The (Glorious) Kingdom of Cambodia

French Inspired Architecture...

Our immediate first thoughts about the town of Siem Reap is that it looks like it is a tropical French town plopped down into the middle of Cambodia. However, it lacks the order and cleanliness of typical European cities, which I liked quite a lot. Some of the streets were solely pedestrian alleyways lined with adorable boutiques and delicious eateries. 

Wanderlust.

One of the pedestrian passages. 

Typical street in Siem Reap.

There were too many cool boutiques to count!

This place was called 'Poetry.' and had quotes from poems allover its walls. <3

The traditional dishes of Cambodia - the Fish Amok is exceptional.

Bells in the Old Market.

I absolutely love these teapots. 

Street leading to our hostel.

Other streets that lined the markets were hectic and full of shouting tuk tuk drivers and vendors. It typically sounded like, "do you want something ladyyyyyyyyy?"

Cambodia definitely has the most forward culture we have encountered on our trip. We started a counter on the number of times we were asked if we wanted a tuk tuk and it went well over 100 in our 5 days there!

Waterway leading to the biggest night market in town.

At night, they shutdown Pub Street, which is lined with hip bars, lounges, and cafes, so that people can meander from place to place. I really liked the concept. Right outside that area, outdoor street cafes are set up around dusk  to serve dinner. Equipped with an outdoor stove, plastic patio tables, and fresh ingredients, they serve up some of the most exquisite and affordable food in town. We enjoyed both sides of Siem Reap during our stay there.

Noodles with chicken and steamed vegetables from one of the outdoor restaurants.

"My Country. My Beer"

Jaw-dropping Angkor...

First things first, meet Sam Eon. He was our incredible, always beaming tuk tuk driver for 3 days. He was so sweet to us. He packed us lots of cold waters and would occasionally give us moist washclothes (when we must have been looking super rough). Thanks Sam!

Our most common view of Sam; meet the back of his head! 

Sam and his tuk tuk (:

The ruins sit upright in ancient glory. Surrounded by a luscious forest, full of monkeys and birds, the Khmer Empire's remains will really take your breath away. The detailing in every temple among the archways, statues, hallways, columns, etc is divine. The way the roots of the trees have worked their way into the temples creates a oneness with nature that I haven't encountered anywhere else in my travels. It is quite suitable that Angkor is a place for the flourishment of Buddhism.

My favorite temple.

Sunrise over Angkor Wat.

I was obsessed...they are so adorable!

Angkor Wat in the background.

Many Cambodian families still live in the area. Some children swim in the lake that surrounds Angkor Wat in its entirety. It is adorable. When we were on our bikes around Angkor, many children would wave and scream out a squeaky "hi". It still brings a huge smile to my face. If you didn't know...two of my kryptonites are tiny children pedaling on adult sized bikes and tiny children wearing equally tiny backpacks. I couldn't resist to scream out each time we spotted one. So freaking adorable!

The first two days we visited all the temples. Walking through the halls was like being enveloped further into the Khmer past; I can only imagine how it used to have looked. Did you know that Angkor Wat was built around the same time as Notre Dame in Paris? It is quite a weird thought when you compare the two side by side and they seem worlds apart. Well, first of all, they are worlds apart. But Angkor Wat looks so much more ancient than the famous French cathedral. I wish I could describe the vastness of Angkor but it would do no good to try. It is beyond description. You could spend weeks wandering aimlessly throughout the ruins and still find new intricacies to the place. It is that immaculate. Here are some pictures of us wandering...

At the end of our 2nd day, Sam drove us out to a more rural temple, which proved to be very worth it. While the temple was very nice, I couldn't stop basking in the true Cambodian countryside as we passed through numerous villages full of life. The water buffalo graze the saharan fields full of sparce palms while the children and their parents walk, bike, or motorbike to and fro.

Since Ayutthaya, Thailand, I have been pondering the way of life of Buddhists. It is so purely beautiful and simple - more spiritual than religious in my eyes. The Eightfold Path is the most important thing to follow to live a life free of worldly desires to reach Enlightenment. Ever since picking up a book on the practice of Buddhism, I look at monks with such admiration - they live a life of utter simplicity and discipline.

I wonder how many we have passed in our travels that have reached Enlightenment. It is said, in that moment, everything in the world makes sense.

There were a lot of butterflies around the temples (:

On our third and final day to the UNESCO site, we biked the 10 km to Angkor Wat and journaled the afternoon away. It was a perfect capstone to our 3 day relationship with the Khmer Empire's ruins.

Angkor Wat is directly behind Jen.

Flesh-eating Fish...

On our last in town, we walked around the night markets after dinner and decided to take a plunge..

And have our feet pecked at by fish!

Yes, we had our feet massaged by hundreds of flesh-eating fish. Although it was a very weird feeling at first, it ended up being awesome! Plus, our feet were so smooth after twenty minutes.

Afterwards, we got foot massages by blind masseuses; in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, there are many blind massage schools to train those who would otherwise be out of work. It is a wonderful model.

Off to Viet Nam! (We also went to Cambodia's capital for one night)

All my love,
Emma