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9 June: Siem Reap

We decided to take the day off just to orientate ourselves in the new city. Firstly we went looking for a large shop where we could once again stock up on cereals and other necessities. We were also on the lookout for a bank that didn't charge excessive withdrawal fees, it turned out to be the Canadia Bank. After buying all we needed plus a small &frac12; L tub of rocky road ice cream, we headed to the river which encircles the city. Here we enjoyed the ice cream although with a measure of haste due to the heat and humidity. We walked back slowly along the river to Green house where we changed rooms, the one we had before had numerous problems.

After this we headed once more to pub street, more to explore than anything else. Along the way we stopped at a hospital which literally looked as though it was still stuck in 1975. People were laying outside under trees, their sick on their laps, or families crowding inside minute rooms. We walked past looking for the pharmacy or information, but after being unsuccessful we opted for the pathology room. The doctor there assured us we didn't have to worry about malaria in the places we were planning to visit, that settled we were off to the Siem Riep museum.

The walk there was at least 4km, but the areas we passed made it worth the while. Along the way it started raining, lightly at first while we continued, but then the heavens opened up and we knew we would need to find shelter, else we would be completely soaked. Not 20m ahead of us was an abandoned shelter, not 2m by 2m. This was the first shelter we had seen for the past 2km and would see after we left it. Some things just can't be shrugged off as plain luck! While waiting there, a motorcyclist pulled off the road and decided to join us. We waited here for almost 30 minutes before the rain subsided enough to allow us to continue to the museum.

The museum was only 300m from where we had waited (we didn't know it at the time) , a huge structure evidencing the pride of the Khmer people with regards to the Angkor structures, given they are one of the 7 wonders of the world! We left our shoes outside while entering the building, they would have messed up the floor everywhere we walked, so it seemed only sensible. The museum entry fee was $12 pp, this is huge compared to other places and we would have to fork our $40 each for Angkor the next day. Trying our luck we asked if they would give us some discount if we only visited some portions of the museum, we had seen no one in the museum so it seemed worth a shot. The first man, didn't know what to say and promptly called his supervisor, who informed us that no one had ever asked this. She could not give us the go ahead and had to call her supervisor, who called their supervisor. At this stage we were almost about to leave, not having anticipated the length she would have to go through to give us an answer. After the last call she informed us that we could enter for $8 each and still see the whole museum, we were happy with that to say the least.

Friends of ours had advised us to visit the museum, due to its modern setup. The artifacts were all taken from the sights of Angkor Wat and other temples due to robbers stealing anything that they could find. Not only did these artifacts date back to the 10th century of Angkor Wat, but some were as early as the 2nd Century! The craftmanship was aw inspiring and left one with a feeling amazement at what they had achieved.

The museum is set out in different rooms, the first of which is filled with 1000 Buddha statues, thereafter the Khmer Kings, history of the Khmer people, the religions, their clothing and battle wear, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. After the completion of every section a video would be shown telling the story of what we had just seen and fill in gaps. This was probably the most educational museum that either of us had been to and greatly benefited our understanding of the Angkor temples.

Afterwards we headed back to our hotel, stopping along the way for a tasty treat, toasted grasshopper, crunchy! . We were even lucky enough to see one of the other natural phenomena of Siem Riep. Where bats generally stay in the jungle caves, not venturing near cities, here they fly in their thousands over part of the city. The night sky is filled with swooping large black bats, with their chatter echoing through the city. For the remainder of our stay in Siem Riep, we didn't see them anywhere!