Hadas Kuznits Video Diary

Temple Mania

Allison and I are in Siem Reap, Cambodia for another day to do a little more sightseeing.

Since it was cloudy yesterday, we didn’t get to see a proper sunrise over Angkor Wat, so we decided to try again, this time, successfully (see top photo).

We ordered a tuk-tuk driver for 5:00 in the morning and rode in the dark. Our driver was a really nice, English-speaking guynamed Chenda.

Last night, we sent our dirty clothes to the laundry, so I had no sweatshirt or anything warm to wear and it was chilly in the open-air tuk-tuk.

Once the sun came up, it was okay and we were off to Temple-hop.

After stopping at Angkor Wat, we returned to Bayon, which was Allison and my favorite temple from yesterday.

Then we went to a temple/fountain called Neak Pean:

A Temple called Ta Som:

And a Temple called Mebon:

After that, our driver Chenda got us some Palm fruit… another fruit to add to the collection! (photos/videos to come).

Allison was super excited to drive back the way we returned home yesterday to see the monkeys again. There were no local kids out selling bananas, so I gave her a granola bar with which to feed the monkeys. Once the monkeys saw me pulling food out of my bag, they started coming from every direction! We jumped out of the tuk-tuk, and they jumped in. I started throwing them granola bar pieces. it was maddness! Tourists on bikes stopped to look at the monkeys. There was this one mean monkey who looked like he lost his nose in a fight. He was the greediest, hungriest one. I stayed away from him. Then, just as I thought he was trying to beat up another monkey, we all realized he was fornicating with another in the middle of the street. Shocked by the monkey rape, the tourists pulled out their cameras. He certainly knew what he was doing though, because at the sight of the cameras, he stopped. I guess he’s not into being a porn star monkey. I didn’t capture a good shot… but Allison did!

After all the sightseeing and monkey love, we did something REALLY cool.

Allison, who is a nurse practitioner had heard that tourists can easily donate very much needed blood. We were staying close to Siem Reap children’s hospital, so we went for it. I was a little nervous donating blood in a third world country, but Allison said everything was sterile, clean and safe. So we did it!

I was scared, but Allison told me to breathe. We were fine. It was actually very easy and really clean.

With all this talk of monkeys and blood donations, I just want to sidebar this blog with a little note to those who are worrying about my safety to let you all know I’m okay!

Well, Allison and I are in downtown Siem Reap, now. After we leave this internet cafe, we’re off to have lunch and browse the markets. I also want to get another massage before our evening flight to Bangkok.

Later…

We’re at the airport and off to Bangkok. We walked around the Siem Reap market a bit, which I personally didn’t find all that impressive. (Am I missing something?)

I got an hour long four-hands massage (or as my friend Andrew likes to say, “massage a trois”) for $10 and I hear they’ll be even cheaper in Thailand.

We bid farewell to Chenda, our amazing driver for the day! (If anyone goes to Siem Reap, call him for a private tour and tell him I sent you. He’s awesome! 012 867 715)

We’ve met so many people along the way, it’s always hard for me to say goodbye to the new friends who have helped make my stay great in any given city, so I’m a little sad… but also excited to discover what Bangkok has in store for us!

This entry was posted on January 14, 2009 at 2:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized.