Thursday, January 26, 2012

Tales from Cambodia

Just realised I NEVER posted this. I even wrote it a timely fashion! Three years later, here is the very detailed yet brief description of my only Tet in Vietnam.

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Took an 11 and 1/2 hour bus trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Pnomh Penh, spent 2 hours at a closed Cambodia/Vietnam border watching the stars and chatting/learning French with French tourists, ate lunch at several questionable roadside stands, met a guy at the bus stop in Pnomh Penh holding up a sign with my name, took an enlightening yet sobering tour of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, saw the Emerald Buddha at the Silver Pagoda, tried to become the next Queen of Cambodia by sashaying in front of the Royal Palace, violated the first rule of tourism at the Russian market, took a 6 hour bus ride to Siam Reap, ate at a Khmer buffet and saw an Apsara dance show for dinner, partied with our Cambodian tuk tuk drivers for Lunar New Year in a small village with no electricity so I'm not sure how their insane sound system worked, saw 5 ah.mah.zing temples in one day at the walled city of Angkor Thom, prayed in Bayon Temple, posed in front of the Lara Croft door at Ta Prohm, ate frog for the first time, hit up the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider bars, saw the sun rise at Angkor Wat, took a boat to the floating village of Chong Kneas, spent the afternoon jumping in Tonle Sap Lake, ate various Khmer style grilled foods for dinner, spent all my money at Phsar Chas market (because I'm addicted to shopping), went horseback riding at sunset through several Cambodian villages and temples on the most onery horse ever, took my first ever sleeper bus on a 15 hour bus trip back to Ho Chi Minh.

Angkor Wat

Me and Angkor Wat

Me and the floating village of Chong Kneas

Me and the sleeper bus

Gemma, Matt, Me, Theresa, Lexi, Deepak, Kat, Dean in front of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center

Listening to one of the recordings during the audio tour of Choeung Ek

Picture of a Cambodian Apsara dancer. I think she looks like Hema Malini.



Bayon Temple

Me, Lexi and Apsara dancers on the summit of Bayon Temple



Ta Prohm or the Tree Temple where they filmed Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Ta Prohm


Lara Croft doorway

Eating frog

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Angkor Wat at sunrise





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