It was late when we arrived to the surprisingly nice airport in Siem Reap, and it was the most challenging to get through in terms of security. We paid for visas on arrival, which were $60 USD a piece, and then we had to go through customs.

When we walked out with our bags we expected to find our driver from the hotel... However, no one was there despite having it confirmed. We ended up having to hire a driver to take us, which was a breeze. Our driver found our hotel, Chronicle Residence & Spa easily, and headed in to check in. I informed the gentleman at the front desk, and he took care of the issues. We were escorted to our room & given a wonderful tour. It was unconventional, but showed their level of hospitality! At bed time, we realized we still needed to book the sunrise tour for Angkor Wat the next morning, so Brad called the reception desk and they took care of it for us.

We had requested a tuk-tuk but the next morning, but we were put in a car instead, which I think was their way of covering for their mistake the night before, but also was a welcome change since it was raining. Our driver drove us in & dropped us off at the ticket center. Once we had our day pass, we were brought to the front of Angkor Wat for the sunrise...

The morning truly did not go as planned. The rain was really pouring down wile we were waiting to buy our tickets, but thankful as we approached the massive temple, the heaping buckets of rain slowed to the lightest drizzle.... When I pulled my camera out, it fogged out so much that it was basically useless. .... It wasn't much of a sunrise view, but I still got some decent photos considering the conditions... We called our driver, on the phone provided by the hotel, to come get us and take us back to the hotel. We figured it would be smart to get some of our free breakfast before we did the rest of our exploring. We journeyed back for a relaxed morning over breakfast, and was able to get my camera back into working order, which was handy.

Once we were ready to go again, we headed out of the hotel on foot in hopes to find a tuk-tuk, We walked for about 10 minutes, before we stopped in a very small shop to get water and quickly after got in a tuk-tuk that stopped for us on the side of the road. Our new driver drove us back into the park, and to the front of Angkor Wat. We started again. We crossed the bridge into the main entry in awe of the beautiful and intricate detailing. We kept going, wandering down the steps in the grassy fields below, away from the main path. There were dragonflies flittering everywhere. As we encroached upon the main structure we came across some monkeys resting and grooming each other in the shade upon some ruins.

As we made our way into the heart of the temple, we entered through one of the side entries and then went left to the main walkway. As soon as we walked in, you notice all the people taking in all the grandeur. ...and all the selfie sticks and umbrellas for sun protection. It was all so overwhelming. It was so humid that it seemed as if I were instantly wet from the amount of moisture in the air. We sauntered around a little bit, and then got in line to go up the shockingly steep steps to the top of the temple. When we reached the pinnacle of our climb, the view was astounding! We could see all the people coming and going, the hazy view went on for miles, or should I say kilometers?

We climbed back down. We looked around a bit more before heading back out the other side to go find lunch. We ate at one of the cafes outside of the park called Angkor Cafe. I got a bowl of soup & Brad had a sandwich, and we finished it up with ice cream. It was so light and refreshing!

Once we were done with lunch and slightly rested, we were feeling bold enough to continue our excursion fo the day. This time we headed up the main way of Angkor Wat and cut through. We ended up on a journey down a beautiful dirt road behind Angkor Wat. As we followed it along past a couple of ruins, we eventually reached a point of having to take a tuk-tuk, or attempt to walk. We figured we would walk blissfully unaware of how large the Angkor area actually was. Despite my research, Angkor was far larger than I realized, and this put us at a disadvantage. We continued walking, ignorant to the fact that we were getting nowhere anytime soon. As time went on we started to debate if we should turn back, when suddenly a couple of other tourists from South Africa stopped & offered to share their tuk-tuk with us. We were really grateful, and headed to our first alternate temple...

We started at Banteay Kdei Temple... I just remember thinking it was really neat to be walking along ancient ruins.... We followed the long road in and followed it right back out once we hit the end, while simultaneously wandering through the ruins. As we left, I was able to pick up a striking watercolor painting of Angkor Wat, and the best part was that it only cost us $8 USD.

We weren't sure where the two girls were that we came with, but we knew we needed to get our own tuk-tuk anyways. We waited around for a little bit, with no luck. All the ones that were there, were already hired for other guests. We ended up wandering across the way to use the bathrooms, and then waited on the street corner in hopes that someone would see us and offer us a ride... Finally it happened! After about 30 minutes, we had our own tuk-tuk.

He was taking us on an adventure to Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple) & Angkor Thom (Bayon Temple). He dropped us off at the front of Ta Prohm, and told us to meet him at the other end. He did the same with Angkor Thom... Both of these temples were more crowded, especially Angkor Thom. Both were incredibly intriguing places to visit, but I have to say, Angkor Thom fascinated me the most. Here are some photos from both.

Ta Prohm:

Angkor Thom:

It was a really long day, and we were exhausted. So after our magical monk experience at Angkor Thom, we asked our Tuk-Tuk driver to take us back to our hotel... Our timing was just about perfect, as soon as we reached the point of Angkor Wat it started to rain again, and as we drove on it only began to rain harder and harder.

When we got to the hotel, we jumped out of the tuk-tuk, and ran in as quick as possible, feeling guilty about our muddy footprints that we left in the lobby. We went upstairs, took our showers, and then ended up passing out for about an hour.

When we awoke, we were craving dinner... but not just any dinner, Indian food. We looked for a place, but were coming up short. When we went down stairs to request a ride they made an excellent suggestion, The Curry Walla. Their chicken korma & naan were so delicious that we just scarfed it down.

With bellies full and the bill paid, we wandered a little bit. We found a place called Blue Pumpkin, a small cafe offering pastries, light meals, and ice cream. A couple of scoops of ice cream was a great way to finish off our dinner outing. With plenty of R&R we hit the streets once more and ended up running into Pub Street. What a funny place... There was lots of action here. Large karaoke bars open to the streets, more bars, more restaurants, vendors, shops... It was happening! After the day Brad & I had though, we were tired and sore. We weren't out and about too much longer. We probably explored for about an hour before we headed back toward the restaurant. When we got back to The Curry Walla, we used the hotel's phone again to call the driver. We ended up waiting way longer than we probably should have, but it's Cambodia, what can ya do? When we got in the car we ended up going back to Pub Street to pick up a couple of guys that had been partying. While I was really happy for them, I just really wanted my bed.

The next morning we woke up at a fairly normal hour, got our bags partially packed, went to have a delicious breakfast, then went back to the room to finish packing. We eventually made our way down stairs to check out and were then on our way to the airport for our final chapter.

ISSUE 25: Siem Reap, Cambodia 2016