After our intense visit in Pnomh Penh, we were all anxious to get to Siam Reap and visit the one and only Angkor Wat. The bus ride to Siam Reap had its fair share of odd events, like traveling next to a cargo truck filled with pigs on a ferry. Our bus driver was "horn happy" and beeped at EVERYTHING so napping was out of the question. When we arrived in Siam Reap we were greeted by our hostel's tuk tuk driver in the strangest bus station I have ever seen. It was hidden from the road and barricaded by a large wooden fence. Supposedly they try to separate the bus from the rest of the road so that people will be forced to take the over priced tuk tuks. Luckily we had arranged our ride in advance, but he turned out to be just another scam artist and we decided to find another drive for our tour of Angkor Wat.
Our first night in Siam Reap we were able to visit Angkor War for the sunset. Angkor Wat is an incredible building. Its massive size and impressive details makes it pretty fascinating to think that humans built it so many years ago. Our time in the actual temple was brief because we wanted to find a good spot for the sunset, but we had enough time to see monks roaming the grounds, monkeys, and small Cambodian children selling souvenirs. The sunset was beautiful, but I was more excited to see the sunrise the next morning. The sun comes up right behind the pillars of the temple and it is supposed to be absolutely beautiful.
After the sunset we had dinner in our hostel then headed to the night market and walking street. The market was much better than the ones in Vietnam and the street was lined with bars, clubs, and massage parlors. Alexis and I bought some dresses to wear in Bali and then everyone decided to get neck and back massages. I opted out of the massage gang - it was way too hot for a stranger to be touching me- so I bought a beer and chatted with some of the workers while the others relaxed. After the massages we headed back to the hostel- we had a 4 am wake up call to make the sunrise at Angkor Wat!
As we sleepily arrived to the grounds of Angkor Wat, we were greeted by a small Cambodian child who went by the name of "Justin Bieber." His family owned a cafe on the grounds and he struck a deal with us- if he showed us the best spot to see the sunrise we had to eat at his cafe. He was a very smart little boy and made a lot of clever jokes. His english was very impressive and we later learned he could also count in Thai, Chinese, German, French, and many other languages. He stayed in character the entire morning, telling us he was "20 years old and originally from Canada." when we told him he didn't look 20, he said "Cambodian people, very small." He sang a few versus of "Baby" for us and served as a great tour guide. We had spots directly in front of where the sun rose, sitting on the edge of a pond filled with lily pads that projected beautiful reflections of the sun and the temple. I am not a morning person, but the view was worth it. It was a very beautiful sunrise and I feel very lucky that I was able to see something so beautiful at such a historic monument. After the sunrise, we kept our promise and visited Bieber's cafe.
The rest of the day we explored Angkor Wat and the other temples on the grounds. In total we visited 7 temples. One of the temples was used for the movie "Tomb Raider" with Angelina Jolie and had beautiful ruins and lots of nooks and crannies to explore. One of my favorite temples was a temple (not sure if it was the same as the tomb raider temple or a separate building) that was covered in large tree roots. I mean HUGE tree roots. The trees wove around the stone buildings so beautifully and naturally- it was truly amazing to see. Another favorite temple that we visited had hundred of Buddha faces carved into its pillars. The detail that went into the structures that we saw was truly mind blowing and I fully understand why it is considered one of the 7 man made wonders of the world.
Towards the end of our time at Angkor Wat (which was in total just about 12 hours) I couldn't walk around anymore. I actually took a nap in the tuk tuk while Ethan and Emily explored one of the sites. The early wake up call and the Cambodian heat had completely wiped me out, but I am very content with the beautiful sites that I saw and I hope to one day return to Cambodia and explore the sites in even more detail.
Our time in Cambodia was extremely brief but it left an enormous impact on me. Its a truly amazing country and I am fascinated by its history.
Our next stop was Bangkok- Emily was heading back to the US in a few days and wanted the Bangkok tourist experiences of Khao San Road. Our flight to Bali was also approaching and we had to get ready for the next leg of our journey!
The bus ride from Siam Reap to Bangkok wasn't that bad....until we got to the Thai border. What should have taken 45 minutes took almost 3 hours- and we had to wait in line outside in the heat. It was brutal. That was probably the hottest I have ever been in my entire life. From now on, if I am in a warm environment I am going to compare it to my time in Cambodia. "Its hot, but its not Cambodia hot!" Just a fair warning.
Arriving in Bangkok was definitely a strange feeling. Salaya is so close to Bangkok that the city has kindof become an icon of "home" to us for the past 6 months. After seeing so much in Vietnam and Cambodia it felt weird to return to familiar territory. We even stayed in the same guesthouse we stayed in before Pattaya- which brought back mixed emotions. Our time in Bangkok was brief- we had to get our laundry sorted out and buy last minute souvenirs. It was very sad saying goodbye to Emily- funny to think that only 3 weeks before we were complete strangers! The trip brought us all together and I am so thankful I got to share this amazing experience with such an amazing group of people. We were all very, very different from one another but the group dynamic was always fun and I am going to miss them very much. Cheers to the next reunion !!!!!
NEXT STOP: BALI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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