Siem Reap, a small town that is a gateway to the temples. I was very underwhelmed by this crowded, dusty city, and was happy to see the temples and leave. There is a back packer road called pub street, which is a lot of fun, but otherwise not much to report...it didn't help that it was here I first started to feel sick and I spent 1 of the two days we spent here in bed.
We got up early and hired a tuk tuk to take us around the temples. We opted against the sunrise, (although by noon it was so hot we regretted our decision) but still started early enough meeting our driver at 8. The temples are just as impressive as they were 13 years ago when Johnny and I were last here, however there are much more restrictions and so many more people!
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| proper attire is required at Angkor Wot |
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| some of the temples had no people around |
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| doing head stands and hand stands every where I can:) |
The girls were not as impressed as I had hoped, but it really was so hot and there was so much walking, by the end of the day we were all ready for a cold swim...
The next day Johnny took the girls to the land mine museum (I was still not feeling well so stayed in bed). Years ago an old high school friend of Johnny's (Richard Fitoussi) did some humanitarian work with this incredible man named Aki Ra, he is a former Khmer Rouge child soldier who works as a de-miner and museum curator in Siem Reap. He has devoted his life to removing landmines in Cambodia and to caring for young landmine victims. A Canadian charity, the Cambodian Landmine Museum Relief Fund, founded by Richard had been raising money to build a new facility. Land was found near Banteay Srey Temple and with the help of donors across the globe the CLMMRF built the current Landmine Museum. It opened in 2007.
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| voted CNN hero in 2010, Aki Ra has devotes his life to this cause |
On our last night we went to a traditional Khmer dance theater. We had wanted to go to the popular circus, however tickets were sold out, so traditional dance it was...
After what felt like forever (time goes so slow when your not feeling well) the next night we booked our night bus to take the 9 hour ride to the south. We were all looking forward to returning to the beach towns we are all so fond of....
