Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, Cambodia. I wanted to spend hours poking around the corners and investigating the carvings. 

Instead we stumbled around following many tourists and trying not to collapse from illness and heat. 

Seriously, we've never walked so little and required so much rest. 

And after 10 days of illness and resting ourselves in bed we were feeling so much better. We really thought that we could spend the whole day in the temples. 

Nope. Look, I'm dead in the eyes. We should have known considering that walking down 2 floors in the hotel to get a bottle of water was utterly exhausting. We watched a lot of CSI and House because you can only watch so much KTV (sort of a Cambodian karaoke sing-along?). 

TJ couldn't even fake a smile. 

If you look at this statue you can see that no one can resist putting their greasy hands on this Apsara dancers boobs. 

It is possible to climb up to the top of one of those towers. We got tired looking at it, so no climbing. I had even brought a long sleeved top to be respectful while up in the highest part of Angkor Wat. 

After a little over an hour we slowly made our way back to the tuk-tuk and insisted we go back to the hotel. 

This is the best photo of the two of us. We couldn't be bothered try again. Ugh. Oh well. We'll just have to go back someday! 

Kep

Kep is just down the coast from Sihanoukville. It has a lovely crescent shaped beach. 

At one point there were many orange-robes monks making their way to this lady. It looked so magical and I wish there had been room in my bathing suit for a camera. 

Our hotel had a wide covered balcony. It was perfect to sit there and watch the nightly deluge of rain while playing cards. According to an American 'local' it shouldn't still be raining at this time since it's heading into the dry season. 

There was also the most ENORMOUS gecko in roof vents in our room. Don't worry he couldn't get all the way in. And he wasn't stuck. He was just huge. 

We walked down to the crab market where many many restaurants are jutting out over the sea. And people are selling live seafood and the famous Kampot pepper. 

While playing cards and waiting for lunch we watched the women wade out to their crab traps to check on their livelihood. 

For less than $7 I got 2 huge crabs cooked to perfection in a Kampot pepper sauce. Bliss. 

Not at all ladylike but absolutely delicious!

Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville is a seaside town in Cambodia. You can swim, walk on the beach, drink a bucket of something if you so desire. Oh, and you can also get cheap 'happy' pizzas. 

Yes, a happy herb pizza is just what you think it is. A pizza with some green, herbal stuff sprinkled on top. And yes we did get one. And for over a day we grinned wildly at each other and felt ill. Never again. 

The beach was really nice because it was crawling with local children and families. It's nice that they actually are able to have the time to be able to use this local treasure. Other beaches we were at were only used by tourists. 

In the evenings the beach bars would pull lounge chairs and tables out onto the beach. We had a wonderful dinner of delicious Khmer curry on the beach, watching a storm roll in over the ocean. 

When TJ and I were there it was a holiday. This meant that all the hotels jacked up their prices to cash in on more people being around. We had our tuk-tuk driver take us around to 3 or 4 places before we found one that was a normal price. 

We were so happy to be in a smaller town after being in Phnom Penh for quite a while. And any place with a view of the ocean is a great place to be. 

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is a pretty big city. But it feels a bit small too. 

This was our very first experience with tuk-tuks. And the drivers who are constantly touting their wares. Even if I say 'no thank you' to 3 dudes in a row, the fourth will always still ask if I need a tuk-tuk. 

The Royal Palace was partially closed because the king of Cambodia died in the middle of October. People are able to go visit his remains and pay their respects for 3 months. They were also building a multi-storey pyre for him as well. 

ATMs are housed in little huts. It's kind of nice because usually they were air-conditioned. And sometimes had little geckos in them!

There were many street vendors selling all manner of things. This lady is selling what look like shells. They clearly have some sort of protein inside and are served with chilli sauce. Others were selling fried and seasoned cockroaches, large spiders, and snakes. 

Everything seems a little not quite legit. Even the gas station looks a little dodgy. 

And copyright doesn't seem to be a thing. Here's TJ and a 'Hooters' restaurant. 

I'm not sure what kind of safety standards there are either. This loaded up truck seems very unsafe to me. 

If you fancy getting your hair cut all you have to do is walk to the sidewalk across the street for a bit of snip!

When we were touring the Killing Fields someone took my shoes and left their shoes in place. They looked the same but did not fit at all. I had to go buy new sandals and the only ones that I could find were pretty Bogan-y. But the strawberries and cherries are pretty cute. 

Mekong Delta

After flying from Hanoi back to Ho Chi Minh City we went on an adventure to find a treat. We came up with a Batman Donut! And it was as delicious as it looks!

We decided that the best way to get to Cambodia was by boat through the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta produces over half of Vietnam's total rice production. The Mekong River makes it's way to the sea by breaking off into 9 rivers and many small tributaries. 

We toured around one of the main rivers and then climbed aboard small canoe-type boats to see where people live. TJ was unimpressed by the hats that we were given to protect us from the blazing sun. 

We even had the opportunity to help paddle the boat. 

Part of the tour was going to the floating markets. The small boats will tie pineapples, squash or whatever they have to sell to a pole on their boat. That way everyone can see what they have to offer. These children were taken out of school so that they could help earn money for their families. 

At one pineapple boat we were invited to climb up on the boat while the owners peeled a pineapple for you in front of your very eyes. 

It was like a pineapple pop! And only cost about 10 cents... From the top of the boat I could see the whole market and everyone going about their business. 

That is a lot of pineapples!

Beautiful water lilies and lotus flowers. 

We were taken to a pagoda and told to get out and come back to the van in 45 minutes. It was not on the itinerary and so very confusing since the driver didn't speak any English. But it was beautiful and we saw chilled out buddhas. 

And ninja buddhas. 

From the top of the pagoda we could see rice fields in every direction. 

For the last night in Vietnam we decided to go for traditional Vietnamese food. Pho again for me. Look at that plate of extra greens! What a treat! 

The next day we got closer to Cambodia in the small putt-putt boat. We saw many people just living their lives, dependant on the river system. 

We stopped by a Cham village where the people are practising Muslims. They make scarves and sarongs using traditional weaving looms. They also really wanted to dress TJ and I up. The older man in the background took one look at TJ and said "Arafat!". I should have bought a sarong, all the fabrics were just so pretty and obviously took a lot of work. 

We chose the slow boat option to Cambodia because it was a lot more scenic and a heck of a lot cheaper! It was slow but also really chilled out and beautiful.