Siem Reap

Angkor Wat at Sunrise

Siem Reap has exploded in recent years with the increase in tourism.  We went to the temples for the sunrise, it was cold, and not all that colorful but it was neat to be there, walking through Angkor Wat in the dark (with thousands of other tourists).  It reminded me a bit of Sukhothai, although on a grander scale, and more intact, and we could walk through the buildings.  My favorite was a temple with stone heads all over the place.  We also saw Ta Prohm which is the one where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed.  It’s amazing to thing about how much work went into the temples.  Just transporting the stones without the help of cranes and tractor trailers is amazing.

Tay at Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

We had a very un-Christmassy Christmas.  Tay hasn’t been feeling well so we had a lazy morning and then headed out for a nice boat trip to a floating village.  It was really interesting to see and kind of reminded me of the clan jetties in Penang except that the houses actually float, they aren’t just built on stilts.  During the rainy season the move their houses to a different part of the river.  They use the river for everything: drinking, cooking, washing clothes.  We saw a man taking a bath off of the side of a boat and women fishing with nets.

The parents and I took a cooking class at a restaurant where we had watched an Aswara dance our first evening in Siem Reap.  The dancing was interesting, although not as exciting as Indian and Tamil dances.  The dancers moved very slowly and methodically.  They were wearing beautiful, elegant dresses.  The cooking class was fun.  I made fresh spring rolls and the rice paper was fascinating.  It looked kind of like mesh before she got it wet.  I wonder how it was made.  We went to an artisan’s workshop, run by the same people as the silk place, but this one has stone carvers and metal workers.

Bayon Temple

Bayon Temple