Siem Reap

Arrived in Siem Reap and checked in to a great guesthouse called the 'Babel'. Nice quiet and well-manicured garden with palm trees and hammocks as well as a huge bed-like couch. Headed immediately to the town centre to find that Siem Reap is a posh tourist town. Streets are lined with sleek restaurants, hotels and boutique shops but all at reasonable prices (eg. bucket [2L] of red bull vodka goes for $3 CAN). We chose a local Khmer eatery that served amazing curries as well as pumpkin coconut soup. Also, we enjoyed amazing Indian food in a beautiful restaurant that belied the low prices.

Next two days we woke up at 4am to have our tuk-tuk driver take us to the Temples of Angkor to watch the sunrise. These temples are straight out of the Jungle Book or Raiders of the Lost Ark and need to be seen. Ta Prohm in particular is incredible as the jungle has been allowed to grow free and has enveloped the temple in roots and vines.

Our afternoons were spent in the city napping, eating, drinking and receiving various inexpensive spa treatments. We averaged $50 CAN an afternoon on these activities which is difficult to do in Cambodia given the cheap prices. Also, every evening was marked by torrential rain and wind that made the roads impassable and the patios dangerous. However, hunkering down inside a bar with two litres of booze was the perfect antidote to these storms.

Our stay in Cambodia has left us battle hardened beg-proof travellers. This country is particularly bad for begging due to both poverty and the high number of land mine victims. However, after over a week of enduring calls of "buy something!", "same same, but different", "where you from? buy something!", "you have? you need one more" etc we had become immune. Also, the children have memorized the Capitol, Prime Minister and number of provinces in Canada to be used as a begging tactic. Joe began telling the children that he was from Kazakhstan and that the capitol was Abu-Ghraib just to throw them off course. They had no response to this.

Cambodia was beautiful and the people are incredible especially considering what they have endured in the recent history of the country. We're glad we snuck this leg into the trip but now it's on to the beaches of Southern Thailand for the dog-fuck leg of our journey.

Bye for Now,

Joe and Nicole


Nicole in the back of a tuk-tuk during a monsoon.


Ta Prohm: where Tomb Raider was filmed.


Ditto

Nicole assuming 'the position'.