Day 55-60 Siem Reap: Part 1

This place had to be good because we're stuck here for a whole week ...

And it is!!

We started our first full day with a trip to the temples of Angkor.

We hadn't realised just how big it is. Angkor is about five times the size of the whole of Siem Reap or something (that is a huge guess).

We got tickets for three days, which were $40 and you can use them on any three days across a week.

A tuk tuk was $15 between us and they drive you there and to whichever temples you want to go to, then back again.

For the first day we mostly stuck to the area of Angkor Thom..

We went in through the South Gate..

Then to Bayon which was amazing.

It wasn't too busy and it was huge, so you just roam around and get lost in all of the corridors and fallen concrete (which I did)..

Then Baphuon (which me and Marie weren't allowed in because we wore shorts.. oops)

Then the Terrace of Elephants..

Phimeankas temple..

Terrace of the Leper King.

Next we went to Ta Prohm, which is where Tomb Raider was filmed.

This was incredible! We were all in awe of the trees and couldn't get our heads around it!

Then we watched the sunset at Pre-Rup.

When we got back, we walked over to the main bit and to Pub Street where, as you can imagine, all the nightlife is.

We met up with Carly, who we were with in Chiang Mai and we went to Temple and Angkor Wat? Bars.

It's Khmer New Year at the moment and it lasts for a few days, so the mood everywhere is high. Plus Cambodians are lovely anyway!

On the way home, we stopped for some street food and experienced our first proof of reality / racism since we've been travelling.

We always suspected locals paid more than foreigners but were never sure.

We sat with some nice local guys and were chatting to them. They ordered our food (because we said theirs looked nice) and they said it was $1.50

When it came to paying we gave $1.50 and they said, no it's $2 for you.

The guys looked apologetic and said "sorry we forgot you have to pay more."

They also had jugs of drink and cups of ice that was complimentary to all but that we didn't receive.

It was some of the nicest street food we've had though so who cares eh?

The next day, we moved from Angkor Kingdom Hostel (which was very nice) to Downtown hostel.

All of the prices are up at the moment for the new year too so it is definitely pricier.

It was 'movie night' at the hostel, then we went to pub street for some new year celebrations.

And what a night it was!!!!

We joined in with the local dances and soon became involved in many talcum powder fights.

All of the locals were very welcoming and happy to invite you to dance with them and teach you their dances.

They had huge games of tug of war too which involved half of the street!

The next day was another temple day.

We got bikes out and cycled there in the afternoon. We planned to see Angkor Wat and the do the 'Small Circuit' route.

It was ridiculously busy and by the tine we'd done Angkor, looked at cute monkeys, cycled a lot and got lost multiple times, the sun had set.

So we just have to squeeze the small circuit and big circuit in next time!

Note: there will be much better pictures of Angkor Wat in the next post!

Our roomate who works at the hostel gave us an (unopened) bottle of whiskey he didn't want..... Win!

So we played cards..

Then went out again for the new year.

We thought the first night of new year was busy but this just took it to a whole new level.

The streets were jam packed with locals and tourists and it was basically one ginormous water and talcum powder fight!

Brilliant!

Marie is very keen for this to catch on in the UK and we thought the best way could maybe start with a Guinness World Record, then it might carry on each year?

But we'd tell people to only get regular talcum powder because the scented or menthol kind stings like hell on your face and when it's thrown in your eyes!

Nursing hangovers and a talcum powder covered wardrobe, we just spent the next day by the pool.

In the evening we went to a restaurant that's always full of locals (the easiest way to tell if it's good). We walk past it every day and always fancy it, although it is a bit pricier (around $4 for a dish).

we managed to squeeze onto a table with two westerners who let us sit with them and we sourced our own menus.

Then after about 20 minutes of getting ignored by about seven people when we asked if we could order..we just walked out and went somewhere else.

Siem Reap.. to be continued (containing birthdays, Angkor Wat and more alcohol.