Not sure I've ever been up at 4 am to start my touristic ways. Maybe when some roosters (Mexico) and dogs (Vietnam) were doing their thing but never on purpose.
My 4:40 pick up meant I was going to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. As I was one of the first ones to arrive, I had the front row view to the reflections of Angkor Wat in the water and I was not disappointed. Pro tip for future Cambodian travel: Angkor Wat is just one temple, there are bazillion, located kilometers from each other. Next time buy a 3 day pass and go a couple of hours each morning, don't plan on having a "temple day."
By 9 am, I was overheated and exhausted and after 4 hours of being in awe I had to go home and spend time with my bff, the A.C. I'm going to pretend the chef didn't call me uptight yesterday when I mentioned the heat but that's ok. I know my body's limits and tolerance for heat and humidity is not a strength I possess.
After my rest (read: sleep), I headed off to the Old Market and played a really good tourist for a minute. Magnet and a fantastic t-shirt (pics to come!) were purchased and Tom's req of 4 hands massage fulfilled.
David and Nak earlier told me that I need to have water blessing. A what?!
A monk met me at a Wat Arthea temple and waited until I changed into a wrap I had purchased earlier. I thought "water blessing" was a few drops on my head a la church style. Is that what happens? I don't even know!
The monk however did know as he proceeded to dump buckets and buckets of water on me, blessing me with good fortune, luck and all the wishes I have for myself while the water washed away all the bad in my life. Once done, I changed back into my regular clothes, was given a red Buddhist bracelet and had a moment to walk around the temple. Alone, I had a "pinch me" feeling I get every once in a while when I travel. I often talk about the power of Internet and how with it the world is that much smaller. How does one end up on a tiny off road temple in Cambodia being blessed by a monk? Oh that's right, the dude from Calgary organized it. I never finished the "Eat, Pray, Love" book but maybe now I should?
I have been asking Nak to take me to get street food and we have done so with various levels of success. The beauty of having a tuk tuk for personal transport is obvious, the downer is you are constantly on the move. Meat on a stiiiiick, oh wait, just drove by that. I had told him tonight I'm getting food from the street and I meant it. I saw some meat on a stick and Nak said "I'll take you to a better place." A minute later we pulled up to a restaurant. Nooooo. It was a local one but damn it, I was determined to eat off a cart. He took me 5 steps closer and let me off where all the carts were. I think he was mildly amused that I was gonna eat who-the-hell-knows-what and determined to negotiate without any vendors speaking English. Dinner: olives, egg sandwich and meat on a stick. I won!!!
After being disgusted with my low bar for food, Nak took me to a local fair and basically said knock yourself out. All of the sudden I had the trust to be let out in the wild! Various dried fruits later (I still don't know what one of them is!), nutella filled waffle on a stick and yet another coffee, I finally had my fill of local delicacies.
To finish of the eve: Phare, Cambodian Trip Advisor famous circus. The story line was a bit sad (based on a true story and reality sucks sometimes), the acrobats amazing. At the end of the eve, Nak showed up on a motorcycle, not a tuk tuk. I'll go ahead and check that off the list of my modes of transportation for the week.
It was a great way to end my time in SR and even though I'm moving on to Phnom Penh tomorrow, I don't think this is good bye.
Thank you for writing about your adventures.
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