Cambodia, Cambodge, Kampuchea, Khmer Empire

So we survived Cambodia, even though we don't have the T-shirts to prove it (they did sell those there, though). Although we spent a mere 11 days in the country (by far our shortest stint on the trip), we feel we got a pretty good idea for the place, people, and culture. We started our trip on the Lao/Cambodia border in the N/E corner of the country a few days earlier than planned because Philip Grant and Ashley McCounaghey were making a last minute visit. We packed our bags, bought a $30 bus ticket we hoped would get us to Siem Reap the following day and set off. Needless to say, the travel experience was not first-class, but that story is for another time.

We spent 4 days in Siem Reap, the highlight, of course, being the magnficent ancient Khmer empire temples of Angkor. They are definitely a wonder of the world. Had we not forgotten to charge Genevieve and Philip's camera batteries the night before, we would have many more pictures to share. The memory of the day is etched in our mind and the sweat from our journey is still stuck on our clothes. We could only handle the heat for 1 day, but there is definitely enough sightseeing to keep you busy for much longer.

After leaving Siem Reap, the 4 of us headed to Phnom Penh for a quick 1 day jaunt to see the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda before heading south for some beach time in Sihanoukville. The beach was wonderful with the exception of the incessant barrage of touts, hawkers, and children asking for money. The most pleasant of this bunch were the well-dressed women who offered massages, nail clippings, and other beach side beauty routines. Genevieve was hexed by a 10 year old boy when she refused to give him money. Philip had his nails done multiple times while a man with a stump leg tried to solicit money from him by placing his stump on Philip's shoulder.

All in all our trip to Cambodia was enjoyable, albeit sometimes frustrating when trying to walk in peace down the street. We ended the country with a grand birthday dinner at a fancy French restaurant where we all proceeded to gorge ourselves on fois gros, red meat, cheese, wine, and other western treats and got food poisoning as our payment. Cambodia, we will miss you and look forward to returning one day to stay in your fancy hotels where moto/cyclo and tuk-tuk drivers are forbidden.