Cambodia - Day 1

I've been avoiding writing this post for, well, it looks like four weeks now. I used the excuse that we were getting ready to go back to MN for a couple of weeks, then we were in MN, then my excuse was jetlag. Having the entire day to myself today, and frittering it away watching an MTV True Life marathon, uploading past pictures from our old computer onto the new computer, and even cleaning up the house and washing the dishes, I have no more excuses. Harkening back to a little saying my mom had posted in her sewing room: "Begun Is Half Done", I must at least start. Plus we're going to Taiwan on Wednesday and I know I'll get even further behind then.

There is a great story about Libby "Deathly Afraid of Needles" O. getting her shots (her mother let her come to SE Asia without any, a questionable decision at best), but since I'm trying to shorten this up, here's the abbreviated version:

1.) We guilted Libby into getting her two shots, saying either she get them, or we would not go on this trip of a lifetime and then she would surely regret this decision for the rest of her life. No biggie, her choice.

2.) I literally held her down in the doctors office as she tried to swat him away, much to the doctor's amusement.

3.) An email to her mother reporting the successful immunization was responded with "No way now how! How did you do that? Can you get her to go to the dentist now!?" Maybe next year.

Okay, now to Cambodia! Seim Reap, to be exact...

We arrived in the late afternoon, so only had time for one site today. [We had a fantastic guide, who was a wealth of information about Cambodia, and had also lived through the Khmer Rouge period, hiding with his family in Angkor Wat.] This first temple was a popular destination, and involved climbing up a big hill to the site, then climbing up very steep old stone stairs for the sunset view.

Since it was pretty busy, he decided to take us The Back Way, and within three minutes we came face to face with... an elephant! We had to jump out of the way, this guy was big.

We then hiked up through a small footpath in the jungle, being warned to "watch out for the termites", as apparently they get a little feisty when their work is interrupted. "Are there snakes back here?" inquired Libby. "Not many..." was the unfortunate response.

The temple was very cool, and had a great view of Angkor Wat in the distance:

As for the detail of the temple itself, these sandstone carvings are about 1000 years old, and still in great shape:

After waiting patiently for the sun to set:

I snapped a picture of two young monks:

Finally, the sunset:

After an even more perilous climb down from the temple (ever try to avoid termite colony in the dark?) we went back to the city to a great restaurant, which had these great white couches where you could put your feet up, wine for $2, and TV trays so you could practically fall asleep if you were so inclined.

Tuk tuk's are the preferred mode of transportation in the are, $1 for anywhere you want to go...

Adventures with Libby - The Rest

Here are the last few things Libby and I did together before our big trip to Cambodia:

Little India

The wetmarket in Little India is spectacular. You can get anything and everything there, especially food-wise. The only problem is that you can't really tell what most of the stuff is:

There was only Indian food to be had for lunch, of course, and unfortunately this was the one food Libby insisted she couldn't stomach. After a long, hot walk around the neighborhood, we finally saw the universal sign of Western food: Ketchup.

Large basket of fries, please. After lunch, we followed a Little India walking tour I'd found in a book of the rest of the afternoon, but the temples were a bit over-hyped. This tiger was protecting the entrance of a Buddhist temple, but the pipe-cleaner whiskers sort of takes away from the ferociousness.

Chinatown

Since it was toward the end of Libby's stay with us, I though we'd skip the bus today and treat ourselves to a taxi ride instead. Libby was thrilled, it picked us up right at the front door, took you in an airconditioned car straight to Chinatown, and we didn't have to wait at a steamy bus stop or anything! "You mean we could have been doing this the whole time!?" she said. Yes, but the bus is so cheap, and you have to ride them to get the whole Singapore experience.

Cooking classes

I take regular cooking classes here, and Libby joined me for two of them. They both had Indian food menus (not exactly a hit - see Ketchup story above), but Libby managed not to starve. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be." Libby's highest compliment yet.