Saturday, August 20, 2011

Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

Elisa and I had a great three days of temple visiting around Siem Reap. We hired a jolly tuk tuk driver who took us around to all the temples. There was one temple with amazingly intricate carvings in pink stones that were over 1000 years old. Another temple was built with the same floor plan as Angkor Wat, but has been so destroyed that the only way to explore it is to crawl around the ruins. This was a bit of a challenge as Cambodia has been taking the whole monsoon season thing pretty seriously.

We took a six hour bus ride to Phnom Penh today. After that we opted for traditional Cambodian food by the hotel pool. The food in Cambodia has been terrific. Last night we got Khmer BBQ, where you grill the meet at your table. It is similar to Korean BBQ but at the side of the grill there is a place for broth and vegetables. We had a great time trying to cook the meat- chicken, pork, alligator, squid, and beef- without dropping the meat into the broth constantly. The waiter kept offering us help.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a depressing day of sightseeing. In the morning, we're going to Tuol Sleng, the Khmer Rouge torture prison. In the afternoon we're heading out to the Killing Fields where there is a memorial stupa displaying more than 8000 skulls of Khmer Rouge victims. We'll end the day on a happier note- a visit to the royal palace.

Then, the next day we are heading out to Bali!

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