Monday, 8 April 2013

A road through history: Siem Reap

Sorry it's taken so long to write. I've been busy making new friends, seeing new things, and eating tons of new foods!

Siem Reap was amazing! I arrived in the afternoon and was excited to catch up with Rachel and Andy. We sat by the pool relaxing and then found our way to dinner at another restaurant designed to help get street kids into jobs. The food was delicious and the company was great. Before bed I ran into Carly who needed someone to share a tuk tuk with for a tour of Angkor Wat. We made plans to meet the next day at 5:20 am.....for sunrise, which I have concluded is highly over rated!

4:45 came very early but once we were on our way the excitement of the day ahead woke me up! We arrived as daylight began and stood amid a huge crowd to watch the sun come up over Angkor Wat. We snapped some photos and were already inside the temple when the globe of the sun made its rise into the sky. It's hard to believe how old these ruins are. They are stunning. We continued throughout the day; fighting our way through throngs of tourists and enduring the intense heat, hot sun and our own sweat dripping from our faces. A break at lunch was much needed but was only a short stop as we wanted to see as much as we could before we'd had enough! Sadly, my camera died just near the end of my favourite temple. It was super frustrating not to be able to take any more pictures. I have been much more careful about charging my camera since! I hit my wall before Carly and waited in the tuk tuk through the last 3 temples. They were small ones but I couldn't lift my feet over any more stairs. I was exhausted. I'd gone through 2.5 bottles of water (the 1.5 litre ones) and my feet were getting blisters in my new walking sandals (figures). We arrived back at the hostel around 3:30, a long day. I jumped into the pool to cool off and downloaded over 400 pictures of my day! I felt refreshed after a few $1 daquiries and a shower and we headed to the famous pub street for some traditional Cambodian food! Afterwards we went to Angkor What Bar and met some Edmontonians! Small world! Mark, a friend from work, also found me here and it was so nice to see a familiar face! It wasn't a late night though as it had been a long day in the elements!

The next day started with a buffet breakfast before we were off to Bang Malae, a temple overgrown with nature about 2 hours away. The temple was only discovered in the last few decades and wasn't easily accessible as the roads were unpaved and didn't go directly to the temple. Since it's been fixed it's a more popular destination but not nearly as crowded as any in the Angkor Wat complex. It was a fun ride in the Tuk Tuk. And since the wind was whipping our hair we didn't have a chance to overheat. Upon arrival I was awed by the beauty of nature and rock. Trees were growing through the middle of ruins, it was beautiful. Not unlike some of the temples from the day before. However, the surrounding forest made it even more magical. Andy, Rachel, Carly and I enjoyed our boxed lunches on the way back. Even though we'd only been exploring for under 2 hours, we were all feeling hot and tired. I jumped in the pool again and then got ready to meet Jen and Mark for dinner(Easter dinner!). We had an awesome time catching up. It's funny how familiar people are even after not seeing them for 9 months! I really enjoyed myself and am so grateful for their company and conversation! We had some ice cream and checked out the night market before heading back to our hotels.....I sure wish there were more evenings like that with friends from home! ;) But don't feel too guilty because I've made so many new friends. Rachel and Andy have become fast friends (Rachel is a kindred spirit) and I am so looking forward to seeing them in future parts of my trip!

My last day in Siem Reap was spent wandering the markets and buying some gifts. I enjoyed a $3 foot massage and some fine company during dinner. My bus was leaving early the next morning, and my next stop is VIETNAM!

Note: Most of the temples were originally built as Hindu temples and Hindu gods can be found everywhere. Buddhist gods were added to convert them later.

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