We took the next day off from sightseeing. Being a tourist is exhausting sometimes.
Our second day of temple visiting was less exciting than the first. Was it because we'd already seen so much or because these temples were the big ones making them a bit overwhelming? Needless to say, we were quite tired at the end, having begun the day at 5:30 so as to get to some temples before the crowds.
A quick look at Angkor Wat before it closed for the evening:
And our last day was a slow lazy morning with just an afternoon re-visit of Angkor Wat to see it properly.
Leaving Siem Reap we took a bus to Battambang in search of a quick visa for Vietnam. Sure enough we were able to drop off passports, application form and money and come back 2 hours later to pick up the visa. The next morning we headed to Phnom Penh.
I enjoyed the photo opportunities presented by having to wait at the bus station for our delayed bus.
Shredding coconut with a bottle cap:
Here monks seek alms individually (and seemingly not at a set time) and spend more time with the people who give them food or money:
Fried crickets for sale at the lunch break while en route:
You can fit a lot of people in these taxis:
One day spent visiting the tourist sites (Royal Palace and National Museum) was plenty. While it was interesting to see some of the statues that were originally in the Angkor Wat area temples, the highlight was watching a barn owl distressed by some monkeys in a tree inside the palace grounds.
Iron house given to the king by Napoleon:
The possibility of visiting the Killing Fields and other Khmer Rouge tourist sites presented another tourist ethics dilemma. Machiel argued that it didn't seem right for something that was so horrible to be a tourist attraction. We did debate this point a bit with me arguing that Auswitz didn't feel like an attraction, but more of a memorial and reminder of a tragedy that shouldn't be repeated. However the fact that a Japanese developer had bought the Killing Fields made it even more of a capitalistic venture instead of a memorial so we agreed to avoid them all. Instead we went and visited several covered markets and marveled once again at just how much people can pack on top of a mini van, truck, bicycle, motorbike, etc.
Real feathers:
Boiling eggs in a mobile cooker:
In Kompang Cham we saw a van with people sitting ON the motorbikes hanging out the back of the minivan:
My trusty Chaco's were undeniably finished:
We were very lucky to have an opportunity to meet an amazing musician and instrument maker as he is the father-in-law of my brother's college friend. Definitely a highlight of our visit in Cambodia! Unfortunately I was too shy to ask if we could record the beautiful music he and his family played for us:
We once again decided to do the border crossing by means of tourist transportation, although this time we only had one other couple as fellow passengers in a minivan to the border and then, after a very long wait (2 1/2 hrs) in a floating restaurant, a 2 hour boat ride to Chau Doc (our first stop in Vietnam). Except for the long wait, it was an easy border crossing and lovely boat ride. A nice beginning for our time in Vietnam, especially as we'd heard some unpleasant stories from fellow travelers.
Not in use when we passed through:
To see the first part of our Cambodia experience and all of our travels leading up to Cambodia go to:
