Blogs from Cambodia, Asia - page 786

I decided to give the temples a rest for the day and get back to them tomorrow. Mike had asked if it has been cloudy all the time and the answer is, sort of. Most days have been fairly overcast but I consider that a blessing for the most part. It helps to keep the temperatures down and makes the pictures less contrasty. When the sun does come out it mixes with the humidity and makes for some sticky clothing. I spent today wandering around part of the town of Siem Reap. I wandered through the makrkets and down along the river to the Royal residence and gardens. There were a couple of more Buddhist Wats (pagodas) and I enjoyed walking the grounds and seeing the small shrines. They are a nice peaceful break from all ... read more

To read stories from my recent field trips to Prey Veng and Siem Reap head to: www.rhiannadean.blogspot.com... read more

Saturday 1st July Paul - Didn't do much today. Decided that as England were playing tonight we would have another lazy day in Phnom Penh before catching the bus to Battambang. Had a stroll along the river front before a lovely dinner in a restaurant along there. Our waitor informed us that the Cambodian people were so grateful that their country was finally being visited by tourists. He kept thanking us over and over again which was kind of bizarre. I wasn't sure whether he was just trying really hard for a tip. Laura - The waitor was lovely, Paul is too cynical! I had a great conversation with him about tourism and how it's changing the country, and apparently even making it more democratic. He was excellent at speaking English and really made an effort ... read more

Wednesday 28th June Laura - Still haunted by the jungle, I woke up several times during the night convinced that there were huge spiders all over the bed! This was not fun, although Paul was mildly amused with this because he'd stayed up to watch the late football. We woke up at 11am and checked out of our hostel to wait around for the 'shared' taxi to Sihanoukville (a beach town on the South Coast). The taxi turned up on time, which obviously took us by surprise. Then we were off. To the taxi rank.... We sat in the taxi rank for 20 minutes, watching all the taxi drivers racing towards anyone who came within 100m of the place and fighting over who was going to take the fares. Our driver had considerately swapped the Cambodian ... read more

I was up fairly early this morning, around 4:30 AM. There isn't much going on here around that time. I sat around the restaurant and watched the boy sweep the patio until 5:30. Then it was toast and coffee. It was my first experience with a coffee press. Let me be the first to say that they aren't known for their coffee here and I know why. Starbucks won't be offering a Cambodian brew anytime soon. At around 7:30 I hopped in my tuk-tuk and was off to the temples. The first stop was at the main gate to get my ID badge for the week. I splurged on the 7 day pass which set me back about $60. I hear people complain about the price but try to go to Kings Dominion for a week ... read more