Coast-to-Coast...to Coast: Cambodiaaaaa

We flew to Phnom Penh from Bali and it was like going to a completely different world. The traffic was horrendous and there was no where to walk except in the road or you would be walking through piles of trash. It was one of the dirtiest places I've ever been. It was actually really sad too because it was very clear that there was no middle class for the most part...either you were very wealthy or you were very poor. Our first day we wandered around for a few hours but Don was having some serious stomach issues and was very weak and tired so we headed back to rest and hang out for most of the afternoon.

Another day we rented a Tuk Tuk and driver to go see the Killing Fields, which was amazing and heavy and dark all at the same time. The same day, we also visited some of the bigger temples and palaces in downtown Phnom Penh.

I experienced the wonderful deliciousness of a pumpkin latte shake for the first time in Phnom Penh as well as what I like to call “the drink purse.” It’s pretty much like a plastic strap that goes around the cup and has straps that you carry it with. If I could have, I would have grabbed about 100 of them to give to all my family and friends because honestly, the drink purse is one of the best inventions since sliced bread.

It was my grand idea to take an overnight bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap…good news is that the bus had these strange mostly reclining sleeping beds so that we could sleep or least sleep a little bit more than we would have been able to if they were just seats. We arrived in Siem Reap without any problems. Except that time in the middle of the night when suddenly the bus pulled over and was stopped for at least an hour…I asked the driver where he had been when he came back to the bus. Turns out he needed to eat his dinner at 3am. Needless to say, public transportation in Southeast Asia is consistently exciting! Never a dull moment.

Siem Reap was fabulous, much smaller than Phnom Penh. It wasn’t nearly as dirty and had much more culture than Phnom Penh. Lots of cool coffee shops and stores lining the streets. Our primary reason for being in Siem Reap was to go to Angkor Wat and some of the other temples in the archaeological park but we ended up really enjoying the area. We spent several evenings just walking around and eating and drinking our way through Siem Reap.

Christmas in Siem Reap could have been any day of year besides the few restaurants who were advertising a Christmas Dinner special but we didn't go for that. We decided to stick with a favorite...vegetarian! I skyped with my parents and grandparents who were together in Washington state and we also skyped with Don's dad, sisters, and brother-in-law very quickly while we were on a bus.

Angkor Wat was phenomenal and absolutely exhausting. We rented the hotel's Tuk Tuk and driver for the day and spent about nine hours visiting Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and some of the other ruins. It was far more magnificent than we could have ever imagined. The place is so big, we were barely able to see half of it.