The Angry Monkeys of Angkor Wat.

---

Catching up on two days now, I'm terrible! I have gone into vacation mode and don't really want to do anything but recuperate from the extreme heat and humidity. We've been getting in some good pool time because it's the only time you can be outside and not nearly die from heat exhaustion. Sweat literally pours off of me in a constant stream, I have never experienced anything like it!

Yesterday we left Vietnam and were pretty psyched for Cambodia. We flew Cambodia Air and arrived in 45mins or so. My luggage is getting heavier and heavier from all of the souvenirs I've been picking up, but I got some really sweet stuff. Spoons, of course, are the number one priority. Yes, I am one of THOSE people-- a souvenir spoon collector. My grandma collected them and I inherited her collection when she passed away, so I am just keeping her memory alive. I think she would be proud of my additions 😊

We had to stop and get our visa but didn't have any issues like Vietnam, thank goodness. Cambodia has far fewer people here so it is much cleaner and friendlier. Most people here are so genuine and kind. One of my favorite people I have ever met traveling is our taxi driver, Kheung. Sweetest, most gentle, thoughtful person ever. And it's very apparent that he isn't just doing it for a tip, like some of the drivers. We have held on to him for our whole trip! Our hotel is just a few minutes from the airport, and definitely earns its 5 stars. We got cold, wet cloths and some sweet tea when we arrived, and the staff is amazing. I can't speak highly enough of the people here. We had some time before our floating village tour, so we went for a swim and ate lunch by the pool. It was nice to relax and drink some pina coladas for a bit after feeling dirty and tired.



Driving to the floating village we saw the poor side of Cambodia. Their way of life is such a stark contrast to mine, it is really eye opening. The village we drove through is a fishing village. Their houses are seriously on old rickety stilts for the varying water levels, and some of the main buildings, such as schools and markets can actually float as well. We saw a large school donated to the people by UNICEF and learned that the kids all go to school from 7-11am and then come home to help their parents work. They are literally little half/full naked kids with dirty faces and bare feet. My heart aches for them. I have bought quite a few trinkets from the kids, but I only have so many dollars to give.



It is currently dry season right now, so all of the houses are really low and the water is really concentrated with human waste and some sort of green film. I'll be honest, the water does not smell good. We were on these old, colorful boats and we sat on the nose of them to get the full Cambodia Titanic effect. The village itself was incredible. These little houses are bare minimum and I don't know how they survive monsoon season! They have a souvenir shop where they also keep a dungeon of crocodiles to kill and skin and sell. We bought a pack of Ramen cups for the huge amount of orphan kids that live there, and we dropped it off to their floating school. They are so cute! The sun was setting by the time we were off the river, and it was so beautiful. Everything quiets down except for the cicadas and some bustling riverside fires where they burn some of their garbage.



Kheung took us to a cultural dance show/buffet after the floating village and I tried so really great food. Tables and tables of colorful food and strange desserts, and a bunch of things that I would not even touch. One server lady sensed my discomfort at one of the tables and asked me if I wanted vegetarian rolls. I guess my aura screams-- VEGETARIAN. I was pretty grateful for that haha. The dancing was very pretty, very similar to Thai dancing. We got back in time to catch another hour of night swimming, which is one of my favorite thing ever. So peaceful to look up at the stars and just float and reflect on the day. And practice our “half-Nelson's” in the pool. Poor James, the only male on our trip, had to then put up with us three girls putting on face masks and talking pillow talk about boys. Oh, the misery. Poor guy.



DAY 2-----



Kheung picked us up at 9 for a looooong day of temple viewing at Angkor Wat. The history was fascinating and I promise I listened to the tour guide, but I was sweating my soul out of each and every pore, so I retained very little. We even saw a person lying on the ground with heat stroke, surrounded by paramedics. The detailed carvings on the temple walls and the sculptures are stunning. Of course we had to stop at the “Tomb Raider” temple and take a few pictures, but they were doing some major renovations so we just turned back around and foraged through the field of young children begging us to give them $1. As I said before, I can only give so many dollars! I wish I could do more but it is a little frightening how many swarm you and shove things in your face.



Oh! I made another couple scrapbooks! We saw several monks walking through another temple and they stopped us to take pictures with them. They kept pointing at me and talking in Cambodian. Again, don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. I guess it's only fair since I have photographed many monks so far on this trip.



We stopped for lunch and I had some vegetarian curry and a pineapple smoothie before we saw a few more temples. Then we were pretty much templed out so we headed back to the hotel. I had wanted to see monkeys while we were there but didn't see them until we were exiting the park. We pulled over to feed them and, let me tell you, those monkeys are not so friendly. I was passing them lotus fruits and saw a mommy monkey wandering over so I was going to give her one but dropped it on the ground. I gave her another one and stooped to pick up the one I had dropped...she did not love that!! She swiped at my arm and my legs!! Obviously that freaked me out a little, so I screamed and (said a few profanities) and ran back to the car. All on video, no worries. I will try to post the video because y'all will die laughing.



We got back, went swimming, got very violent massages, stopped at the night market, and talked with our mommas for Mother's Day.



I LOVE YOU MOM!!! XOXOXOXO



(My mom is my BFF.)



G'night!

---