Today started very early as we headed out around 5:30 AM to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was already very warm! When we arrived, there were already an incredible number of people there. The sunrise was beautiful over the ancient building and we took a lot of pictures.

We had the hotel pack us a breakfast and we ate that on our way to the next temple, Banteay Srey (Lady's Temple). This one was out in the countryside so we passed through many villages that had no electricity (they used car batteries to run their TVs) and saw rice paddies and corn fields. The temple got this name due to the pink sandstone used to build the temple and the intricate and detailed carvings that "could only be carved with the patience of a woman." We arrived around 7:00 AM as the sun was still low so the light was beautiful on the building. The carvings were incredibly detailed.

Our next temple, Pre Rup, had a very different style. Most of the temples we had seen thus far were built with lava rock as the base and then sandstone on the surface to allow for carvings. This one was built mostly of brick with carvings made into plaster. This one also required a lot of climbing. The steps were very high and narrow which made Keely a bit queasy but the climb was worth it. The views were incredible and you could see Angor Wat in the distance.

After crawling down we headed to two more temples. The first was where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed and the second was a very small temple. Even though the Tomb Raider temple was extremely busy, it was fascinating in that there were huge trees growing on top of and inside the temple. The roots were woven in the walls and bricks and the trees were hundreds of feet tall. The last temple was also made of brick but the carvings were made directly into the brick inside the main chamber. In all, we saw about 12 temples, all very different styles or architecture and design but very interesting.

On our way back into town for lunch, we stopped at a small roadside stand at one of the villages. Here, the family was selling a variety of products including candies made from palm sugar. They showed us their home which was built on stilts so the family could store things below. There were chickens and dogs running around everywhere. The home was just one room with no plumbing or electricity but they did have a pump which was donated and shared by many of the neighbors. It was very interesting.

After lunch, our guide and driver took us to the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia. On our way, we saw much larger rice paddies and many houses on stilts to avoid the floods during the rainy season. We boarded a boat to take us down the river to the lake. The boat dock was crazy! The boats were all tied up together and when they wanted to push off, they just put the boat in forward and pushed the other boats out of the way. We were going to see a village that was completely on water. The people lived on houseboats year round and did all of their shopping, fishing, schooling, etc. on the water. We passed a few smaller villages along the way where kids were swimming in the murky water. Sanitation was not a priority for these villages but the people swam, drank and washed in the same water. We took a lot of pictures and were fascinated by what we saw.

We stopped for pictures a few more times on the way home and arrived back at the hotel around midafternoon. After a quick shower, we enjoyed the pool and then booked reservations for a massage before dinner. Unfortunately, our tuk tuk driver dropped us off at the wrong location and when he came back, we couldn't find the true location so the massages have to wait until we get to Thailand. We took our guides advice for dinner again and went to The Nest. It was a more western restaurant and very expensive. Our entire dinner, drinks and fruit smoothies cost $35! The food was delicious though. We returned home exhausted and full.

We had a great time in Siem Reap. We saw incredible ruins of the ancient people and learned a lot about Cambodian culture from our guide. It was all very interesting and we have so many pictures! On Sunday, we fly to Chaing Mai, Thailand via Bangkok so it's a lazy morning before heading to the airport.

Kevin