Battenbang

We left Siem Reap at 8am to head to Battenbang Cambodia our last city. We go there at just about noon. Our hotel looked really nice from the outside which was a great change from the last one. They greeted us with a disgusting drink and nice cold towels that smelled very strongly of menthol. Our rooms were not ready yet to we went into town for lunch. It was a great place actually. They did fresh juices so I had an apple, carrot and ginger juice with a Cambodian version of a bahn mi.

Hanna, Emma, Erica and I were all on the same afternoon tour of the city so we had a couple of hours to walk around first. It was super hot and we walked pretty constantly the whole time but it was worth it. We saw a pagoda with Buddhist monks living in it and several of the French colonial houses. I was hot and tired when we got back but we left almost immediately for a tuk tuk tour. 

Our first stop was a rice paper making family. It was a similar process to the coconut paper but for their fire they use the rice husks leaving almost nothing unused from the rice. Then we went to see rice noodles being made by a family for surrounding restaurants. They started my grinding rice, then making it into a paste. The best part was the 75 year old man who was pressing the paste into noodles using a huge stick over the pot of boiling water. Once cooked and cooled the noodles were coiled into bundles and put into baskets for the restaurants.

Next it was out to ride the bamboo train. You kind of have to read about it because it is amazing that they even run. They are fast but bumpy and with no rails. It was quite an experience.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norry?wprov=sfla

We had a cooking class next. It turns out out was with our tuk tuk driver. In his house on an amazing rooftop kitchen space he taught us to cook Cambodian chicken curry, spring rolls and fish amok. It was a amazing experience.

Angkor Wat and temples

Today was an amazing day. Filled with visiting temples and seeing traditional apsana dancers.

To catch you up. Phnom Penh turned out to be a really good city.

Yesterday was spent on the bus going to Siem Reap. It ended up being a very long day as the bus broke down and we were stuck on the side of the road under some shade for 2.5 hours. We then had to rush our planned stops at the insect market and the silk factory. We were all happy to be off the bus. Spent the evening on Pub Street and at the night market.

Today was temples all day. We started with Angkor Wat which is impressive for it's sheer size.















Then we visited the women's temple Banteay Srei. This was my favorite as it had beautiful detail and everything was in proportion with great lines between. I could have stayed for ages here.

Our last stop was the Buddhist temple Bayon which has Buddha heads everywhere, they sort of made me laugh with the half smile every where I looked.

Dinner tonight came with a show of apsara dancers who moved their hands and feet in ways I didn't expect. It was a very interesting show.

Tomorrow is Angkor Wat at sunrise, then the temple from Tomb Raider and the floating village in the afternoon.

Floating village:

Cambodia

So yesterday we spent all day on a bus 8.5 hours traveling between HCMC and Phnom Penh Cambodia. Quite a lot of time was spent at the border. As you have to wait on Vietnam to be called through from a warehouse to leave the country. Then in Cambodia you can get your visa at the crossing so you have to wait got them to be processed. I had an evisa which seemed like a good idea but I ended up being the last to cross over in Cambodia.

Once we were finally in Phnom Penh we went on a tuk tuk tour around the city. It was quite exhilarating going so fast and with so little space. We saw the city at night which turned out to be when everyone is out before getting dinner.

The next day was a combination of sad and happy.  Ok, mostly sad.  We got to visit the sad places of a killing field that was used during Pol Pot's regime as well as a Genocide Museum which was in an school, turned prison.  We learned a lot, and really experienced the horrors of the time.  It was amazing how many precautions were made so that the people close by had no idea what was going on and how many lives were being lost.


After all the sadness we visited the royal palace and silver pagoda which thankfully lightened the mood.  it was a really beautiful space with interesting architecture and beautiful colors.


Then we had dinner together at a snazzy spot called Malis. Then we walked to a bar named Top Banana.