Siem Reap

A couple weekends ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia, with my friend Kara. Siem Reap is about a 6-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, and it is the most popular tourist destination in Cambodia. It is home of Angkor Wat and several other famous temples and ruins. It was a really great time to get away. I took lots of pictures of the weekend, but I will just take you through some highlights of our time there!

Friday night: sunset at Phnom Bakheng

Just a glimpse into the spiritual atmosphere of Cambodia...
Saturday morning: sunrise at Angkor Wat
This is me in front of Angkor Wat. (Excuse the way I look...I got up really early...)
South Gate at Angkor Thom
Bayon. This was probably my favorite temple. We got to climb all over this one!
The beautiful lady who sold us bananas...albeit very expensive ones...
Ta Nei temple, which has yet to have any restoration done and required us to hike about a kilometer on a sandy path to get to, but we were the only ones there!
Ta Prohm. This is the temple that is featured in the movie Tomb Raider, which means there were about 800 tourists in it all at the same time. Thus, we were herded through like cattle, and it was quite a feat to get a photo without tourists in it.
Saturday afternoon:

We went to a floating village. The people live in these houses on this lake. They use the water for drinking, cooking, swimming, cleaning, bathing, and as their toilet. It was interesting to see how they live and served as a good reminder why I am in Cambodia, seeking to help people here.
And, we found some little boys just floating around...with pythons around their necks...
After the floating village, we found our way back to the city and to the Blue Pumpkin for some ice cream! Delicious!
Then, for a fish massage! For $3 you can stick your feet in the water and let all the fish eat away your dead skin for 20 minutes. Quite the experience!
Saturday evening:

We went out to dinner and watched traditional Khmer dancing. This is the fishing dance (my personal favorite), but they performed 6 different dances that night.
Sunday we opted to sleep in a bit (since we had been up well before sunrise on Saturday), and we went marketing and such in the morning before we had to catch our bus back to Phnom Penh. Siem Reap was definitely worth the trip, and should the opportunity arise, I wouldn't hesitate to go back for another visit!