Day of Many Temples and Night Market Eats

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If I wasn't already amazed by this resort, the breakfast buffet was unlike anything I've ever seen for a free breakfast. There was food from all over the world, and I spent the next week trying everything. We ate outside under a fan. I was struck by the sounds- insects and birds, a constant musical backdrop in this country that reminded of the soundtrack in the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland (literally my only comparative experience). We had a little bit of time after breakfast and before our tour guide was to arrive to pick us up for the day so we wandered around outside taking photos of the pool area and exploring the various buildings. Apparently you can rent out entire villas. Also there were elephant sculptures, big and little, that spouted water, either to rinse off before and after the pool or to water the gardens.

Our tour today took us to several nearby temples but not Angkor Wat. I took great care to try and pick temple tours that I didn't think we'd be visiting with our medical mission group the last day of our Cambodia trip. So, after picking up a few women joining our group for the day, we headed to our first stop- Pre Rup Temple. Over the course of the day we went to a wide variety of temples. Depending on the type of stone used and how old the temples are, some are more intricate than others. Pre Rup was probably the least amazing of the temples I would end up seeing this trip but it was a good all around temple with stairs (which are no freakin joke in steepness), carvings and generally being intact. The holes you see in the stonework (haha, my mom asked if they were bullet holes) were to hold up additional decor that locked into the holes (maybe wood carvings?). Nearby was East Mebon Temple, which had a rare intact elephant statue and my first sighting of a tree growing right over the stonework. I think I have the photos from both temples straight but these two were fairly similar temples so it's possible I've mislabeled some shots.

The next temple was small and we didn't spend a lot of time here but it was unique for being a water temple. It has a huge moat and we walked across a boardwalk to get to the main five inner pools and stone island structures. It was a place for healing. I was beginning to note the pattern of locals heckling tourists at every temple entrance, many times offering to sell me books I'd already read (which I found amusing) but usually kramas, loose fitting pants, jewelry and paintings. Also, an incredibly rude tourist ran into our tour guide while he was talking to me about the architecture. The boardwalk was narrow and it just happened, no one's fault. But the tourist turned around and yelled obscenities at our our guide, who just looked confused by the behavior. I, on the other hand, was immensely ashamed of the asshole tourist. How dare he be so disgusting as a guest in another country, especially at a temple?! Seriously. I can't stand humans sometimes.

The temples got more and more neat as the day wore on. Preah Khan Temple was my second favorite temple of the day. We saw monkeys for the first time (they remind me of the monkeys in Japan) and massive trees overtaking stonework. I don't know why but trees overtaking architecture appeals like hell to me. I find it such a beautiful juxtaposition. We wandered around this complex for a long time, and I kept losing the group because I was constantly taking photos and admiring the intricate carvings.

After this temple we stopped for lunch in an air-conditioned restaurant. Since it was our first, we didn't know this wasn't the norm. Usually you get fans, which are also great. I actually felt cold suddenly being inside, all my sweat suddenly freezing. The other women at our table weren't that hungry, stating after having been in southeast Asia awhile, they'd developed general GI upsetness. We anticipated this problem for ourselves after our experiences in Fiji last year so we packed a literal pharmaceutical arsenal with us- daily probiotic gummies, a Z-pack, anti-diarrheal gel caps, tums, zofran, etc. We were even using bottled water for brushing our teeth! Only to turn around and order iced coffee drinks any chance I could. It didn't dawn on me until days later that the ice was made from the same contaminated water as everything else- and I was likely dosing myself with bacteria each time. ::facepalm:: It tasted delicious, though. So was lunch. Chris ordered more lok lak and I had beef in a spicy peanut sauce. Most locals are vegetarian because meat is too expensive. Alot of the tourist restaurants serve it, though. I also got a banana for dessert.

Banteay Srei was my other favorite temple that day, and also our last stop. They used a different stone here than at the other temples, and because of that the carvings are more intricate and very well preserved over time. I can't even begin to fathom how they managed to create such beautiful architecture AND made it last centuries. We spent alot of time wandering the grounds here while the guide described the stories depicted in the stone.

After our tour, we had just enough time to shower and relax for a half hour at the hotel before being whisked off in our first Tuk Tuk ride for our Night Market Food Tour. Tuk tuks are terrifyingly fun, we discovered. Like Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. The traffic in general in Cambodia is pretty crazy, and the laws must be really lax (or just not enforced). Everyone drives every which way here and despite constant near misses with accidents (from our perspective) no one ever hits anyone. So there's definitely some complex "understanding" among Cambodians on who has the right of way when.

The Night Market Tour was awesome. It took awhile for the guide to assemble everyone coming from different hotels so we just wandered around the market looking at things. We were on sensory overload- so many foods, fruits, vegetables, and people staring at us. Since it was a locals market and not a tourist market, local people just looked at us. So we didn't know what or how to eat anything so we just waited for the actual tour to start. Once it did start, it was nonstop eating for four hours. We tried grilled local fish and several fruits at the first market. I watched amazed as children my daughter's age ran up and down stalls competently assisting their family with organizing and trading wares.

Tuk tuks delivered us to the next Night Market, another large locals market across from the giant facility where you buy your temple passes during the daytime. There's several markets in Siem Reap, only a few are for tourists. We started eating the more strange local foods at a medium sized food stall with tables. I tried red ants which tasted sour and eaten as a topping on another dish. Chris swore up and down he'd never in his life try balut, chicken fetus that actually still looks like chicken fetus when you eat it. But we both tried it! Just tasted like a cross between a chicken and an egg. I also got to eat frog. The only gross thing I ate that night was breadfruit. Smells and tastes like poop to me. I'm told people either love it or hate it, and I'm definitely in the latter category. After that, we came across all the bugs- cooked crickets, larvae, scorpion, frogs, etc. Crunchy snack foods. I'd read in the books before my travels that it's more of a comfort food for older Cambodians. Many folks survived starvation during the devastating genocide by learning which bugs and critters could be eaten and which couldn't. And then it just sort of made it's way into the local culture.

After all that food, the guide took us to a local restaurant and most of us by then were so stuffed we couldn't even think about eating anything else. But out of politeness, we did. Definitely don't do this tour unless you're starting out starving! By the end of the night, we crashed into our beds exhausted. It was an awesome first day in Cambodia.

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