Angkor Wat was already packed with tourists by the time we were there. Frankly speaking, the sunrise at Angkor Wat wasn't up to expectation. The large amount of clouds was an anti-climax as we had expected to see Angkor Wat in another shade of colour under the early morning orange light.
Nonetheless, we proceeded further into the Angkor Park in search for a distinctive temple - Bantaey Srei. Built from a different type of rock from Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, the pink tone of the rocks is indeed a unique breed.
The exit from Bantaey Srei was once again met with eager Cambodians wanting to earn money from "ca$hcow$" like us. We did fell for her business tactics this time round and bought 4 Angkor-designed t-shirts at just USD 5 for 4! What a steal!
The temples from then onwards were not worth mentioning as it got a little dull after visiting so many similar temples for a second consecutive day.
@Tonle Sap
Paid USD 5 each for the visit to Tonle Sap Lake, the same lake where 4 Singaporean National Canoeists passed away earlier this year. Upon arriving at the lake, we were truly amazed by the geography in this region as well as the way of living of the Cambodians. Tonle Sap can grow to almost twice its size during the wet season in August, flooding neighbouring low lands. What bewildered us was that the dense forest vegetation now (July), will actually be submerged under water a month later!
It was also fascinating to discover that these floating villagers will have to shift their 'floating homes' during the 2 distinct wet and dry seasons. Their entire house can be transported by 2 to 3 longtail boats, similar to how a tow truck tugs a car along. Amazing!
A floating school with lessons going on.
Basketball court on Tonle Sap.
This floating village is very much a self sustainable community with little or no help by the people on land. Grocery shops, crocodile and fish farms, schools, churches and even a basketball court can be found on the waters of Tonle Sap! Imagine playing basketball on this rocky platform, would you even be able to balance yourself?
Sun Same explaining to us about the life at Tonle Sap.
Typical relaxed life at the river.
The dirty brown water is the bread and butter for the locals who live, bathe, drink and even shit in it. However, we were told that, by the high season, the waters will turn clear blue. To be honest, we highly doubt so! Although we gathered rumours about police dominating and extorting foreigners along the way to Tonle Sap. Our worries were undue as all we need was a ticket to ensure the smooth journey.
As for lunch that day, we had it at a local restaurant which Sun Same frequents. It has no menu in English as it only catered mainly for the Cambodians *Sensing more scams*. Invited Sun Same for the lunch with us and he said that he was honoured and appreciated this meal. He explain to us that for an average Cambodian, in a regular family of 8, a meal consist of just rice and 1 dish. It is only during festives or special occasions when they get to enjoy a meal with 3 or more dishes. Wow!! We should really be grateful! Just a side note, we believed that we were charged for more than twice the original price for this meal as the bill was of an incredibly high amount.
Had a walk around the small Siem Reap City followed by a good dinner where each plate of rice/noodles only costs us USD 1! The dessert of mixed fruits with ice was also delicious as it contained a huge variety of fresh juicy fruits, typical of products from Southeast Asia.
A good day at Siem Reap, albeit having a minor debate about the budget of the trip. Wei Yang was concerned with the large spendings thus far whilst Song prefers a spend-as-you-wish trip. Compromise was the solution and the new calculated budget now stands at SGD$940 for the trip. Will be leaving for Phnom Penh tomorrow as early as 0630.
2 more days at Cambodia, 13 more days at Vietnam and 15 more days to Singapore.
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