Our first night in Cambodia went pretty smoothly. The only blip was that the bus company dropped us off several km outside of town where they had a deal with the tuk tuk drivers to exthort the tourists. We resisted, of course, and decided to walk into town. The problem was that we had no idea where we were going, we were exhausted, dirty and hungrey. That was when a middle aged man with a kind smile pulled over in an SUV and asked us if we wanted a ride. We immediately declined like we would decline any offer for a ride from a local . This is because they are not cheap and usually they just bring tourists to a guesthouse that they deal with for a commision. This man was different however and he insisted that he would take us exactly where we wanted to go and that he was just trying to help us out. We wearily accepted and he was the sweetest man ever who really just wanted to help. He drove us to the guesthouse, completely out of his way and even helped us with our bags for nothing. This was our first such experience in SE Asia and though it may sound like a small gesture, it was deeply appreciated.
We checked into a guesthouse that we had originally chosen because it was inexpensive but it turns out their only available bed was double what we expected , a whopping $4 USD. We were tired and it was late so we took it. The room had no roof and it was one of the poorest looking places we have stayed but coming from two nights at train stations and travelling for several days it would do just fine. The environment of the guesthouse was very relaxed and friendly and and we ended up staying there for four nights although we changed rooms.
We organized ourselves a bit and head out to eat. Although they did not have pad thai, we ate Khmer style fried noodles with vegetables and beef/pork which was just as good. Each meal cost $1 USD. We tried to buy some groceries for snacks and breakfast the next day but it is so cheap to eat out that we didn't bother except for a loaf of bread for the morning. We finished off our night with mango smoothies and showers. On our way back to the guesthouse a very young girl who appeared about four years old or younger gently put her hand on my arm and begged me for money to pay for her baby sister's milk. She said she didn't want to bother me but she really needed to feed her sister. I couldn't even look at her and I didn't know what to do. I looked to Tyson for help but he was as useless as me and I didn't end up giving her money but she hurt my heart just the same. I know that we are in for some more of the same in the coming days and it will likely be my least favorite part. I know that they are poor but this very young girl should not have to beg for food while her mother looks on. I cannot begin to understand their life but I'm sorry that she cannot have the basics that a child deserves.
Later in the trip after we left Siem Riep I learned that many of these children are either forced to beg by their parents and families or even worse (but very commonly) they are sold to other adults who abuse them and force them to work all day and night selling things or just plain begging for money. We dealt with it by ignoring the item they were selling and trying to meet the real child behind the poverty. We asked their names and ages and joked with them. Although this is not the best way and it does not help their situation, it was one option that we chose.
During the next three days the stories of poor children piled up and overflowed to the point where I am detirmined to return to Cambodia one day and volunteer at an orphanage or with an honest foundation to make a difference and if anyone is looking for volunteer opportunites, Cambodia has lots!
The next morning we had planned to wake up at 5am and spend the day wandering and exploring the great temples. Unfortunately as we pressed the snooze button for the hundreth time around 11am, we realized it wasn't happening. So we gave in and took a chill day. We walked around Siem Reap, talked to locals, did some reasearch and ate cheap food. We were told that we could buy our Ankor tickets at 4:45pm for the next day but still get into Ankor Wat to see the sunset. So we walked to the ticket booth, a good 6km away, and sat with some local temple staff. We helped them with English and they taught us about Cambodia. We tried a snack food that was some sort of meat balls on a stick over salad. The price the vendor quoted us was double what our new friend told us it should cost. When we asked why, we were told that foreigners pay more. We were hurt by this but it is was nothing new to us. We walked away even though the "foreigner price" was still ok. She then agreed to give us the local price after a few minutes and we grudgingly accepted. The taste was horrid and it was all I could do not to spit it out. Tyson however, finished the food without complaint.
Finally it was time to buy our tickets and we bought a three day package for $80 USD, we got official looking passes with our photos on them. We then walked to Ankor Wat, in total about 10km from where we were staying in town. It will be impossible for me to describe the biggest religious structure in the world. It is grand, it demands attention, it leaves you breathless, it exudes mystery and takes you into another world. Watching the sunset there was magnificent and hundreds of people had joined us. We made friends with a Chinese guy and two monk children. When Tyson and I went to take pictures with the monk kids, I knew not to touch them but they were still terrified. As soon as I was in their viscinity their eyes opened wide with terror and one whispered "d-d-don't touch me". I laughed, but I didn't touch. Later on in our travels, I spoke to and was able to shake hands with or contact many monks. Each monk is an individual and usually the younger ones are much more strict about their rules. One monk in Phnom Penh even helped me fix my dreads but he wouldn't let me photograph it. We walked back from Ankor Wat which is extremely difficult to do because every 2-3 seconds a tuk tuk drives by and begs you to get in while commenting on how far our destination is.
We switched from the private room to a dorm setting for the second night and it was much better., For $1 USD per person we shared a huge bed outdoors under a mosquito net. We spent three more nights here and it was one of my favorite accomodations yet.
The next three days had many common themes. For example we ate the same thing everyday. We ate a baguette with jam for breakfast, raw noodles for brunch, street food (like BBQ pork and rice) for lunch, mangos and pinapples for snack and stir fried meat and noodles with a cheese omlette and baguette for dinner from the same restaurant every night followed by two smoothies of various flavors. Besides the food, we also hired pedal bikes everyday from our guesthouse and rode over 300 km in total through the temples. We also had to turn down extremely aggressive (but good natured) street vendor women and children who would follow us (and every other tourist) from the second we arrived to a temple until we could get far enough on our bike that they couldn't catch us. They were selling anything from transport and toys to food and drinks to books and artwork. The children sometimes were not selling anything, they were just asking for money or candy.
The people here are very friendly and genuine. Every single person waves and says hello with a big grin. We have now had numerous positive experiences with Cambodian locals helping us out or engaging us in positive conversations. Of all of South East Asia, the people here stand out to us as super kind, happy and wonderful. The weather was hot and dry everyday and the sunsets were all beautiful with a fiery orange sun setting behind huge glorious temples.
After watching the sunset in Ankor Watt and walking back to town, we ate at our regular place: one noodles with pork, one noodles with beef and one cheese omlette with baguette. Then picked up smoothies for a sugar kick before bed. Some nights we splurged and Tyson would sneak out for second smoothies, it was our guilty pleasure.
The next morning we got up at 5am and biked to Ankor Wat to watch the sunrise which was fantastic and we have some lovely photos to prove it. The sun rose up behind the temple and seeing all the colours in the sky cast light on the amazing temple was priceless. We spent more than six hours on this one temple our first morning. It is huge and even with that much time we could not see everything. One could easily spend a full day or more just at the one temple. We played with the monkeys behind the temple which are not nearly as aggressive as the ones in Bali. For lunch we stopped at some stands and bought two big skewers of pork and two servings of white rice with $1.50. The little girl who managed to get our business was so excited and her mother seemed very proud and even handed her 500 riels (12.5 cents) as a prize. It was very cute.
The average income here is 600-1000 dollars a YEAR. Women usually work guesthouse reception or something similar and make about $50 a month. Unbelievable to our standards. While the products here are much cheaper and they don't pay the obscene taxes and other BS bills we have, it is still impossible to travel for leisure or save for anything big.
We rode on to the next temples and completed the whole small tour by bike which took about 12 hours. It is hard to imagine how many temples there are even from looking at a map. They are everywhere in the city of ruins and religious structures. It would take several weeks or longer to explore them all. We returned home exhausted, dirty from the dust and hungry as ever but satisfied. We had our normal dinner and passed out rather quickly.
The next day we had planned to hire a tuk tuk for the grand tour and to Bantei Shrei which is over 100km distance plus walking within the temples. We couldn't agree with a driver so we decided to skip the far temple (Bantei Shrei) and do the grand tour for only 50km. It was hot as ever but we forged on and at the temple nearest Bantei Shrei we decided to inquire into a tuk tuk again for the one temple. The price was going to cost equal to or more than the full day price for some unknown reason so we declined. We decided to bike about 21km out of the way to see the land mine museam though. This museam is life changing for anyone who walks into it.
Cambodia has been under the rule of awful murderers for many years and lost over 3 million people (1 in 4) in about three years. Imagine in your country if one in every four people was brutally tortured and murdered and everyone else forced to slave under a viscious dictator. This happened less than 30 years ago in Cambodia and it is obvious when you look around. The country is behind in many ways and through our time here we noticed that nearly everyone is young. There are very few elderly people, most of the population is children and young adults. They have a terrible heart breaking history of being "carpet bombed" by the USA because of the Vietnamese fleeing into Cambodia. Then they were ruled by the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot who gathered intellectuals and educated people (anyone who had a degree, whiter skin, soft hands or wore glasses) and executed them. Everyone from the cities as well as Muslims were all beaten to death and everyone else was forced to work in exploitive situations for the regime.
The people who were not killed were tortured and starved to death by the Pol Pot regime. He wanted the country to become self sufficient and so the rice growth had to increase by triple, an impossible goal. Those who complained or even asked questions were killed. They were given a few spoonfuls of a very thin rice soup twice a day and allowed very little sleep. I beg everyone to look up the horrors that the Cambodians have endured and it becomes a wonder that they are so kind and optimistic still. The stories are both heart breaking and infuriating. Cambodia is the fourth most heavily mined country in the world and mines can blow up to 150 years after they are set. So 20-30 year old mines are blowing up all the time now on family farms. The museam raises funds to support the dozens of handicapped kids who have lost limbs or more due to mines. The children live on the museam property and the organizer is one of CNN's top 10 heros. We bought two t-shirts to support the foundation but if anyone wants to donate please contact me and I will give you more information.
The stories of these children are difficult to read about. One boy who is now 19 and in grade 8 had two of his best friends die in the explosion, one friend lost an arm and he lost a leg. He is still trying to finish high school and due to his parents poverty he had to move to this orphanage at the age of 12 and only sees his family on holidays. His story is much more touching when read in his own words and there are dozens more like his. Stories of children losing life or limbs due to mines that were set before they were born or even thought of. The war was not too long ago (within my lifetime) and the destruction can still be seen. I will be writing a bit more about the war when I talk about our time in Phnom Penh.
After the museam we decided that since we had come so far, we may as well ride the 9 more kilometers to Bantei Shrei Temple. Well this was difficult and by the time we reached there I was ready to pass out. We bought three pre-cut mangos and stuffed them down our throats for sugar and energy. It seemed to work because we made it the 40km back to town. On our ride home however it was pitch black with no street lights. We were literally riding in the dark and could not see anything in front of us. It was a very scary experience for me and one time I slipped off the road, down into the dirt! We were stopped several times by concerned locals who gave us advice and told us to hurry along. One guy on a motorcycle even lit the way for a little while. Another usual meal at our regular restaurant was had and we chugged smoothies before passing out.
By our third morning an early start was impossible but we did manage to drag our sore buts out of bed and left around 8am. We started off going back to the grand tour to see two of the temples we missed the day before. Then we head to the Rolous group about 25 km away and viewed the three most famous temples there before agreeing that we could head back to the guesthouse satisfied with the amount we had seen. At one of the temples in the Rolous Group we made friends with three 8 year old girls who were begging for candy. Although we had nothing to give them, we chatted with them and hung out for a while. One girl was so skinny that I could count her ribs and all of their teeth were rotton.
Some of the kids at one temple were trying to sell a package of 10 postcards and had learned to count to ten in over ten different languages. They would start counting till 10 in all the languages hoping to make a sale. All the kids are barefoot and many of the younger ones are butt naked. In fact I saw more naked ones than dressed, especially when they were running around in the neighborhoods as we rode through. Riding our bike through the neighborhood was a unique and rewarding experience. Every single child we saw waved and said hello or bye bye. Some who knew more English would ask how we were, where we were from or where we were going. We stopped to buy some cane sugar candies from a family street stand and even though we got a good deal (ish) they were so happy and thanked us several times. The woman even gave us more candy than we had negotiated for free after the sale was completed and she had our money. This was an eye opening experience in SE Asia.
So as we drove through the country side for km after km we smiled and waved so much that my face hurt. We saw hudreds of cows and chickens, a few horses and pigs and lots of naked children. We repeatedly saw huge dead pigs strapped on to motor bikes upside down with their legs bouncing to the pot holes as they were transferred. We saw truck after truck piled with dozens of people squished in and on top of each other. We smelled the mix of baking breads, sugar cane, rotton fish and hot garbage through our travels. It is mostly dirt roads in the country and locals wear rags or medical masks to cover their faces from the dust. We did not catch on so we ate it instead. By the way people looked at us and spoke with us, it was clear that they are used to foreigners flying by on their tuk tuks to the temples. They appeared pleased to see us passing through slowly and taking the time to see the country in a different way.
We saw dozens of temples and although none were as awe inspiring in an obvious sense as Ankor Wat, each and every temple had its own unique characteristics and history that make it special. We have hundreds of pictures including Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and the Ankor Thom temples.
At the end of the third day we caught a 6pm bus to Phnom Penh. We returned from our temple tour with enough time to relax for a bit, eat, shower and check our wifi. However, the power was out and the water was out so we were stuck with eating the whole time. We bought four noodle and beef dishes, banana chips, 10 baguettes with butter, cane sugar candies, coke and other unnessary goodies that cancelled out the excercize we had done. We caught the bus and travelled for 7 hours to Phnom Penh where we spent about four days.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
We checked into a guesthouse that we had originally chosen because it was inexpensive but it turns out their only available bed was double what we expected , a whopping $4 USD. We were tired and it was late so we took it. The room had no roof and it was one of the poorest looking places we have stayed but coming from two nights at train stations and travelling for several days it would do just fine. The environment of the guesthouse was very relaxed and friendly and and we ended up staying there for four nights although we changed rooms.
We organized ourselves a bit and head out to eat. Although they did not have pad thai, we ate Khmer style fried noodles with vegetables and beef/pork which was just as good. Each meal cost $1 USD. We tried to buy some groceries for snacks and breakfast the next day but it is so cheap to eat out that we didn't bother except for a loaf of bread for the morning. We finished off our night with mango smoothies and showers. On our way back to the guesthouse a very young girl who appeared about four years old or younger gently put her hand on my arm and begged me for money to pay for her baby sister's milk. She said she didn't want to bother me but she really needed to feed her sister. I couldn't even look at her and I didn't know what to do. I looked to Tyson for help but he was as useless as me and I didn't end up giving her money but she hurt my heart just the same. I know that we are in for some more of the same in the coming days and it will likely be my least favorite part. I know that they are poor but this very young girl should not have to beg for food while her mother looks on. I cannot begin to understand their life but I'm sorry that she cannot have the basics that a child deserves.
Later in the trip after we left Siem Riep I learned that many of these children are either forced to beg by their parents and families or even worse (but very commonly) they are sold to other adults who abuse them and force them to work all day and night selling things or just plain begging for money. We dealt with it by ignoring the item they were selling and trying to meet the real child behind the poverty. We asked their names and ages and joked with them. Although this is not the best way and it does not help their situation, it was one option that we chose.
During the next three days the stories of poor children piled up and overflowed to the point where I am detirmined to return to Cambodia one day and volunteer at an orphanage or with an honest foundation to make a difference and if anyone is looking for volunteer opportunites, Cambodia has lots!
The next morning we had planned to wake up at 5am and spend the day wandering and exploring the great temples. Unfortunately as we pressed the snooze button for the hundreth time around 11am, we realized it wasn't happening. So we gave in and took a chill day. We walked around Siem Reap, talked to locals, did some reasearch and ate cheap food. We were told that we could buy our Ankor tickets at 4:45pm for the next day but still get into Ankor Wat to see the sunset. So we walked to the ticket booth, a good 6km away, and sat with some local temple staff. We helped them with English and they taught us about Cambodia. We tried a snack food that was some sort of meat balls on a stick over salad. The price the vendor quoted us was double what our new friend told us it should cost. When we asked why, we were told that foreigners pay more. We were hurt by this but it is was nothing new to us. We walked away even though the "foreigner price" was still ok. She then agreed to give us the local price after a few minutes and we grudgingly accepted. The taste was horrid and it was all I could do not to spit it out. Tyson however, finished the food without complaint.
Finally it was time to buy our tickets and we bought a three day package for $80 USD, we got official looking passes with our photos on them. We then walked to Ankor Wat, in total about 10km from where we were staying in town. It will be impossible for me to describe the biggest religious structure in the world. It is grand, it demands attention, it leaves you breathless, it exudes mystery and takes you into another world. Watching the sunset there was magnificent and hundreds of people had joined us. We made friends with a Chinese guy and two monk children. When Tyson and I went to take pictures with the monk kids, I knew not to touch them but they were still terrified. As soon as I was in their viscinity their eyes opened wide with terror and one whispered "d-d-don't touch me". I laughed, but I didn't touch. Later on in our travels, I spoke to and was able to shake hands with or contact many monks. Each monk is an individual and usually the younger ones are much more strict about their rules. One monk in Phnom Penh even helped me fix my dreads but he wouldn't let me photograph it. We walked back from Ankor Wat which is extremely difficult to do because every 2-3 seconds a tuk tuk drives by and begs you to get in while commenting on how far our destination is.
We switched from the private room to a dorm setting for the second night and it was much better., For $1 USD per person we shared a huge bed outdoors under a mosquito net. We spent three more nights here and it was one of my favorite accomodations yet.
The next three days had many common themes. For example we ate the same thing everyday. We ate a baguette with jam for breakfast, raw noodles for brunch, street food (like BBQ pork and rice) for lunch, mangos and pinapples for snack and stir fried meat and noodles with a cheese omlette and baguette for dinner from the same restaurant every night followed by two smoothies of various flavors. Besides the food, we also hired pedal bikes everyday from our guesthouse and rode over 300 km in total through the temples. We also had to turn down extremely aggressive (but good natured) street vendor women and children who would follow us (and every other tourist) from the second we arrived to a temple until we could get far enough on our bike that they couldn't catch us. They were selling anything from transport and toys to food and drinks to books and artwork. The children sometimes were not selling anything, they were just asking for money or candy.
The people here are very friendly and genuine. Every single person waves and says hello with a big grin. We have now had numerous positive experiences with Cambodian locals helping us out or engaging us in positive conversations. Of all of South East Asia, the people here stand out to us as super kind, happy and wonderful. The weather was hot and dry everyday and the sunsets were all beautiful with a fiery orange sun setting behind huge glorious temples.
After watching the sunset in Ankor Watt and walking back to town, we ate at our regular place: one noodles with pork, one noodles with beef and one cheese omlette with baguette. Then picked up smoothies for a sugar kick before bed. Some nights we splurged and Tyson would sneak out for second smoothies, it was our guilty pleasure.
The next morning we got up at 5am and biked to Ankor Wat to watch the sunrise which was fantastic and we have some lovely photos to prove it. The sun rose up behind the temple and seeing all the colours in the sky cast light on the amazing temple was priceless. We spent more than six hours on this one temple our first morning. It is huge and even with that much time we could not see everything. One could easily spend a full day or more just at the one temple. We played with the monkeys behind the temple which are not nearly as aggressive as the ones in Bali. For lunch we stopped at some stands and bought two big skewers of pork and two servings of white rice with $1.50. The little girl who managed to get our business was so excited and her mother seemed very proud and even handed her 500 riels (12.5 cents) as a prize. It was very cute.
The average income here is 600-1000 dollars a YEAR. Women usually work guesthouse reception or something similar and make about $50 a month. Unbelievable to our standards. While the products here are much cheaper and they don't pay the obscene taxes and other BS bills we have, it is still impossible to travel for leisure or save for anything big.
We rode on to the next temples and completed the whole small tour by bike which took about 12 hours. It is hard to imagine how many temples there are even from looking at a map. They are everywhere in the city of ruins and religious structures. It would take several weeks or longer to explore them all. We returned home exhausted, dirty from the dust and hungry as ever but satisfied. We had our normal dinner and passed out rather quickly.
The next day we had planned to hire a tuk tuk for the grand tour and to Bantei Shrei which is over 100km distance plus walking within the temples. We couldn't agree with a driver so we decided to skip the far temple (Bantei Shrei) and do the grand tour for only 50km. It was hot as ever but we forged on and at the temple nearest Bantei Shrei we decided to inquire into a tuk tuk again for the one temple. The price was going to cost equal to or more than the full day price for some unknown reason so we declined. We decided to bike about 21km out of the way to see the land mine museam though. This museam is life changing for anyone who walks into it.
Cambodia has been under the rule of awful murderers for many years and lost over 3 million people (1 in 4) in about three years. Imagine in your country if one in every four people was brutally tortured and murdered and everyone else forced to slave under a viscious dictator. This happened less than 30 years ago in Cambodia and it is obvious when you look around. The country is behind in many ways and through our time here we noticed that nearly everyone is young. There are very few elderly people, most of the population is children and young adults. They have a terrible heart breaking history of being "carpet bombed" by the USA because of the Vietnamese fleeing into Cambodia. Then they were ruled by the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot who gathered intellectuals and educated people (anyone who had a degree, whiter skin, soft hands or wore glasses) and executed them. Everyone from the cities as well as Muslims were all beaten to death and everyone else was forced to work in exploitive situations for the regime.
The people who were not killed were tortured and starved to death by the Pol Pot regime. He wanted the country to become self sufficient and so the rice growth had to increase by triple, an impossible goal. Those who complained or even asked questions were killed. They were given a few spoonfuls of a very thin rice soup twice a day and allowed very little sleep. I beg everyone to look up the horrors that the Cambodians have endured and it becomes a wonder that they are so kind and optimistic still. The stories are both heart breaking and infuriating. Cambodia is the fourth most heavily mined country in the world and mines can blow up to 150 years after they are set. So 20-30 year old mines are blowing up all the time now on family farms. The museam raises funds to support the dozens of handicapped kids who have lost limbs or more due to mines. The children live on the museam property and the organizer is one of CNN's top 10 heros. We bought two t-shirts to support the foundation but if anyone wants to donate please contact me and I will give you more information.
The stories of these children are difficult to read about. One boy who is now 19 and in grade 8 had two of his best friends die in the explosion, one friend lost an arm and he lost a leg. He is still trying to finish high school and due to his parents poverty he had to move to this orphanage at the age of 12 and only sees his family on holidays. His story is much more touching when read in his own words and there are dozens more like his. Stories of children losing life or limbs due to mines that were set before they were born or even thought of. The war was not too long ago (within my lifetime) and the destruction can still be seen. I will be writing a bit more about the war when I talk about our time in Phnom Penh.
After the museam we decided that since we had come so far, we may as well ride the 9 more kilometers to Bantei Shrei Temple. Well this was difficult and by the time we reached there I was ready to pass out. We bought three pre-cut mangos and stuffed them down our throats for sugar and energy. It seemed to work because we made it the 40km back to town. On our ride home however it was pitch black with no street lights. We were literally riding in the dark and could not see anything in front of us. It was a very scary experience for me and one time I slipped off the road, down into the dirt! We were stopped several times by concerned locals who gave us advice and told us to hurry along. One guy on a motorcycle even lit the way for a little while. Another usual meal at our regular restaurant was had and we chugged smoothies before passing out.
By our third morning an early start was impossible but we did manage to drag our sore buts out of bed and left around 8am. We started off going back to the grand tour to see two of the temples we missed the day before. Then we head to the Rolous group about 25 km away and viewed the three most famous temples there before agreeing that we could head back to the guesthouse satisfied with the amount we had seen. At one of the temples in the Rolous Group we made friends with three 8 year old girls who were begging for candy. Although we had nothing to give them, we chatted with them and hung out for a while. One girl was so skinny that I could count her ribs and all of their teeth were rotton.
Some of the kids at one temple were trying to sell a package of 10 postcards and had learned to count to ten in over ten different languages. They would start counting till 10 in all the languages hoping to make a sale. All the kids are barefoot and many of the younger ones are butt naked. In fact I saw more naked ones than dressed, especially when they were running around in the neighborhoods as we rode through. Riding our bike through the neighborhood was a unique and rewarding experience. Every single child we saw waved and said hello or bye bye. Some who knew more English would ask how we were, where we were from or where we were going. We stopped to buy some cane sugar candies from a family street stand and even though we got a good deal (ish) they were so happy and thanked us several times. The woman even gave us more candy than we had negotiated for free after the sale was completed and she had our money. This was an eye opening experience in SE Asia.
So as we drove through the country side for km after km we smiled and waved so much that my face hurt. We saw hudreds of cows and chickens, a few horses and pigs and lots of naked children. We repeatedly saw huge dead pigs strapped on to motor bikes upside down with their legs bouncing to the pot holes as they were transferred. We saw truck after truck piled with dozens of people squished in and on top of each other. We smelled the mix of baking breads, sugar cane, rotton fish and hot garbage through our travels. It is mostly dirt roads in the country and locals wear rags or medical masks to cover their faces from the dust. We did not catch on so we ate it instead. By the way people looked at us and spoke with us, it was clear that they are used to foreigners flying by on their tuk tuks to the temples. They appeared pleased to see us passing through slowly and taking the time to see the country in a different way.
We saw dozens of temples and although none were as awe inspiring in an obvious sense as Ankor Wat, each and every temple had its own unique characteristics and history that make it special. We have hundreds of pictures including Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and the Ankor Thom temples.
At the end of the third day we caught a 6pm bus to Phnom Penh. We returned from our temple tour with enough time to relax for a bit, eat, shower and check our wifi. However, the power was out and the water was out so we were stuck with eating the whole time. We bought four noodle and beef dishes, banana chips, 10 baguettes with butter, cane sugar candies, coke and other unnessary goodies that cancelled out the excercize we had done. We caught the bus and travelled for 7 hours to Phnom Penh where we spent about four days.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
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