Siem Reap: Bayon, Ta Keo, & Ta Prohm

2 October 2013-

I'm not sure how our driver managed to stay awake for that entire drive from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap but I'm sure glad he did!  All in all it was a smooth ride….with the one exception of watching a large truck nearly plow into a bus (just missed us by inches!).  Eep!!!  The bus wasn't quite so lucky but it doesn't appear that anyone is hurt.  

It's 1:00am and we're back where we started from – at the Siddharta Hotel in Siem Reap.  I think we all had a big sigh of relief (including our driver!) when we got to the hotel.  It's raining…we've got our keys and now it's time to race to our room (on the first floor).  Ack!  I bet we're going to get soaked!!!!

I don't know about you but it's been a *very* long day for us so please don't mind us if we just crash…….

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..

3 October 2013 –

How are you feeling this morning?  I hope you're up for breakfast because we're HUNGRY!

The breakfast buffet in the hotel (on the top floor of the hotel).

Breakfast of future temple visitors: tropical fruit, chocolate croissant, coffee. Do you see the tiny glass jar with white stuff in it that Mark is holding? That's homemade yogurt and it's delicious!!!! (I also got an egg white omelet.)

In the photo below: The sweet lady on the left is Sona and she works as a receptionist at the hotel.  She was a truly interesting person to talk to – she gave us a very brief history about Khmer Rouge.  I wish we'd had more time to talk to her – she very nearly got emotional telling us about her family's history and how people got sent away to "be educated"….only to never return (ie. they were killed).  It's hard to imagine that this sort of thing can happen when you're sitting in a far-off land such as the USA.  Now I *really* wished we'd taken more time to learn Cambodia's history and extend our stay….hopefully we'll come back. 

Sona is giving a our tuk-tuk driver (who doesn't speak English) a list of the places we'd like to visit today.

Hey, have I mentioned that the main form of currency is U.S. Dollars?  Seriously????  I really wasn't expecting that, were you?  They do have their own currency- Cambodian Riel but it's only used as change (about 4000 Cambodian Riel= 1 USD).  

Another thing we learned: Google Translate on our iPhone doesn't have Khmer as an option!  Aaaaaaaaa!!!!  That'll make communicating with our driver a bit challenging. 😉 (I think we'll be fine…Sona gave us her phone number in case we need a translator).

Sona recommended we visit three temples today: Bayon, Ta Keo and Ta Prohm.  She also helped us get signed up with a Khmer cooking class tonight for the entire family! (more on that in a later post)

Well, what are we waiting for????  Hop into the tuk-tuk! 

Do us a favor- remember that our tuk-tuk is number 39. That'll come in handy while we're out and about. Just saying.

First stops: ATM and…apparently fuel for the driver's moped:

Remember what I said about the soda bottles containing a yellow liquid? It's fuel!

Time to stop and get passes to see the Angkor World Heritage sight (it's a massive complex that includes Angkor Wat and many more temples).  Our three-day passes cost $40 but the girls are free.  I brought along copies of our passports which you'll need to prove the children's birthdates.  [PS.  Word of caution: it is recommended to leave all your valuables including your passports in the safe in our hotel room (as we did).]

My pass

 View from the tuk-tuk:

Just cruising by….and see monkeys beside the road. Some people were trying to feed some of the monkeys. Wonder if they have any fingers left???

Looky what I see:

BAYON!!!!

Whoops! It started to rain and guess who forgot to bring any sort of rain gear???? What were we thinking? Thank goodness we weren't the only ones that didn't have rain gear. Let's explore the inside passages of the temple until the heavy rain subsides. 

Check out all the nooks and crannies you can explore….lots of fun.  Just have to be careful as the wet rocks are slippery.

Ha ha ha! For some reason these giant faces just crack me up!

Are you feeling like you're in an Indiana Jones movie yet???  If it weren't for all the other visitors here I'd certainly feel that I was!

Be sure to hold on to the railing so you don't slip and fall down the stairs.

 Okay….we're done visiting the temple.  Now, our tuk-tuk driver pointed to where he'd pick us up but we're all confused and turned around.  Apparently there's more than one exit from the temple.  We're walking around and around – in a giant loop around Bayon.  I see a side road – maybe he's there?  Remember we're looking for #39….and there are a LOT of tuk-tuks all over and each tuk-tuk driver is offering their services.  No thanks!  We just want to find OUR driver.  

Huh.

Finally!  Mark found him!  Whew!  I think the next time we do this we should use a compass and figure out what direction we need to go to head to the correct place.  We spent a LOT of time walking around and around trying to find our driver.

Our tuk-tuk driver….hey! I see fresh coconuts in the background. Let's buy a couple!

I *heart fresh coconut juice. Mmmm!!!! Thankfully, Annika loves it too!

Next stop, Ta Keo

Ta Keo:

Unfortunately, this temple was completely closed off to visitors due to restoration work

Let's move on to Ta Prohm….here's hoping that won't be closed!

Whoops…the rain is really coming down now.  Guess what?  We're in luck (sort of) as there are people selling cheap rain ponchos for $1 each.  They won't keep us totally dry but at least we won't be drenched.  Our tuk-tuk driver kindly let us borrow an umbrella.

Ta Prohm has huge, enormous trees. This tree looks like it has people "carved" into it. I kind of think it's freaky looking.

WOW!  The giant trees are taking over the temple.  They give the place a mystical, ethereal look- like something you'd see in a fairy tale but not in real life.

All the temples have amazing and sometimes intricate carvings. In some cases the carvings are intact and sometimes they've been heavily eroded away. These temples are all Hindu (maybe I'm wrong?).  

Love the gorgeous green moss!

We've walked around Ta Prohm – it's not as big as Bayon.  Let's find our driver.  Can you help us find him?  Oh!  There he is!

It's 2:00pm and we still haven't had lunch.  How about a quick lunch (like maybe a sandwich?) so we're not starving by dinner time?

We didn't intend to have a sit down lunch but oh well. The dish with greens is supposedly morning glory greens (like the pretty flowers?????). Also got a bowl of interesting soup for us to share. The local kitty decided to stop by and beg for food. And…..don't look but it just hacked up a fur ball under our table.   Yech!  I'm so glad I was done eating!!!

Our driver is waiting for us…and …SURPRISE…it's raining ….AGAIN.

It seems that every house/building here has its own tiny shrine on a stick of sorts. Not sure if you remember but we saw these all over Phuket as well.

Back at the hotel now….and it's time to get ready for our Khmer Cooking Class!!!!  The tuk-tuk driver is coming to pick us up at 4:45pm to take us there.