On our first morning in Cambodia it was a later start (due to a long old journey and not going to bed until 03.30 the night before). We met our new friends (Daisy, Alex and Kira) and headed via tuk tuks to the 'floating villages'. Jay and I also shared a tuk tuk with another guy called Luke who wanted to see the villages. The trip there was really amazing, we loved seeing what felt like the real Cambodia. There were hundreds of rice fields, with children running and playing everywhere (most of which were butt naked) just loving life! There was also literally hundreds of hammocks, at least 2 in each home even the little tin shack homes. It was a really refreshing journey, emotionally, not so much physically as most of the roads were just mud tracks and the dust could compete with most African roads!! By the time we got there Jays white top was red/brown. We then got to the entrance of the floating villages and had to pay $20 pp to take the boat around. Cambodia defiantly seems more expensive than Thailand most likely because of the dollar being its main currency.
The long boat took us along the river towards the village, crashing into all on coming traffic. We soon started to see the houses all up on 20 ft stilts to protect them from the river in the wet season. It's incredible to see how they make these tiny wooden/tin homes run efficiently, seemingly supporting families of 6 +. The village itself seemed a little set up for tourists, encouraging us to go into the schools and interact with the kids (who incredibly spoke really good English). It was still really cool to be able to see how simple and peaceful life can be, the first part of our travels that has really challenged our thinking. We headed to a floating restaurant (again solely for tourists) which had a crocodile farm of around 20 crocs being kept in a small mesh cage. By 1700, jay and I were really keen to get back to the hotel so we could FaceTime Pete Smith, and watch becks and Ben so 'I do'!
We were lucky enough to see becks arrive and even managed to say a quick hello before she walked down the isle. This was really an amazing experience to be thousands of miles away and be able to feel so involved in the wedding!! Becky looked stunning!! We were (massive thanks to Pete, and his quickly draining battery) able to watch the entire service. Never been so grateful for technology! After the service we said hello to most of our friends (even if they couldn't hear us).
After we said our goodbyes we met our friends for dinner and headed to bed.
The following day we woke at 04.15 to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat (the largest religious monument in the world). We again went via tuk tuk and paid the now standard $20 entrance fee pp. We waited by the main temple for the sun, it rose slowly behind the three peaks of the temple, quite a beautiful image (perhaps would have been more so without the little bits of cloud around). Angkor Wat itself is very impressive, the attention to detail is outstanding. There were a few monks praying and the place had a really peaceful feel, slightly interrupted by the hundreds of tourists (mainly Chinese) taking photo after photo. We then headed via tuk tuk to the next temple. Here we climbed part of the monument, up vertical stone steps. The views were impressive, but we then had to get down (I of course had a very mini hissy, similar to that at the top of the red slide at playzone....why do I get myself into these situations). But we made it down safely. It was here that we were snuck up on by some elephants, giving ride after ride to willing tourists (not for us!!). The last temple we visiting was the tomb raider temple (where the film was shot), seeing the famous tree growing straight throw the building.
That night jay and I had dinner alone, but then headed to meet the others for some drinks and card games (which of course became drinking games, although jay and I were cautious as we had to catch an overnight bus). At around 22.30 we said goodbye to our new friends and headed off once again to our next destination, Phnom Penh.