While Whitney was away for almost a week doing homecare trips to villages all over Cambodia, Cayla was living a rough life by the pool. Just kidding, she spent most her days wandering the vast temples of Ankgor. Whitney got back in time for the weekend, just as Erin, Quade, and Gal (a fellow traveler from Isreal) arrived from Vietnam. We spent a few 8 hour days with them climbing around the temples, our favorites being Ta Prohm (where we pretended to be Lara Croft in Tomb Raider), Preh Khan (because we hired an 8-year old boy and he was the best guide we've ever had, and who also sang "you know you want me"), and Bayon (with all the crazy faces). At the temples, there's always locals trying to make a living by selleing souvenirs to the visitor, and it's always a struggle saying no to the kids. One day, this small girl was off playing with her friends, and her mom approached us to sell goods, but when that didn't work she called over the girl who came reluclantly up to Quade. Clearly all of the kids have been taught selling techniques... this girl, who couldn't have been more than 3, proceded to count to ten in 3 different languages, and then husstled him to buy her postcards. It's shocking to think about what 3 year old kids are doing in Canada, while 3 year olds in Cambodia already have a full-time job.
Most of our evenings with Erin and company consisted of drinking $2 jugs of beer, eating super cheap Khmer food, and exchanging funny travel stories. We also hiked up to Bekeng to watch the sunset with a cold Anchor beer. We bargained hard to get 5/$3 haha. Cayla met Kosol, a tuk tuk driver, that we hired for all of our temple days. We managed to fit 5 of us in one tuk tuk for $15 bucks (for the entire day)... it's amazing what you can do to save money when traveling.
One night after checking out the night market, we decided to get a massage at "Dr. Fish". Basically you stick your feet in a giant tub of water full of fish that instantly start nibbling the dead skin off your feet. We paid for 20 minutes, but barely lasted 3 because it is so ticklish. They really liked Cayla's feet, and Whitney was pretty much in a hysterical laughing fit the entire time. Needless to say, we attracted quite a crowd of onlookers.
The markets are amazing, and you can find almost anything at a ridiculous price. Cayla splurged on a Cartier watch for 11 bucks, as well as a North Face backpack. We're having a hard time not buying everything, considering it's our first leg and our backpacks are already full. We also learned that local markets offer something besides shopping - "boom boom", which I don't think needs any explaning. It's quite funny sitting in town for breakfast, and watching numerous tuk tuks drive up with a foreign man who is dropping off a boom boom lady.
Last night after our farewell dinner with Erin, Quade, and Gal, we went looking for a tuk tuk to give us a ride home. It was late and we had a few beers in our system, so when we came across 2 keen moto drivers, we decided that for $1, it was a pretty good deal. Who knew our first moto ride would turn out to be such a gongshow. Our drivers were racing each other, talking to us instead of watching the road, and at the end we hit a roadblock for moto drivers not wearing helmets. Whitney's was in the clear, but when she looked back over her shoulder, all she saw was Cayla's driver getting smoked in the head with a police baton as he drove through the roadblock helmetless. It really looked like Cayla was the one on the receiving end haha.
When Whitney finishes her volunteering at the end of the week, we will spend a few last days in Siem Reap soaking up some sun, taking a cooking class, and checking out the floating villages on the Tonle Sap lake. Then we'll head to Phnom Pehn and Sihanoukville before heading off to Vietnam. Apparently there's no facebook in Vietnam, so if you're trying to get a hold of us, use email or the blog!
Song of the week - New Soul
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| Dr. Fish massage |
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| Tomb Raider |
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| Our guide (he picked the pose |
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| Erin, Cay, Whit at Angkor |
