Angkor Thom

The next stop in our day was to Angkor Thom. This was the site of the infamous (in my mind) camera swipe. It was definitely worth another visit. There are faces carved in to so many parts of this temple. Really, the photos do not do it justice.

Here is the family on the way in. Feeling a little worn out already?

Mommy and Alessandra

Mommy and Olivia

Olivia and a giant face

I love this photo!

And, another benefit to having Sima with us. Family photos!! This one was taken through a window (duh) that we had to climb some crazy stairs to get to.

Olivia - hey, Olivia - look behind you!

One of our favorite faces

If only Brad had told me to "flex" my muscle, this shot would have made me look really tough.

One of many people who asked to get their photo taken with the kids. This time Alessandra even gave a smile! (I rarely think to get out my camera too!)

We are all so much happier after we have been climbing around in old temple ruins!

This is outside of Angkor Thom. We loved these elephants.

The next three photos just make me chuckle. Note the succession and movement of our child/ren.

note: this post dedicated to my old family friend Thom Kennedy. You just can't go to a place called Angkor Thom without thinking of Thom.

Quote of today...

Hi. I have lots of posts to catch up on (like a certain someones 7 year old birthday for example), however, I only have a moment and needed to share.

This morning Alessandra comes into our room and says:

Alessandra: "Mom, how many schools are there?"
Me: "Well, there are a lot"
Alessandra: "yes, but how many?"
Me: "Well, there are a lot. There are all of the American schools, and the Japanese schools... so, a lot"
Alessandra: "yes, and don't forget the fish schools"
Me: "yes, there are a lot of schools of fish. And do you think the fish do lessons like you do at school?"
Alessandra: "yes, but mostly swim lessons"

Smarty pants.

Angkor Wat

I need to start out "Day 3, Cambodia" with a quick note about Alessandra. One of our favorite quotes about Alessandra is: "Alessandra does, what Alessandra does" Being in a third world country (or two of them for that matter) didn't seem to effect her too much. She was still her same rambunctious self.

We started out Day 3 coming into Angkor Wat (very early) and from a different entrance than we did on the first visit. We were dropped of by a simply guarded road (with our guide) and had to walk. Alessandra took this opportunity to get in a morning jog (in which she promptly fell and we had our first band-aid of the day. Here she is making a run for it...

Another thing that we didn't realize we were going to get on this portion of our trip was some flora and fauna lessons from Sima. He taught the girls how to dig up the termites. (he also talked to them about eating them, but they didn't go for it).

We had many stops along our way that included what you see here. Girls with sticks, finding termites.

Upon our walk we finally come upon the first building in this complex.

After leaving the gate house, we continued down the path until we could finally see the towers of Angkor Wat in front of us.

Oh, and let me not forget to comment on the Monkey's that were just roaming around everywhere...

Our family in front of one of the sides of the temple. We were visiting Siem Reap during the Khmer New Year, we were told that some high profile people had paid a lot of money to have a celebration at the Angkor Wat complex, thus the stage being set up behind us.

The awesomeness of this place is really beyond words. The best part: seeing it with this guy.

On our nature part of our trip, Sima also showed the girls these plants that would curl up if you touched them. "Touch Me Nots" Alessandra in contemplation about the plant in front of her.

Cute girls in front of a long hallway.

One of my favorite shots. Looking down one of the open walkway areas - can you see us?

Our sweet models giving us some perspective on size. This was only one part of a small section of the temple.

Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu Temple. Check out the hyper link if you would like more information.

Olivia in front of a carving of some Apsara. (and wearing her Kroma - traditionally used for all sorts of things, but also used as a fashion statement for 6 year olds)

Stopping to administer yet more first aid. Alessandra likes to jump. I remember my friend Sara who traveled with her family all over the middle east but who stated something about her 3 year old Sam who was happy as long as he had rocks to throw. Alessandra is the same - only with jumping.

This is a shot of the upper temple area. You could wait in the line (behind Alessandra) to go up the steps and inside. Brad did it the first time we were there.

Brad in front of the original stairs that led up to the top. They were quite steep and not very deep.

Here is a window that of course made sense to climb into for a photo op. Alessandra from the inside out.

Olivia from the outside, in.

Many Buddhas, and many...

Buddha's without heads.
Sadly, through the years many of the artifacts have been taken out of the temples and sold on the black market. Head and hands, mostly.

These are some of the internal "pools" that held fresh water.

Monks coming in to pray.

Our family in front of one of the reflection pools.

Cambodia - Day 2

After a rough night of sleep (due to the A/C again conking out on us and just being in yet another new place), we were scheduled to meet our guide after an early breakfast.

Another perk to a B&B - BREAKFAST. At Journey's Within, you place your order the night before and it is fresh and ready for you in the morning. Delicious food and OH, THE FRUIT. Yum.

Before I go any further (and before I go completely out of order), let me tell of the temples we visit in tomorrows encounters. (It will go better with the pictures).

We had one bad moment on this day. Our camera (which I have mentioned before) was taken when we were visiting Angkor Thom. Sad to say, it wasn't the camera I was sad about, but the photos of simply that day and the night before (because as you have seen, I had already downloaded our photos of Vietnam). The sites from that day were SO wonderful for us, that we decided to go back the next day and revisit them with our new camera so that we would be able to have some photographic representation of our visit.

So, here we are after the purchase of a new camera. Alessandra is thrilled, as you can tell.



Here is our jovial guide Sima

We were on our own this night. We took a tuk tuk into town for dinner (after a nap and a swim). Here are the girls and their daddy.

Oh yes, and I have also included a very windy video of out tuk-tuk ride. Not terribly interesting, but my favorite part is the driver with his helmet unbuckled. (and for the record, when he picked us up after dinner, there was no helmet at all... must be a "before dark" rule).

A lovely place for dinner. Brad and I pretended we were on a date, with fancy drinks.

The girls on our "date". We have yet to figure out how exactly they can run around right after dinner, but they happened to find a grassy area (or knoll if you will) in the restaurant. Who were we to not be rude foreigners and let them run? The few guests who were there had a good laugh (we were eating early) and the girls were happy (and sweaty) upon the return to the B&B.

Cambodia - Day 1

Enter: Cambodia.

We were more amply prepared for the Vietnam Airlines trip through Saigon to Siem Reap (than we were for the first leg of Vietnam). Our trip was fairly uneventful and we made it into Siem Reap around mid-day. The first thing we noticed: Hot and Sunny. We were prepared for it, but sort of like coming into Okinawa - hits you right off of the plane.

We headed right to our Bed and Breakfast. Journey's Within is a special place (more on that later). We were greeted with FRESH pineapple juice and a chat with the owner and some of the staff. We got checked in and headed to our room. Our room was listed as the "Family Villa". It was a 2 story space, with 2 bathrooms. Lovely. There was also a kitchen that housed a refrigerator with a note that told us that all drinks were complimentary, except for the beer. All good.

Unfortunately, that first day did a number on the A/C (or air-con as everyone there kept calling it). It would simply not work, or the fuses kept blowing. Needless to say, we were a bit frustrated, but they took care of us and put us in another room so that we could nap the girls. After naps, a swim was in order (of course!) and then we got ready for dinner.

We headed to a Cambodian Theater/Dinner show. The girls wore there fancy Vietnamese outfits (Au Dai's). The food was lovely and the show was very nice. Lots of dancing, including one of the most popular Khmer traditional dances the Apsara. I have included video below of a similar performance. Alessandra and Olivia were mesmerized by the dancers and the music. Unfortunately I don't have any photos from that night since our camera was stolen the next day, however, it was a lovely Day 1 in Cambodia.