The morning finally arrived for us to Tuk Tuk our way in the dark to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. People travel from all over the world to experience this and we kept pinching ourselves because it felt surreal. We spent the rest of the morning wandering Angkor City, visiting the main temples Angkor Thom, Bayon and Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is also known as the Tomb Raider Temple because scenes with Lara Croft were filmed here. Walking through these magnificent buildings, we felt the energy of this sacred city. To contrast the peaceful setting, we were often surrounded and begged by local children which tugged at our hearts.

A swim in the pool and a bit of R&R was calling our name. While soaking up some rays we caught up on our blogging, emails and researched our upcoming visit to Thailand. With our go go go agenda and lack of constant connection, it's difficult to keep up! 

Before heading to the airport we walked to a favored restaurant for a late lunch. It was a scrumptious meal starting with a banana blossom salad, Khmer style curried fish, cashew nut chicken and an array of interesting desserts.

With travel also comes challenges...

Remember our Tuk Tuk friend Paul? Well, he tried to pull a fast one on us. Hearing many nightmare stories and tips from fellow travelers, we knew to be careful with taxis, guides and especially Tuk Tuks. We clearly negotiated our days rate of 20,000 Riel or $5, which is the standard fee. Prior to loading up the Tuk Tuk with our belongings for the airport, our jaws fell to the floor when Paul told us that our final bill would be $50. Confirming the appropriate rate with our hotel, we tried to calmly resolve this. Long story short, a 30 minute heated argument ensued. We had about 30 Cambodian onlookers and the police were supposedly on their way. We tried to pay a more than fair rate of $30 but Paul wasn't backing down and neither were we. The clock was ticking and at this point we only had an hour and a half until our flight to Vietnam departed. I stormed into the hotel to order a different ride. Paul "detained" us by convincing the other driver that we were ripping him off. The Tuk Tuk drivers were uniting and it seemed that we had no way to leave. I started searching for an alternative exit plan but the hotel was walled in. We relented and tried to pay Paul $40 but to save face he literally ripped it up and threw it in our faces. This proved to all who was in the right. We left with threats and ill wishes from Paul but with our heads held high. We gripped on to our belongings and kept our "heads on a swivel" the entire way to the airport.

Sharon had minor trouble with her visa exiting Cambodia and major issues entering Vietnam. After debating the validity of her passport for 30 minutes and being told she would not be able to enter the country, we thought this must be some sort of sick joke. After making the necessary phone calls, they realized they were in the wrong. We couldn't make it to our hotel fast enough to go to sleep and start a new day!