Yesterday morning I woke to my alarm at 6:00am, and began my journey of travelling to Cambodia. I boarded my plan for Guangzhou, China and waited the excruciating 3 hours for my final flight to Siem Reap. As I stepped off the plane, talking to a fellow English teacher from Seoul who will also be here for the same amount of time as me, we both relished the humid, hot air around us. He is from Florida too, which explains why he enjoyed the heat as much as I did. After getting through customs and showing my visa, I went outside hoping and praying someone would be there to pick me up like my hostel said. Everything I had booked could fall through or not even show up. I was putting my life and trust into various companies and people I knew nothing about. But after my fellow teacher friend left, I looked around for my name and sure enough! There was someone waiting for me from my hostel! So I climbed into my tuk tuk and made my way through townl! I'll be honest, it was all overwhelming at first. I had landed just as the sun was setting, and entering any town or city for the first time in the dark is always intimidating to me. I was scared, nervous and excited beyond belief! I didn't know what to expect or how to feel about being here. Everything was pitch black except for the buildings, there were tuk tuks and motor bikes with anywhere from 1 to 5 people on them, crazy drivers who didn't seem to obey any rules (including mine, who would weave into oncoming traffic to get around slower cars, tuk tuks or motorbikes in front of us). At one point he turned on to a darker street and I thought: please don't kill me! Then quickly laughed at myself and couldn't help but smile at the excitment of it all! Once I arrived, I checked in no problem (couldn't help but notice the guests who signed in above me were from Israel! How cool is that?), took a quick shower (can't figure out how to make the shower hot yet . . .) watched a movie and feel asleep around 11:30 local time.
Morning came quickly enough, and by 9am, I was entering the compound for the Angkor Wat temples with my tiny tour group of 3 (including me, not including the driver and tour guide). The two other folks with me were both gentlemen and far older then myself. One man was from Italy and currently living/working in Beijing, and the other from France is currently living/working in London. Of course I'm an American living and working in Korea- I love funny things like that. :) We explored six various temples, all of which were gorgeous and beautiful in their own way. The first was the temple used for the tomb raider movie, and had the most beautiful trees growing within the compound you could imagine. The forest was taking it back slowly, and man I didn't mind! The second offered this spectacular view of the surrounding area. Close your eyes and imagine lush green jungle trees, pinkish/brown sand and tops of temples peaking through the tree tops when you looked to the north. Yes, it is heaven. The others had amazing details, beautiful views, and just stunning architecture that I can not even attempt to describe to you. I will allow my photos to speak for themselves later.
We also made time to explore a small museum that dealt with de-mining in Cambodia. It was honestly truly fascinating and interesting to learn about this, as I don't know a lot about the history of Cambodia at all. There are still an estimated 3-6 million mines active in Cambodia! And they are still killing and maiming people as well. This one man, with the help of various organizations, countries and volunteers, is working to either safely detonate or defuse the bombs as a way of making Cambodia safer. The museum is also working as an orphanage for children who have lost their parents or been hurt themselves by these mines still littering Cambodia. It was wonderful and horrifying to learn all at once.
Our day ended around 5 when my tour guide returned me to my hostel. I chilled for a few with a $.50 glass of iced tea (so cheap, I love it!) before hoping on the back of a motor bike and riding into town to get the last of my money exchanged. It was exciting, exhilarating, and scary all at once. At a few points I was thinking: please don't get me killed! I couldn't help but smile though! Yes, I'm in a third world country, but the people are so friendly, I feel amazingly safe, and love seeing Cambodian and tourists mixed together in this town. The man returned me to my hostel, where I immediately turned around and walked out again. I wandered the streets, explored the river, and found a little place to have dinner. I enjoyed delicious lemon grass tea and amok (curry) chicken. It was delicious, cheap, and filling! I also took some rather awesome photos (if I do say so myself) of all the traffic that comes through these little streets. I'm now sitting at one of the hostel computers and enjoying the wonderful humid air before going back to my room to take a shower (yay!!!).
Let me say this to anyone reading who has ever thought about traveling somewhere, but held back for fear of doing so solo; Being here is amazing!!! Screw having a travel buddy! You don't need to have someone by your side to enjoy the amazing qualities of any country!!! This ROCKS!!!!!! Just do it, and you'll be surprised at who you meet along the way, and how much fun you have by yourself. I would do this again any day, and will Never Again allow fear to hold me back!
The only thing I'd change for next time: getting a hostel or hotel with a swimming pool. xD
Loving Life and You,
Rita
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