Angkor....Whaaat?

Since we couldn’t come to a mutual decision about what to do during October Break, we decided to take 2 mini-vacations in one. We started it off by spending 3 nights in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to visit Angkor Wat. The weather is a bit drier and cooler than Bangkok at this time of year. It was a welcome change! The temples of Angkor Wat are beautiful and…plentiful. We had our fill of Khmer temples after one day, and we were quite glad we didn’t opt for the 3- or even 6-day pass! Siem Reap has a laid-back, small –town feel to it. The people are friendly, but the poverty was difficult to see. At every tourist spot there were many children begging you to buy their souvenirs, and the landmine victims playing music at the temples were a constant reminder of the brutal Khmer Rouge.

A visit to Tonle Sap, the biggest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia was second on our Cambodian agenda. We visited a village on stilts, took a ride through a mangrove forest, and ate fresh fish for lunch. Laughing children paddling their boats, fishing nets, and livestock in pens underneath houses were the backdrop for this tour.

We were happy, as always, to land back in Thailand after our Cambodian adventure. Speaking the language (somewhat) and understanding the culture (somewhat) make travelling in Thailand much more relaxing than venturing outside its borders. We took a short plane ride to Phuket and spent the rest of our week reading and sipping Singha by the ocean. After a hectic first quarter at work, this part of the vacation was much needed, and I have a feeling this style of travel will be more common in the future!