Tuk-Tuks and Stuff-Stuff
My first tuk-tuk experience…
apprehension…
this is actually scary…
i made it alive!!!
I think it’s actually much more dangerous to walk places because of the madness of the motorized vehicles zipping everywhere.
Siem Reap has a night market and cool restaurant/bar street, which they close down for foot traffic only. I did get offered a ride several times. I did get offered drugs several times. I abruptly declined and scuttled away. I don’t even know what they had! They were like, “Oh, you don’t need a ride from me?.. then, do you need THIS?!??” What will I get offered next?? It’s hard out here for a driver when he tryna to get this money for hard cider.
I did see a cop today for the first time. The Long Arm of the Law.
night market
pub street
pub street
night market
christmas lights
neon,neon
In addition to the drugs and booze being offered, you can also get the dead skin on your feet chewed off by fish. I read a news article a few years ago that said these fish were spreading HIV between people. That’s all I can think about when I see people sitting at these!! Anyway, I like their sign on the right:
spreads aids tho…
This is important::::: Do we have these in the states???
which one am I supposed to choose??
I got the Coconut Delight. My culinary review: Delightful. Even with a bit of softness from old age or possibly humidity.
FASHION!
$5 wrap skirt
Eat your heart out, DVF.
Next up: omg! PEPPER FARM. And Phnom Penh.
Hello Cambodia
I’m in Cambodia!
I flew from Tokyo to Siem Reap, with a stopover in Shanghai. One impression of Shanghai from landing at the airport: SMOG choking the air.
pea soup smog:/
There were articles on cnn.com that day that talked about how bad the smog was – schools were closed, people were told to stay indoors, etc. Not a place I ever want to live.
I stayed at the Le Meridien in Siem Reap – with points for free nights! It was the nicest hotel room I’ve stayed in so far on my trip. Forgot to take pictures of the actual room 
This is the courtyard area at the hotel:
le méridien hotel.. best room I’ve stayed in on my trip
Dragonfruit, rambutan, passion fruit, mango, bananas, tangerines, apple…
welcome basket!
I woke up at 4am on the first morning I was in Siem Reap, to go and see the sunrise at Angkor Wat temple. It was a really cool experience, even though there wasn’t really a sunrise view😂 I guess the sun was in the wrong place? Instead, it was me and 2,000 of my closest friends gathering in a small area to yell “Down in front!” at each other for two hours.
closest thing to a sunrise pic
we’re all waiting…
I started taking my anti-malaria medication, and no noticeable side effects thus far. I was definitely devoured by mosquitoes one morning, so I’m glad I have peace of mind by taking the meds.
According to my paparazzi connections (mom), Brangelina were in Siem Reap filming her new movie! One of my drivers has a friend who is a driver for the film crew! I tried everything I could to get to see the filming, but ultimately, timing didn’t work because the last day of filming was the day I got to Cambodia:/ Maybe next time, Brad.
Here are a few pictures from Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the two main temple areas…
angkor wat
angkor wat entrance
angkor wat – daytime
angkor thom = tomb raider!
angkor thom gate
angkor thom bridge
So many temples! Angkor Thom was actually a huge city, with around 150,000 people in 1100 AD! Surreal. It has two main temples – one Hindu and one Buddhist because the population included both religions (yay, religious freedom).
bayon – angkor thom
bayon corridor
terrace of the elephants (field where they had cockfights and ELEPHANT FIGHTS!😢)
review field
big buddha – angkor thom
phimeanakas – angkor thom
phimeanakas – my picnic spot
south gate – angkor thom
More “Tomb Raider”😆
tree roots!
amazing
tree
growing through the middle
wow
This is the day that I walked 12 miles and CLIMBED THE EQUIVALENT OF 48 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS! In flip-flops. Dirty feet…
this is what 12-miles-walking-in-flip-flops-dirty looks like
It’s not a tan, it’s dirt. Those Reef brand flip-flops though – my feet didn’t hurt at all.
Roadside restaurant with coconut rice that tasted like buttery popcorn somehow… it was so good.
buttered popcorn rice
restaurant
More on the culture (mixed reviews… Pros = people super nice, speak english (so much more than in Japan) & Cons = men pee in public) in next post.
Next up: Siem Reap nights, Tuk-tuks, Pashminas, Phnom Penh
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