldn't enjoy the meal as much as we should have. We just wanted to go to bed!!!
On the second morning part of the group left at 5:30 am to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat. As much as I wanted to do it, I knew that I needed to grab as much rest as possible to get back to feeling better. The rest of the morning involved visiting two more temples. The first temple was Ta Prohm. It was very interesting and intriguing because many of the trees have overtaken the temple. There are huge roots that look like snakes twisting around the buildings. The movie "Tomb Raide" starring Angelina Jolie" was filmed here. It is really amazing to see!!
Our final temple was Preah Khan Temple and it is much smaller and quieter because fewer people visit it. Next we had three hours to grab lunch, relax and freshen to. A few of us went straight to Pub Street for lunch. This is a famous street with lots of pubs and restaurants. We had lunch at "The Red Piano", where Angelina Jolie chose to eat when she was in town! Then we went in search of a fish tank where we could sit and have the fish nibble the dead skin off of our feet! I have always wanted to do this so this was our chance! We giggled like crazy when we first started because it really tickles and is a pretty weird sensation. After a few minutes you get used to it and it is rather enjoyable. Our feet came out nice and smooth!!! From there we hit the market for some fast and furious shopping and bartering. When our pockets were empty and our hands were full we hailed a Tuk Tuk to take us back to the hotel. We soon realized that the driver didn't know where our hotel was so I had to tap him on the shoulder to get him to pull over. We went over it again until the light went on and he
knew where he needed to take us.
In the mid afternoon we all got back on the bus and travelled out to the river that leads to Tonle Sap Lake. This is the largest lake in SE Asia at 150 x 75 Kilometres. We got onto a boat and travelled down the river to the lake. When it opened out to the lake we saw all of these houses on the lake. It is a floating village where the fisherman and their families live. What an eye opener that was!! They live in these houses for a good part of the year but they have to remove the houses each year before the Rainy season begins and they move to their homes inland. It was unbelievable to see the little kids on the porches of the houses with no concern of falling into the lake. It was a very interesting but humbling experience to see the lengths that these people go to in order to make a living!! Our own homes will look mighty good after seeing that!
Last night we went out for a special dinner and show. We were seated on the top story of a lovely dinner theatre with the best seats in the house. They brought us each a tray with a bunch of individual dishes of a variety of Cambodian food. It was delicious! Then we were treated to a traditional performance of "Aspara" dance. It wasn't the fastest moving entertainment by any means (at times like watching paint dry) but it was nice to see.....once!! 😄
When we got back to the hotel it was time to repackage and get to bed for a fairly early departure in the morning!
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