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Published: January 20th 2010
Banteay Srei
First of two temples today* Note: we just added pictures of our first day's blog a few days back.. check them out!
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We wanted our last day in Siem Reap to be special, and surely, it was.
We woke up early again and our tuk tuk driver drove us the long distance to Banteay Srei, a beautiful temple. The carvings in the pinkish red sandstone so intricate, so beautiful.
We walked around a bit, and of course took many pictures.
After visiting this temple, we knew we were going to go on a hike, primarily uphill, so we stopped at one of the many eating sections and ordered banana pancakes and fresh coconut juice. It was a good choice to fuel our bodies, as the hike would have felt worse on an empty stomach in the heat.
After another lengthy tuk tuk ride, we made it to Kbal Spean to hike. Blood sugar intact, we were ready to go, and appreciated it not being too hot.
The hike is mainly uphill, and at times feels like rock climbing (that comes from someone who has done NO rock climbing!, but still..) Our driver said it would take us
Carvings
So intricate! 25 minutes to get to the stopping point, the waterfall. It took us longer because I had to take a lot of pictures, as it was gorgeous!
Once we made it to the waterfall, it wasn't as big as we thought it would be, but it sure was beautiful, and there were butterflies everywhere. Staci and I ended up sitting for a good 40 minutes soaking it all in. Butterflies landed on us, which made for more great photos.
The hike back down went much faster, and it was getting much hotter. We were happy our tuk tuk driver had us get up early after all!
After finishing, our driver decided it was a good time to mention how sometimes tigers can be found where we were hiking, but it hasn't happened for some time now. As wonderful as it would have been to see a tiger, I am glad we didn't come face to face.
We ate another good Cambodian lunch before taking off to see our last temple. We were tired, so we didn't stay long, but long enough to appreciate it, knowing we wouldn't be coming back on this vacation.
We took
Banteay Srei 2
More Banteay Srei the long ride back to our hotel, which gave us more time to reflect on how wonderful this place is. It's so hard to describe in words what joy it brings to see happy children holding hands while walking down the path to their school. Also on the way back, we saw plenty of cows, water buffalo, and monkeys.
Originally, we were not planning on having this day in the first place, instead leaving for Phnom Penh, but after the first day here, we knew we needed to stay another day.
Unfortunately, our hotel, Two Dragons Guesthouse could not have us another night, as they were booked. Good for them though, sad for us. We absolutely LOVED staying there. Everything about it. We don't have much to compare it too, but something tells me there isn't a need to. There might be cheaper places in town, but there certainly are more expensive resorts too. Besides the affordability, Two Dragons offered us amazing friendliness, food, and service. They also employ tuk tuk drivers like the one we had to take care of guests as they have many sites to visit. When they couldn't put us up for the extra
Our Driver
A view of our driver from inside the tuk tuk night, they did all the work to set us up at a neighboring hotel. If ever any of you visit Siem Reap, check out Two Dragons. You won't be disappointed.
It was getting late and not wanting to leave Siem Reap without saying goodbye properly to our tuk tuk driver, l went out and got a six pack of beer and walked back to Two Dragons where him and some other drivers where hanging out, as their days were ending as well. They were happy to see I brought libations. For the next 40 minutes, I sat around with our tuk tuk driver and the others drinking beer, laughing, sharing stories, and even reserving a tuk tuk driver for tomorrow all the way in Phnom Penh. That's right!, our tuk tuk driver has a good friend in Phnom Penh, and offered to contact him to pick us up at the bus station. We'll probably use his services to get around the city as well for the next few days as we await our Vietnam Visa.
It's getting late, and the bus picks us up at 6:50am for the 6 hour ride to Phnom Pehn.
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mama clare
non-member comment
lions no tigers yes yikes
Well I'm glad you didn't come face to face with the tigers on this hike:) I'ts hard to imagine all the hand labor that went into the intricate carvings everywhere. Staci you look like one hikin pro here:) love and hugs and smiles, mamaC