We had to get up at 4am today as our Tuk Tuk was picking us up at 5am. Getting up wasn't fun but I was quite excited about seeing the sunrise so I managed it.
Our Tuk Tuk arrived, but it was the little driver from yesterday and not Mr. San's friend who we had expected. Our driver said that he was busy - I think he meant he couldn't get up!
We made our way in the dark to Angkor, there were lots of other Tuk
Tuks with tourists in heading there too. Angkor is quite touristy, so there was a proper entrance gate where we had to get off and pay our $20 for our day pass, which even had a photo of us on it. That is quite expensive compared to a lot of other things we've done but Angkor is one of the main sights to see in South East Asia so we didn't mind paying. We were taken to the entrance to Angkor Wat where we navigated our way in the dark along the long walkway surrounded by water. We eventually made it to a place where a small crowd had gathered so we assumed that was where we could see the sunrise. We couldn't see the temple at all because it was pitch black and there was no fancy uplighting like you get on most old or big buildings.
Over the next hour and a half the temple gradually came into view, it was so majestic - definitely worth seeing if you are ever in Cambodia. Unfortunately we didn't see the sun actually rise because of the haze, but it was still amazing.
We went to one of the little stalls for some breakfast and had banana and Nutella pancakes, and met a couple of Canadian guys. We never seem to meet Americans, only Canadians. The guys said that is because Americans are quite ignorant and lazy and see no need to leave their country! It is quite a generalisation but I suppose compared to other Westernised countries, Americans seem to leave their country the least. The guys were lawyers in NYC who had met at law school at Brown, so they were really interesting to talk to - I'm fascinated by Ivy League schools because I wish I could have gone to one!
After breakfast we wandered around the huge temple - it was built around 900 years ago. The carvings are so intricate and the whole place is just incredible really. There are pits in the stones which look like bullet holes, but they are actually from where holes were drilled in them so that they could be strapped to the backs of elephants for transportation to build the temple.
At about 9.30am we found our Tuk Tuk driver (he was tiny and was wearing purple skinny jeans and matching shirt, just so you can picture him) and he took us to see some other temples. They were more like ruins because they hadn't been used as recently as Angkor Wat. It was fun to explore them and clamber up the old stone steps to see the views from the top (although probably quite dangerous). I felt a bit like Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom!
It was really hard going in the heat so we stopped for a drink. There are children who follow you everywhere saying 'one dollar so I can go to school' or selling bracelets 'three for one dollar' and they are SO persistent, following you around for about 10 minutes repeating their only English phrase over and over again. Apparently they also pickpocket lots of people as well so we kept an eye on our bags. Somebody made the good point that if you give them money, their parents won't actually send them to school because they will make money for them begging or selling. It's hard to keep saying no though. I gave a little bit of money to some musicians who had been affected by landmines - many had missing limbs - because it looked like they had really rehearsed and had a uniform - I felt like my money may be used better.
After 10 minutes in the Tuk Tuk, enjoying the breeze with my feet hanging out of the side, we made it to the final temple. It was another ruined one, with huge tree roots growing all over it and around it, it was definitely my favourite one. It is also where they filmed Tomb Raider I think, so I had a picture in a Lara Croft pose, although unfortunately I bear no resemblance to Angelina Jolie.
After the temple we went to find our Tuk Tuk driver but he was in a hammock waiting for some lunch, so we ate at the same place as him. Vix and I ordered fresh vegetable spring rolls, but I didn't like them very much
so I didn't finish them.
We had been trying to decide whether or not to do the floating village trip, but Vicky and I decided not to because it is expensive and the reviews on Trip Advisor aren't very good. We weren't sure it would be worth paying so much when we have the budget for the next few months to think about. Vix really wanted to go because she has less time away so she went on her own whilst Vicky and I went to Baca Villa. She enjoyed it though so that's the main thing. Baca Villa is a guesthouse associated with an orphanage where we were going to drop off some stuff, like toothbrushes, pens, hairclips etc. The orphanage unfortunately wasn't open at weekends to visitors so we couldn't go, but we sat at Baca Villa and spoke to a guy who works there for ages about the orphanage and the children.
Afterwards we headed to 'pub street' in town and had a fruit shake and just chatted for a while, it was quite relaxing.
When we got back to the hotel Vix was there so we got ready for dinner together and headed out again. At the table next to us was (another) Canadian guy called Jordi, who was travelling on his own. We got talking to him so I invited him to sit with us for dinner. We all chose Western food - I had crispy potato skins with bacon and mozzarella, it was amazing! I also had a cocktail and a 1.5 litre bottle of water to myself to rehydrate. We ended up staying with Jordi all night and went to a couple of bars for a few drinks and had a good dance which was really fun!
We went back fairly early, around midnight, so we could save our partying money for the beaches of the Thai Islands. On the way back a tiny Cambodian girl who was actually 11 but looked seven or eight, starting asking for '1 dollar so I can buy food' we initially said no but we ended up talking to her for a bit. She said that her papa had died just where we were walking in a motorbike accident, although later said that he hadn't actually died and was injured so he couldn't work to make money for the family. It was hard to tell whether it was a fabricated sob story or not, but I decided to give her a dollar anyway because she was sweet and her English was good. I asked the man at the guesthouse, who is 25, whether it was okay to give money to her, and he said yes because he use to beg on the streets too. It was quite sweet because now he works at this nice guesthouse and seems to have done quite well for himself. We do have beggars at home, but we definitely don't have poverty on such a huge scale. It's quite hard because I get really quite frustrated with people trying to sell you things or asking for money at every turn, but at the same time many of them don't have a choice, although there definitely are people who are already comfortably off but know that they can make lots of money from the tourists so do everything they can to do that.
We have an early bus to Bangkok tomorrow and then onto the Thai Islands - can't wait for some beach and boat trip times!
xxx