My last day in Cambodia yesterday was perfect. I met up with my new friend Jonathan and we decided to roam around Siem Reap on our own, without a Tuk Tuk or guide, and go off the beaten path. We stayed away from Pub Street (extremely tourist friendly area) and wandered around where the locals live. Jonathan is an amazing photographer and spent a lot of time photographing the local people and their daily lives. It was a humbling experience and really helped put our privileged lives into perspective.
As the afternoon went on, the rain clouds rolled in so we made our way back towards Pub Street. Just as we arrived, the afternoon rain started so we dove into the nearest Cambodian restaurant, ordered a bottle of wine and literally sat in silence watching the rain fall as the locals went about their business.
The bottle was eventually emptied and I had to head off to my massage that I scheduled through the travel company. I'm extremely ticklish, in addition, my mind never shuts off, so massages aren't typically something I enjoy. But my goal of this trip is to live and let go, and to be present in the moment, which is a liberating mind set, so I did my best to enjoy. The 2 hour massage, yes 2 hours, was amazing, I felt so relaxed!
That evening, Jonathan and I went to dinner with a local hotel owner who is an import from Australia. He had randomly walked by us at the bar the night before and asked if he could join us for a drink, and of course we said yes. Again, life is all about taking chances and reaching out. Anyway, he took us to a small hidden Cambodian restaurant with the most amazing food. My huge plate cost a whopping 3 dollars. Oh, and the beer was 50 cents. Talk about a steal ;). It was a great night conversing about life experiences with my new friends.
Traveling is such a unique experience, especially traveling solo. There's been times where I've felt lonely and awkward, but I've mostly just been awestruck by the experiences I'm having, and I'm only 4 days into my trip. I never realized what an emotional journey this trip would be. I've made what I can tell will be life long connections with many people. When my driver and tour guide, "Pak," picked me up to take me to the airport this morning, who is also my 26 year old new Cambodian bestie, said "Emily, I'm going to miss your smile forever." It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize how much I'd fallen in love with Cambodia, "the land of smiles," and how deeply the Cambodian people touched me. I probably would've gone into an all out cry fest because I hate goodbyes, but I saw the biggest scariest spider of my life shortly after this which dried my eyes quickly.
I've arrived safely on Chiang Mai, Thailand and plan to check out the night market and a few bars in the backpacking district.Tomorrow I finally get to play with the elephants at an elephant conservatory. I doubt I'm going to be able to sleep, many of you know I adore elephants and have been anticipating this day for months and months. I hope they don't kick me out of the country for trying to put a baby elephant in my backpack :) JKJK.
Until later..