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I got on a motorbike taxi and instructed the driver to take me to church. He didn't know where it was so I opened Google maps and instructed him where to go. It's amazing how much easier traveling is now that we have this technology. You're never lost!
When we got there it looked like no one was around. I walked around what looked like a school and towards the houses behind it. There were dogs aggressively barking at me. So I walked slowly knowing that I can't out run them. I almost gave up then I walked back to the school and saw a girl who she pointed me to a room where church was happening. The service was almost over when I got there. They start and end early. I was invited to lunch after church by the school administrators who were mostly Australians and Americans. Tim showed me the butterfly garden that they were building for tourists. It's an ambitious project that needs a lot of money. They knew history well and we talked about many subjects so it was really fun chatting with them. Ian drove me to my hostel after church. Their roads are very
dusty and the horizon flat. Not a mountain in sight.
The receptionist at the hostel tried to rip me off a couple of times. First he asked for double the amount I was supposed to pay. Then I showed him what hostel world said I needed to pay. After that he tried to short change me by $10!
The next day the driver that I booked before arriving picked me up. Just $15 for a sunrise to sunset tour. It was supposed to be a be a shared tuktuk but I was the only one who signed up so it was a pretty good deal because I had the tuktuk for myself. I almost felt sorry for them that I thought I should tip generously. That changed when the driver told me I'm booked for sunrise to 12:30 only. I asked him to take me somewhere for breakfast and asked him to join me. He took me to a diner that was way too expensive for a place without AC. I told them it was too expensive and that we should go somewhere else. Then he informed me that he gets to eat for free if we eat
there. That's when I decided I wasn't going to tip him.
The temples were very impressive. I only saw four temples but that was enough for me for one day. I emailed the tour operator and he called the driver that I booked for sunrise to sunset but I was already upset with him and frankly very tired so I decided to call it a day by 1 PM.
I was very impressed with the tour guides. I don't speak French or Spanish but the guides who spoke those languages seemed fluent. I discovered that it's much cheaper to go to university here than study for two years to be a tour guide. They make $60-$80 per day. With the cost of living here that's actually pretty good.
I was in Siem Reap just in time for Songkran. I didn't plan it. I was just lucky. From what I've observed, flirtation between boys and girls play a big role in this festival. Boys will pick out the pretty girls to splash and girls do the same. It's like a wet T shirt contest but less sexual.
I rode a bus to Bangkok the next day and
the $60 I saved for not flying was not worth the twelve hour travel that included for hours of standing in line at the Thai immigration. Thousands of Cambodians were returning to Thailand after the holidays so it was the worst time to cross the border. The Cambodian border guard asked me to pay $3 which I know was a scam because no one else had to pay. I didn't want to cause any delay so I just gave him the money.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Siem Reap
It's fantastic how we can go to the same places and have such different experiences. Great blog Harold.