The bus would depart at 8:30 so we would be picked up at 7:30. For $10 a ticket we would take a 6 hour ride in this cramped bus. They had placed us in seats located over the back wheel which meant that there was a hump at our feet making even less room for our legs. Now, for Cheri and I this was an inconvenience, for Nate, however, this was not going to work. I would put Nate at about 6' 3". With legs that long you need all the room you can get. Nate was able to negotiate seats one row behind. While it was still quite cramped it was an improvement. As for my seat, I was still in the row with the hump but I was in an isle seat next to a local cambodian man. I'm sure he was very nice but the thought of sitting next to a stranger for the next 6 hours and not in a window seat didn't thrill me. As the bus started Cheri and Nate's abandon seats lay vacant so I took the liberty of sliding across the isle and occupying both seats.
For the next 6 hours we bumped along on a partially paved road under construction. At times there was so much dust in the air that I resorted to pulling my scarf over my mouth to filter the air. The ride made Nate, a normally strong stomached traveler, slightly nauseous. Despite the discomfort of the ride the scenery made it all worthwhile. The glimpses into Cambodian life were eye opening. The whole way of the drive the road was lined with simples wood homes on stilts with a ladder or stairs leading to the entrance. There were children and/or livestock in the front, dirt lawns and under the house where hammocks were hung. There was often freshly harvested rice laid out on tarps. I wondered what the purpose of walking through the rice with bare feet was. was it part of the process of separating the husk from the grain? Many of the homes had deep, wide pits in front that looked like perhaps they collected water during rainy season but for what purpose I'm unsure. There were also scarecrows at the entrances to several of the properties along the way. But they were different than the scarecrows I'm used to seeing. These had scary looking faces and some had pretend swords or guns in their hands. I learned later on what there were for. You'll have to wait to find out!
It was about 2:30 PM when we finally rolled into Siem Reap. We transferred from the bus to another bus to a tuk-tuk that finally took us to our hotel. Along the way he asked if we were interested in his services to drive us around Angkor Wat. He then gave us a price we could not turn down- $5 for the rest of the day, $12 for the next day and $15 for the following day. We told him to pick us up at 4:30 which would give us time to drop off our bags and prepare to head out and take in the sunset at a hill above Angkor Wat.
We walked into our hotel and the staff broke the news to us that they had overbooked and didn't have a room for us. They made a few phone calls and had us taken down the street to another hotel where we would spend one night and then transfer to the hotel we had originally booked. What could we do? We agreed.
We then met up with our driver and headed off to Angkor to see the sunset. On the way we had to stop at the entrance to pay the $40 fee. We started at THE Angkor Wat taking just a few minutes to enjoy the majesty of the ruins. While we were there admiring the beauty and intricacy of the stone carvings and architecture a monk struck up conversation with Nate. They talked for a while while Cheri and I continued our tour. I think the conversation ended when the monk (23 years old) asked Nate if he could all him father. That made us all laugh. We said goodbye to our new friend and then joined the masses of other tourists on a walk up a hill to enjoy the sunset from atop another temple. While the fact that we were with about a thousand other tourists did detract from the romance of the ruins in the light of the sunset it was still a beautiful sight. The silhouettes brought out in the setting sun, the color of the sky...I had to take a breath as I brought myself to the reality of where I was.
The sun set quickly and we all made our way back down the hill just as it was becoming dark enough to need a flash light. We had again met up with our monk friend at the top of the hill and so again, we said goodbye and headed back to town in our tuk-tuk.
The driver took us to Pub Street where we were able to choose from a number restaurants. We decided on one serving Khmer food and I selected the traditional Anok dish, a delicious fish curry and which I shall miss. Then it was off to the "Noon Night Market" which confused us a bit but we went anyway. The market was just like the ones in Bangkok. Even the products were the same. I came away with 2 Angkor Wat t-shirts and a hand embroidered pillow cases showing a scene of country life. Knowing we would meet the driver the next morning at 5 a.m. we headed home and crashed in bed.
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