Our next stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap. It is smaller than Phnom Penh and has a nice relaxing feel to it. Our first order of business was to get a fish massage. For $2USD (for 20 minutes) you sit on the edge of a giant fish tank with your feet in the water. The tank is filled with hundreds of little fish that happily nibble on your feet and clean off all of the dead skin. The price included a can of beer as well. I didn't last the full 20 minutes (but Jen did) because I thought it was really weird. We also decided to get a 1/2 hour full body massage for a wopping $2.50USD.
We got up bright and early the next morning to go to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. Unfortunately the place was packed with tourists (I know...I was one of them too) and it was a bit cloudy. We did, however, get some really cool colours with the sun rising behind the clouds. We went for breakfast and then went to explore the ancient capital of Thom Wat. One of the temples there was really interesting as there were hundreds of faces of Buddha carved into the stones. The other temple of interest is the Ta Prohm, which is in the heart of the jungle, overgrown with strangler figs, and was the sight of some of the filming from Tomb Raider.
After lunch, we headed back to explore the Angkor Wat complex. By this time the crowds has dwindled a bit, so we got to wander around virtually alone. It is a truly amazing, spiritual and almost mystical place.
We went back to the hotel, showered and went for another massage...it was really good. We found a bar with cheap drinks and good food and spent most of the evening there before heading to the night market for shopping and more drinks.
The next morning we found a nice bakery for breakfast and then went to the monastery across the the street from our hotel. We spent some time chatting with a monk and he showed us the main temple. That afternoon we decided to go to the children's hospital to donate blood. One in 15 children in Cambodia die before the age of 5. Last year they only had just over 1000 blood donations, most of which are foreigners. Unfortunately Jen couldn't donate as they only allow women donate every 4 months and Jen didn't lie on her form...she will try at the Red Cross in Laos. The children's hospital was set up by a Japanese photographer that felt the kids in Cambodia needed all the help they could get to survive. The hospital relies on donations to run. They treat hundreds of kids daily and have a 2 million a year budget. They also train Cambodian health care workers. After the Khmer Rouge ruling there were only 40 doctors left in the country. If anyone is in Siem Reap I encourage you to donate either blood or money. The hospital is called Angkor hospital for children.
We went for another massage...we are getting spoiled by $5USD/hr full body massages. That evening we went to a traditional dance show at an orphanage. We just about didnt make it as our Tuk Tuk driver got lost...the three other people that were going with us in another Tuk Tuk got taken to a completely different orphanage. There were over 60 children ranging in age from 3 to 19. Some of them no longer had parents and others were from large families and the parents couldn't look after them. They were sent to a private school and learned English from the volunteers working there. It was sad to see, but heartwarming to know that these kids were being given an opportunity that many children in Cambodia don't have. This was our last night in Cambodia and we are sad to be leaving...it is an amazing country with warm and welcoming people. Our next stop is Bangkok, Thailand.