I love Cambodia : Phnom Penh and Siem Reap

I'm late on posting as now we're in Luang Prabang, Laos but better late than never! 

It was an interesting experience having to cross a border over land. We first had to "check out" of Vietnam and apply for our Cambodia visa (you receive a one month visa upon arrival). 

Vietnam border

See ya Vietnam with all your motorbikes!!

Hello Cambodia! 

We had to take a ferry to cross the Mekong - kinda weird for a tour bus to just roll up on a ferry. 

After arriving into Phnom Penh, we decided to go to the Tuol Sleng Prison so we wouldn't be rushed the next day since we were leaving for Siem Reap the next evening. This prison was previously a high school but in 1975, it was used to house anyone who spoke against Pol Pot and his communist, agrarian vision for Cambodia. It was quite depressing to see, especially since I've never learned about the Cambodian genocide in the '70s. 3 million out of a population of 7 million were killed from 1975-78 - dying from either beatings, bullets, starvation and being over worked. I highly suggest reading "First They Killed My Father" - a memoir of a woman who lived through the genocide but lost half of her family. 

Tuol Sleng Prison

The next day (after interrupted sleep from drunken fellow hostel guests) we went to the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh which was even more shocking and upsetting. We weren't there when it rained but apparently bones rise to the surface when the ground gets wet. Pretty eerie. Although Phnom Penh was mostly depressing sites, it was amazing to see the people and how gracious they are even after all they've been through.

Killing Fields

Our precious tuk-tuk driver Ninh.

We decided to fly to Siem Reap after heading horror stories about the bus ride. 

Siem Reap is the town next to Angkor Wat. Only pictures can really tell the story of our time there which I will include below. We had the cutest tour guide, Em, that showed us all around - he was with us from 5am to 3pm! Such a long, exhausting, HOT day. 

Walking into Angkor Wat

Above were all pictures from sunset. Unfortunately it was cloudy so we couldn't see a full sunset or sunrise! The best day to see a sunrise and sunset is March 23rd or September 23rd as the sun lines up perfectly with the main temple.

And this is "low season" - insane!

Stace trying to get a good shot haha

Ta Phrom aka the temple famous for being in Tomb Raider

Ta Phrom - strangler fig tree

Ta Phrom 

Victory Gate - where the king's troops would walk out of

Bayon Temple

Bayon - has 54 Buddha faces

"Kiss the Buddha" - our tour guide 

Bayon - no tourists around because it was 1pm and scorching hot!!

Stace pretending she was possessed by elephants...

Each temple had it's own story - since Cambodian kings switched from being Buddhist and Hindu, many temples were converted back and forth, kinda odd! 

It was such an amazing experience to explore all the temples but we definitely have to go back because there is so much more to see! And maybe only go in the mornings or evenings because the afternoons are just way too hot.

We had a favorite restaurant in Siem Reap called "The Sun" which had fried Camembert...wow I missed cheese so much! 

Lots of pictures but everyone should go see it for themselves!! 

We're now in Laos and it is so incredibly relaxing. 

Love

Whit