Angkor Wat

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On Thursday morning, we arose early to take the tuk tuk to the Angkor temple complex. We had hoped to take a hot air balloon ride before exploring the temples on foot, but the balloon was out of service for the day, so that idea went out the window.

Angkor Wat, aka 'City of Temples', is the largest religious monument in the world, lying just a few miles north of Siem Reap. It was built in the 12th century, and shifted from Hindu to Buddhist use some one hundred years later. After many years of looking at pictures of Angkor Wat, here I was, standing in front of this magnificent structure in the blistering heat. I'll admit though, the weather did lessen my enthusiasm.

Approaching Angkor Wat, however, Edithe spotted what she initially thought were cats, but quickly realised otherwise. There was a group of monkeys sitting on the wall near the jungle area. We wandered over and saw a guide allowing his visitors to feed the monkeys, so we ran to the food/shop area, bought some bananas, and went back to feed them. The smaller ones were so enthusiastic, they actually climbed up our legs! The monkey we later named Grumpy marched up to Edithe and held his hand out very demandingly, so she threw all three of her bananas to him! Afterwards, we went to a coconut stall, drank our coconut water, and had the woman chop up the fruit so we could feed them to the monkeys, too. We even fished someone else's coconut shell from the trash for them. Then, realising we hadn't even explored Angkor Wat temple yet and our camera batteries were already running low, we made our way across and took a stroll around. The sheer size of the structure is remarkable, and I read that it's preservation is due to the moat surrounding it, keeping the jungle at bay.

Desperately seeking escape from the sun and heat, we left the complex and found our tuk tuk driver. He then took us to Chong Khneas dock where we took a boat along the river to visit the Chong Khneas floating village on Tonle Sap lake. For $20 each, we had a longboat and guide to ourselves.

The Tonle Sap, commonly known as 'Great Lake', is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. As it is currently dry season, the water was very shallow - approximately one metre deep. During rainy season, however, it can reach depths of up to nine metres, and expands to flood the surrounding areas.

Reaching the floating village, we discovered that it consisted of schools, orphanages, crocodile and fish farms, shops etc. It was amazing to see, and our guide was a wealth of information. I was amused to see a dog chilling on the front step of a house. Then, he guide took us to a rather sparse looking market, that, despite our refusal, he coaxed us into. Once inside, we were given the 'option' of buying food for the orphanage. We reluctantly bought some noodles, then were taken to the orphanage to deliver them. We refused to take it inside, asking the guide to do so for us. It just felt wrong to support/encourage the exploitation of orphaned children for the sake of tourism. I felt disappointed that these people put tourists under such pressure in the name of charity. It's not that I wasn't willing to contribute, I just don't like feeling scammed. Following this, we were shown a crocodile farm, with many crocodiles packed into one small area, which made me feel sad. We questioned the village's survival if the crocs ever got loose.

After the boat ride back down the river, we took the long journey back to Siem Reap, stopping off in Pub Street. We had a delicious dinner of amok, curry, spring rolls and chicken with cashews, then went to currency exchange so that I could change £20 into US dollars (this is the most widely used currency in Cambodia), in order to avoid incurring fees at the ATM. The man at the counter handed me $20! I questioned the exchange rate, and he threw another $2 on the desk. I told him that I expect at least $30, and he tossed another $2 in my direction. I told him to give me my £20 back, but he seemed adamant to keep it. He eventually worked his way up in $2 offerings, until he reached $28. Another man said that's the most they can give me, so I demanded my £20 back, which was reluctantly handed over.

We wandered around the market (where I bought some awesome Aladdin pants) and relaxed with a fish pedicure, before heading back to our guesthouse for an in-room massage. It was pretty poor, to be honest, and I've discovered I don't enjoy back massages as they always cause me crippling agony in the base of my back. Edithe was even less impressed than me.

So, it was an activity-packed and tiring day, but so worth it. The monkeys at Angkor were definitely the highlight for me!

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