Cambodia

We landed in Cambodia yesterday morning and went straight to our hotel in downtown Siem Reap. It's just a small one, quite personable, and the rooms are clean, air conditioning, free breakfast, free wi-fi, frozen facecloths when we come back to the hotel along with a chilled glass of water. They say they have a pool, but the actual pool is at another hotel and you have to take a tuk tuk or walk about a km, so I can't be stuffed. We're booked into a different hotel after this one with two pools, bigger rooms, and bigger balconies. F. feels a little crowded on the tiny one next to our room...

We went down to the markets yesterday and again last night, where I bought a few things. We also went out for lunch and supper, both beautiful meals. Cambodians know how to cook for sure. The city of Siem Reap is still developing, and reminds me of Belize City in some ways, rudimentary streets mixed with some newer ones, and buildings of all type and measure, all stages of decay or construction. The traffic is interesting to watch. There are no street signs and the lanes are more of a suggestion...I feel much safer in a tuk tuk than walking, but F. likes to walk. She had to wade across the flooded street this morning to go to the bank machine. It poured rain here last night and flooded out. It also poured just as we finished up some of the temples and stopped for lunch - buckets of rain! The forest was flooded and about to flood the roads.

We went out to a bar last night for some beers, and met a kiwi who sat with us for a few. The night life was interesting to watch as people went by. So many sellers of everything, old and young, all pleading with you to buy something and give you special deal, bring good luck. After awhile the pressure gets to me, and I have to move on. I did buy a lovely painting at the temples this morning for $10, beautiful art on canvas by a young man of Angkor Wat temple. We haven't been to see that yet, going tomorrow. We were at the site but the site is HUGE and takes 2-3 days to see it all, and it was pissing rain by the time we left, so decided to postpone that temple until tomorrow when we finish up the other ones as well. Had a nice moto tuk tuk driver today named Choi who is going to pick us up again tomorrow for the day. They drive you from temple to temple as it can be a bit of a hike. The site is huge, so most people either take a moto tuk tuk or even ride an elephant.

Now that we're back at the hotel, we're relaxing for a bit, will wander out for some more shopping and supper later on. Hiking the temples is tiring as there are tons of stairwells, and lots of stones to climb over, and it's so very hot and humid to get around. Even F. is hot which is saying something...

More later in the week. Have to find a charger or adapter for my mini-laptop as the plugs here don't take a polarized cord, just two-prong and my laptop is about to die!