slow boat to china

Well, really it was a slow boat to Siem Reap, Cambodia, but it felt like we should have made it to china in the long 6 hrs. After the long bus ride the day before Y and I decided to opt for the more expensive ($35 vs. $7) boat ride over the bus ride. Although it was 5x the price, it was an hr shorter, and it wasn't a bus. We also opted to ride on the roof of the boat instead of inside so we could sight-see at the same time. It was risky b/c we didn't really know how fast it was going to go, but when a crew of college kids from HI and the old french couple plopped down next to us, we figured they would fly off first and give us good warning. It was a nice way to spend a few hours watching the fishermen cast nets, waving to the kids, and looking at the floating houses & villages up the river. Beyond the houses we could see the rice fields and farms since the land is very flat. It was all interesting for...about the first 3 hrs, but on the 4th hour we entered a huge lake and couldnt see land. With the strong sun and the constant wind of the speed boat, I think we both could have done without the last few hours. After an extremely dusty tuk tuk ride to our hotel, we were in rough shape. But the simply pleasant hotel was a nice relief. Thank god I spent the extra $5 for the hotel with the swanky lobby and pool.

We didn't do much after we cleaned ourselves up, but managed to drag ourselves to dinner and do a little trinket shopping. Sadly we were in bed by 9pm b/c we hired a tuk tuk and guide to pick us up at 5am to see the sunrise over the main temple of Angkor Wat. After 3 days of getting out of bed before 6am, we barely put on pants to get downstairs by 5. But we figured it was worth it b/c we pictured a peaceful, spiritual sunrise in the jungle over these beautiful temples...well, so did the other 100s of tourists that flocked in in bus loads. After waiting an hr and a half with the other hundred people, we snapped a few pictures and headed back to our hotel for breakfast. We agreed we could have missed the sunrise and welcomed a few more hours of sleep.

After breakfast our guide picked us up and shuttled us around to some of the hundreds of temples & ruins surrounding the city. Y and I were skeptical of our attention span, since we both admit we tire easily of seeing temple after temple and palace after palace, but these were pretty amazing. We powered through til 230 when we almost fainted into our lunch chairs. After lunch we saw a few more sites, but then the heat & exhaustion got the better of us. The pool had been calling my name since mid-morning. In true classy style we BYO white wine to the pool and spent the rest of the late afternoon swimming.

Tonight I think we're heading out to an open market area where there are several street BBQ places. But b/c we are glutton for punishment, we'll have to turn in early for another early wake up call. We signed up for a bike tour in the country for the morning with a 7am pick up (it's possible one of us was a little more enthusiastic about this tour choice). But since the area is almost all flat and the roads outside of the city seem pretty quite, or at least not deathly scary, I think we'll manage. Plus we'll be with a tour, so there are bound to be fat, lazy tourists that will get taken out by the bus loads of Korean tourists before Y and I. That's how we roll, as long as there are other tourists that are sure to bear the brunt first, we jump right in. Other american, and for sure british tourists are our vacation canaries in the coal mine. We just have to be careful not to mistake the Aussies for our gauge, they are much tougher and sportier than Y or I.
Hopefully we wont end up on an Australian bike tour tomorrow...Y will never forgive me.