The sunrise over Angkor Wat, the most famous Khmer temple in the world

The main reason for visiting Cambodia was simple: Angkor Wat. However, after eight days in the country all I want to do is go back. First of all, the people are among the friendliest I have ever met. Everywhere we went, Carrie and I were greeted with a huge smile and a wave: even in the bigger cities. The countryside is beautiful and even though we only visited three cities, the experiences were unforgettable.

From July 5 to 13, I traveled through shin-deep mud on motorbike and foot, wandered through the thousand year old Angkor temple ruins, learned about the Khmer Rouge genocide through visits to the Killing Fields and S-21 Detainment Center, got in a tuk tuk accident, witnessed a Buddhist celebration, handed out notebooks to schoolchildren, donated blood, saw traditional dances, visited a palace and had my first monsoon-related activity rain out.

Truly, Cambodia is now one of my favorite countries and I look forward to returning one day to finish what I started.

Chicken amok - the national dish. which is really just a curry with egg in it

Much of the food in Cambodia is the same as in Laos. Lots of curries, rice dishes, noodles, meat, veggies and fruit shakes filled my stomach…as well as lots of amok. Essentially, amok is just a curry with an egg in it. However, for some reason it tastes completely different from a standard curry. Sadly, there was no sticky rice to go with it.

In addition to the normal foods, I also had a chance to sample frog for the first time at a rest stop near Phnom Penh. The head was chopped off, the body was stuffed with herbs and spices and the little legs had just a teeny bit of meat on them that tasted a bit like chicken. Still, pretty good and makes me want to try a full one.

Live tarantulas waiting to be fried

Spiders were the other strange food that I encountered, but didn’t actually try. All over the country, vendors sold fried tarantulas. At the same rest stop where I sampled frog they had buckets filled with live tarantulas ready to be fried up. One of the local girls put a live one on my shirt and, as it began to crawl up I reminded myself, “if a 6 year old can handle it, so can I.” Sadly, the bus pulled away before I could negotiate a fair price for an eight legged treat and I haven’t encountered one since.

Lastly, we come to the national beer: Angkor. Available everywhere, it is a medium colored lager that is full of taste. Unlike Beer Lao, it requires no salt to spice it up and I especially loved sipping one during the hot days of wandering through the Angkor temples.

Check out a video of me eating a frog for the first time at a rest stop in Cambodia:

To check out a bunch of different Cambodian foods, click the first image then use the on-screen navigation (or just click the image) to scroll through.

A Cambodian tuk tuk

The primary way for both tourists and locals to get around the country is via air conditioned bus. These range from deluxe first class to ones where the AC barely works. Either way, there is not much to write about these as anyone who has ever taken a long distance bus can picture the inside easily. Perhaps the only noteworthy part is the fact that loud Cambodian karaoke videos are blasting over the speaker system for most of the ride.

As for the Cambodian tuk tuk, it differs a bit from any I have seen in other countries. The actual carriage part is attached to a standard motorcycle by a clamp that straps onto the middle of the bike seat. The carriage can move from left to right but has a slight delay from when the bike actually makes the move first. It is also far less stable than other tuk tuks, as if the motorcycle falls over, it will take the carriage with it.

04. The train car that is used as the immigration office to get an entrance or departure stamp in Laos

Based on advice from a fellow traveler, we decided to book an organized ticket all the way from the island of Don Det in Laos to Kratie in Cambodia via the border crossing at Voen Kham. This included a boat to the mainland, a deluxe mini bus to the border and an AC coach bus the rest of the way. Pretty much the only thing that was as advertised was the five minute boat ride.

After arriving on the mainland, we had to wait with dozens of other tourists heading all over Laos before boarding our cramped minivan for the hour trip to the border. Our first task was getting an exit stamp from an office located in an old train car. The stamp was supposed to be free but because it was a weekend the corrupt stamp-giving men decided that there was a $2 per person fee.

Next, we walked through a gate onto a 500 meters long road that was neither in Laos nor Cambodia. Why they couldn’t just put the two country’s offices next to each other we will never know. Anyway, once in Cambodia we had to get a visa on arrival from a dinky shack off to the side. Next, we walked to another shack to get our entry stamps.

06. Once a Laos exit stamp has been obtained, one must walk this 500 meter stretch of road in neither Laos nor Cambodia

It literally took three men to give us our stamps. One person checked the visa, another collected more corrupt money and a third one’s sole job was to make sure that the first guy had actually stamped the passport. Unreal. Finally, we had to fill out a health declaration form stating that, as always, we had no contact with swine flu. However, this time the guy at the health office asked for our immunization history cards…good thing I had ours in my bag.

In all our travels around the world, this is the first time anyone has ever asked for our cards. The best part…he just glanced at them and gave them back. No checking to make sure we had the proper shots or anything; I guess he just wanted to make sure we had them?

Finally a legal visitor to Cambodia, we found a bus waiting on the side of the road. After talking with other travelers heading to all parts of the country we determined that we were all supposed to get on, but there was no driver to confirm this for another half hour.

Shocker, the mystery bus had no AC and only took us as far as a nearby town before we had to wait for more than an hour for the travel agency staff to figure out where everyone was heading and put us on yet another hot and stuffy bus to conclude our journey. I would say I was shocked by all of this, but by now it is really just standard operating procedure.

To walk through the whole border crossing process, just click the first image then use the on-screen navigation to go through them all.

In the middle of a monsoon this poor woman had to leave a hospital on the back of a motorcycle while holding an IV in Kratie

We knew that we were going to be traveling during monsoon season but, up until arriving at Kratie, it had never affected our plans. However, shortly after arriving the deluge began and we had no choice but to hole up in our hotel for the night instead of doing our planned activities. This was a big bummer, as our schedule had us on the first bus out the next morning and the town became a casualty of war.

The next day our early morning bus took us to Phnom Penh, the capital, where we had to drop off our passports at the Vietnam embassy to get a visa. We originally thought the process would take a long time and we would have to spend the night but it took less than five minutes.

At this point we decided to try and make the last bus of the day to Siem Reap that was leaving in 10 minutes on the other side of town. A taxi or tuk tuk would never make it so we hopped on the back of motorcycle taxis and sped off. Weaving in and out of traffic we narrowly avoided cars, trucks and other motos…but we made it on time. And then the rain began.

On the back of a motorcycle taxi trying to make a bus leaving in 10 minutes on the other side of Phnom Penh

We finally made it to Siem Reap at nearly 10pm after leaving Kratie at 7am and hopped into a motorcycle tuk tuk to take us to our hotel. The monsoon rains were still falling and halfway into our ride the moto started to skid out in the mud. Bags went flying out of the open sides as we slipped down a small hill: the driver trying hard to get the vehicle under control.

We finally came to an abrupt stop and got off to reclaim our bags and survey the damage. No one was hurt and everything seemed fine until I discovered what actually caused the tuk tuk to stop: my DSLR camera backpack wedged under the wheel! We won’t go into the mini-freak out I had but when we finally arrived at the hotel I got to survey the damage.

Looking at my stuff I realized that the wheel had come to rest right on top of my big super zoom lens. Fortunately, I had a filter attached to the front of it that absorbed most of the damage. The filter glass had shattered and the ring that screws onto the actual lens was badly bent and could not be removed, but the lens itself still worked. To this day the filter ring is still on there and a few shards of glass remain. Guess it’s something I have to take care of when I get home.

A house on stilts outside the flooded forest of Kompong Pluk in Siem Reap

One of the main attractions in Siem Reap, other than Angkor Wat, is a boat ride through the Flooded Forest and stilted village of Kompong Pluk. Located on the banks of a river that leads into a lake, the entire forest is flooded annually by the monsoon rains to the point where only the tops of the trees are visible. All houses in the village are built on high stilts that protect them from the rising waters.

Depending on the time of year there are two possible ways to get to the tour boat. During the monsoon season the water is high enough that a tuk tuk can drop tourists off at the side of the river where the boat waits. If it is dry season the river begins much further back. As such, the tuk tuk drops people off in a small town before transferring to the back of a motorcycle to drive down a bumpy dirt road to where the river is high enough for the boat to pick up passengers.

Our experience was neither of these, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Originally we wanted to do something else that day, but the hard sell of our driver/guide convinced us that this three hour tour was the way to go. So we hopped into his tuk tuk and after a brief stop for tire air and gas (bought from a shack on the side of the road and poured from a whiskey bottle) we were on our way.

High fives with the local kids in a village outside the flooded forest

A short while later while driving down a very rural road we heard the unmistakable sound of a flat tire and had to stop again, this time in front of someone’s house that happened to have an air pump. We sat there for nearly a half hour while they tried everything to repair the tube before eventually replacing it. While waiting, I tried my hardest to befriend a dozen curious but shy local children by making faces, playing peek-a-boo and more. In the end, I won them over with high-fives and by the time we left they were all smiling and waving and high-fiving each other.

Back on track, despite nonstop rain over the past few days, the monsoon season was still young enough that we had drive over the dirt road to reach the far away boat dock. So, at our next stop Carrie and I hopped onto the backs of two separate motorcycles driven by our guide and his younger brother and headed out. The tuk tuk remained behind for yet another tire repair.

While there were a few puddles in the dirt road, there was enough space for the bikes to maneuver around them with little effort…at least in the beginning. As the drive continued the puddles became more frequent and the dirt road got more muddy. One puddle was actually more of a pool and, with no way to get around it, we drove through water at least two feet deep that engulfed half of the motorcycle and reached my shins.

By the time we passed the pool puddle the road was entirely mud. Still, our drivers pressed on: slipping and sliding the whole time. The bikes were all over the road and, despite his best efforts, my bike slid out and fell four times. Fortunately, falling off a bike in a mud pit is more funny than painful so it really wasn’t bad. As for Carrie, I guess the younger brother was a better driver because he didn’t fall once.

The road we had to walk through for a mile to get to our boat to head to the flooded forest of Kompong Pluk in Siem Reap

Not wanting to turn around, we kept going until a local man told our drivers that the road got even worse up ahead and we could not possibly make it on the bikes. So, with no other choice, we took off our flip flops and began to walk the final mile barefoot.

At first the walk was no problem; I even had fun sloshing around in the mud. However, shortly after we began walking the road dried up and became hot and hard. Making matters worse were the tire tracks all over the road that had hardened and become razor sharp. Needless to say, it went from a fun walk to a painful one very quickly.

Laughing at the absurdity of our tour was the only way I made it through the experience, but finally, about 30 minutes after we got off the bikes, we arrived at the dock. Here, our driver handed us off to the boat captain (a 12 year old boy) and the pilot (his 10 year old younger brother).

The boat tour itself was outstanding, even if the water level only flooded the trees half way up. I went nuts taking photos of the village on stilts, which was on a scale the likes of which I have never seen before. The entire village is based around the river that floods every year and boats are the only way to get from one side to the other.

Buddhist celebration in the streets of Kompong Pluk in Siem Reap

Sadly, the villagers have tourism down to a science. At one point, a woman jumped onto our boat and got me to buy 10 notebooks to donate to the school children. When she got off there were four other women waiting to do the same thing who were disappointed to find that she had beaten them to the punch.

After spending a few minutes in the middle of a lake we were dropped off in the actual village for a walk/tour. How surprised were we to find a Buddhist celebration going on and a parade winding it’s way thorough the street. Townsfolk were all dressed up in their Sunday best, music and speaking blasted from a loudspeaker and everyone had a big smile.

The inside of the monastery in Kompong Pluk in Siem Reap where Buddhist monks are about to enter a three month period of isolation and silence

All around, people hoisted up money trees and other gifts for a group of monks about to enter a three month period of silence and isolation. We followed the parade to a temple atop a hill where the monks sat accepting the donations while villagers banged ceremonial drums as loud and hard as possible. The scene was amazing and the people were super friendly, though it was very awkward when I had to give out the books.

Originally, I thought we were going to walk into a classroom and just hand the teacher a stack of notebooks. However, due to the celebration the kids were all in the street. So, at the urging of the girl who sold me the notebooks, I stood there and handed them. One by one, kids came up, accepted the books, bowed their heads and said thanks. The whole thing seemed incredibly fake and scripted and I was so glad when I got rid of the last book because it was also very awkward. Like, are these kids actually going to use them? Do they want them? Is the girl going to take the books back to sell to the next boat of tourists? I don’t know nor do I want to.

Coming down the river at the flooded forest of Kompong Pluk in Siem Reap

Waving goodbye to the townsfolk, we got back onto the boat for our walk back to the motorcycles. However, upon returning to land we were happy to find that our guide had found someone to drive us back to where our bikes were waiting. So, Carrie and I hopped on back of the best driver in town’s (according to our guide) bike and were amazed as he easily navigated through the mud and dry patches. The only problem with the ride was that the best path to drive on was right next to a wall of spiky bushes that often whacked us in the face, arms and legs. Still, we were too busy laughing at the absurdity of it all to care.

Once back on our original bikes, the rest of the return trip was much the same as the trip out there. Lots of slipping and sliding, another trip through the pool puddle and a few near falls. By the time we got back to the village and boarded the finally-repaired tuk tuk the sun was already setting, filling the sky with an awesome display of oranges, reds and blues. We finally pulled into our hotel after dark, having spent double the forecasted time on the tour and full of memories to last a lifetime.

A boat ride through the village on stilts next to the Flooded Forest of Kompong Phhluk

Buddha celebration at the village on stilts next to the Flooded Forest of Kompong Phhluk

Carrie and I at Angkor Wat

I have been fascinated by the Angkor temples since they were used as a backdrop for the Mortal Kombat movie as well as for Angela Jolie’s Tomb Raider. When I found out that the temples were in Cambodia while researching this trip, they quickly became my most anticipated part of the entire eight months…and they did not disappoint!

Angkor Wat was the first stop on our whirlwind three day tour of the Angkor complex that consists of dozens of temple ruins scattered over more than two square miles. While it was smaller than I imagined (as I feel most famous monuments are), the place was absolutely amazing. Filled with intricate carvings and stone wall reliefs telling stories, it was the five central towers that really make the site special. We must have spent three hours wandering the Angkor Wat grounds, though my access to the very top of the center tower was denied when I refused to bribe the guard $10 to let us up.

Ta Prohm doorway - this was one of the filming locations of Tomb Raider (taken by Carrie)

After visiting Angkor Wat, we spent the rest of the day in our hired tuk tuk driving around visiting as many temples as possible before watching the sunset, along with hundreds of other people, from atop the one hilltop temple in Angkor. The next day we rented bicycles and spent nearly 12 hours biking 15+ miles through sunny and shaded paths in Angkor Thom and beyond. By far the highlight of the day was Bayon, a temple complex that has more than 200 carved stone faces.

Finally, on our third day we once again hired a tuk tuk to take us to a Banteay Srei, which is nearly 30 kilometers from the rest of the Angkor complex but, for some reason, a part of it. Though we stopped at a few other temples and the Landmine Mueseum on the way out there, Banteay Srei was well worth the effort. Featuring some of the most beautiful stone carvings I have ever seen, the detail was beyond belief and no photo I took could ever do it justice.

One of the funniest parts of a day at the Angkor complex is the frequency at which visitors are approached to buy things from local vendors. Whether walking, biking or in the back of a tuk tuk, the most frequent words heard are, “you want cold water? Pineapple? Book on Angkor? You want food? I give you very good price! Angkor tee shirt? You stop at my shop? Buy my flute? You want postcard…ten for a dollar? Ten for 75 cents? You buy now?” It’s amazing how many little stalls are set up in between all these ancient ruins and, sooner or later, we always gave in. Hey, a guy has to eat, drink and buy souvenirs right?!

Bike riding through the gates of Angkor Thom


Water, tee shirt and instrument sellers outside of Ta Phrom in Angkor

Monks chanting at the Bayon in Angkor just before sunset

And here are the highlights of all of the Angkor temples. To see them all, click on the first one and then use the on-screen navigation to go through them all. Or just click here to see them on flickr.

A bed that prisoners had to sleep on while shakled at the S-21 Detention Center in Phnom Penh

To understand Cambodia today, one must first understand the recent history of the country. In a nutshell, political instability stemming from the Vietnam war allowed the dictator Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army to seize power of the country in 1975. Following the communist beliefs of Mao, Pol Pot was determined to create an agricultural society that had no need for money, education or opposition.

In addition to anyone who actually stood in Pol Pot’s way, such as former government officials, soldiers and other rebels, he also believed that anyone with any sort of education was a threat to his master plan. As such, the Khmer Rouge began the systematic killings of millions of innocent civilians for crimes as small as speaking a second language, being a teacher or wearing glasses. This genocide spread into the fields where the entire Cambodian population was evacuated and forced into slave labor.

Work days were at least 12 grueling hours long and meals were often little more than a few grains of rice. Many died of exhaustion or starvation while countless others were taken away for execution for failure to work hard enough or for not treating some 16 year old hot head soldier with the proper respect. By the time Pol Pot was overthrown in 1979, Pol Pot had wiped out nearly 1/4 of the country’s population and left those who remained to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Signs like these are all over Cabodia warning people of the dangers of unremoved minefields

Even today, 30 years later, the scars of these events are visible all over the country. Nearly half of Cambodia’s population is under the age of 16. Buildings still have bullet holes in them. Retribution trials are in the news on a daily basis. Former members of the Khmer Rouge now have to live side by side with the rest of the population. And then there are the landmines.

One lasting present of both the Khmer Rouge and the war in Vietnam is a countryside filled with unexploded landmines. Deaths and lost limbs as a result of accidentally discovering these devices of war are all-too-frequent occurrences. Signs can be seen everywhere either declaring an area landmine-free or warning that the area is still dangerous. Limbless beggars on the street often have signs stating that they are victims of landmine explosions and countless others use it as a means to elicit donations. Fortunately, much work is begin done to rid the country of landmines and the number of annual victims falls every year. Hopefully one year soon it will hit zero.

For more on the terrible events of the Khmer Rouge era, check out Wikipedia.

Skulls of the dead found at the Chokung Ek Killing Fields in Phnom Penh

With only one full day to spend in Phnom Penh, we decided to first visit the Royal Palace (absolutely amazing traditional Asian architecture) then take a break from fun activities and visit some sites related to the Khmer Rouge genocide . The first stop was the Killing Fields, where the bodies of more than 8,000 people were discovered in mass graves after the war.

In the center of the Killing fields is a pagoda/mausoleum holding the skulls of all the deceased in a glass case that goes up nearly two stories. The actual graves are now just holes in the ground, but for added effect the site has bones and clothing sticking out next to the walking paths and under trees. Perhaps the most disturbing part was the killing tree against which soldiers would hold children by their feet and whack them until dead. This was in an effort to save precious and expensive bullets…a practice that also led to thousands of bludgeonings, suffocations and throat slittings.

Our next stop was the S-21 Detention Center: a former school that was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and converted into a prison and torture chamber. Classrooms were converted into cells, with some as small as 2 feet wide and six feet deep…not even big enough to fit me laying down. The entire center is now a museum and memorial with a complete history of the Khmer Rouge’s genocide as well as photos of the deceased, both before and after. Based on the words of our tuk tuk driver we though we would be out of the museum in an hour. In reality, it took us nearly three to get through it all.

To end on a happier note, below is a video of one of the happier things we saw in Phnom Penh: local music being played at the Royal Palace…

Ice is delivered in carts and cut with a saw before being taken into bars and restuarants for use

I am obsessed with the way ice is delivered. Every day, a truck or van or bike comes by with a giant block of ice. Street vendors, restaurants and individuals come up, tell the ice man how much they want and he proceeds to saw it off with a rusty saw and hand it to the customer. They then cart it off by hand, in a bag, on a bike or any other way they can. Some times they rest the ice on the ground before paying and hauling it away…and I’m sure it’s not washed before ending up in my drink!

Every day it seemed to rain, but the skies parted and beautiful weather blessed us for our three days in Angkor.

After seven months we finally started taking our malaria medicine.

Lots of sellers are very whiny “Pleeeease buy my teeeeeshirt. Why don’t you want my waaaaater?”

Rather than carry guidebooks for each country the whole time, we find that most countries have photocopied versions of Lonely Planet country guides available for less than $4 each. They cost at least $20 at home.

I got my Cambodia Lonely Planet guidebook copy at Sadhana Forest from a friend in February, 2009. It was July 2009 when we visited Cambodia. Yet, the published date on the book was August 2009. How is that possible?

Gas stations are attended by children at times

Our gas station attendant on one tuk tuk ride was a little boy.

One bus ride stopped at a side of the road fruit stall, during which most of the locals got off to shop and, in total, brought back on at least 200 pounds of jackfruits and durians.

Even paved highways are covered in dirt due to the sides of the road bleeding onto them during heavy rains.

I saw a very stern and professional army officer walking around with a little pink backpack.

Children are very rarely supervised and wander all over the place.

Cambodia has far more undeveloped countryside than the rest of Southeast Asia…as far as I’ve seen.

Most houses in the countryside are built on wood, built on stilts, have shanty stairs or ramps leading up to them but have the most beautiful roofs.

I have seen more US $2 bills in Cambodia than I ever have back at home.

Every bus we were on seemed to play a dubbed movie where a bald Asian kid fights demons and zombies by kicking and flying through the air. I find them entertaining, but the Cambodians LOVE them, laughing and cheering along the whole time.

Giving blood for the first time in Siem Reap

I gave blood for the first time in my life at a Cambodian blood bank in Siem Reap. Apparently I’m A-Negative.

While giving blood, the doctor, and educated man, was commenting how my blood was better than Carrie’s because I’m a man. He said to Carrie, “can you throw a football? I think not. He can. Can you climb a tree? Probably not, but he can.”

Giving blood was Carrie’s idea but I’m the one who walked away unscathed. She had a massive bruise and lump where the needle went in for more than a week.

More than 800 tourists a year donate blood to the clinic we went to…probably because they offer a free tee shirt. What traveler can say no to a free tee shirt?!

Many hotels have tuk tuk drivers waiting around for people to check in. They show the room then explain that they are a driver and can take the person wherever they want to go. You then become their property and they get really angry if you use anyone but them. I’m sorry, when did I become your possession?

Many bus companies sell your name to their friends at your destination, so when you get out of a bus there is someone there with your name on a sign waiting for you.

Traditional Cambodian dance costumes

We saw some local dance and music performances, which were pretty cool.

Cambodian money uses no change, only bills.

Seriously, if you don’t understand what I’m saying, don’t nod your head and say yes and then do something else. Like when a moto driver takes you somewhere that is not your destination. It just gaurentees an argument and possible non-payment.

Most prices are in dollars and ATMs only give out US Dollars. Change is given in local currency. So 1,000 riel is 25 cents. If something is $3.50, you pay $3 US and 2,000 riel. Very weird.

A tuk tuk driver that we used our first day at Angkor came and found us on our second day to make sure that we were really using bikes and not just going with someone else. Seriously, we’re not you’re property!

Despite how many streets there are and how many cars and bikes are on the road, there are amazingly few traffic lights. Still, traffic seems to flow just fine.

Carrie at Thommanon after we had a shot of rice wiskey with local workers

All gardening and manicuring at the Angkor complex is done by an army of workers. We stopped and had a drink of rice whiskey with a few of them at the end of our bike riding day.

The workers we had rice whiskey with told us that gardeners, guards and other workers at Angkor make around $25 per month for 12 hour work days and most have second jobs to make ends meet.

In order to get a souvenir vendor who was following me in Angkor to go away I told him that a different group of people wanted to buy his stuff. He replied, “no, they are Japanese. They no buy.”

Every day in Siem Reap I had a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. It was amazing and a little taste of home. Well, minus the Kraft singles…

Cambodian tourist sites are filled with kids selling books, such as these that found us on a patio by our hotel in Phnom Penh (taken by Carrie)

Cambodia is filled with kids selling all sorts of books wherever tourists go. The most popular ones are photocopied Lonely Planets, biographies of Pol Pot and tales relating to the Khmer Rouge.

The little kids at tourist stops are extremely smart and usually speak at least 4-5 languages. They also know most of the world and city capitals. All in a never-ending effort to impress tourists enough to buy their wares.

While wandering the streets of Siem Reap at night, our group was surrounded by cute little kids who all wanted to hold hands and be friendly. My hand was, of course, guarding my pocket the whole time. One girl complained that the girl holding her hand tried to slip her ring off.

Everyone is friendly until it’s time to talk money.

Every time Sportscenter comes on the TV I get excited that I might see some baseball highlights…instead I just see cricket.

In many convenience stores in Siem Reap the counter contains a row of condoms right next to a row of Viagra and other performance enhancing drugs

In many convenience stores in Siem Reap the counter contains a row of condoms right next to a row of Viagra and other performance enhancing drugs. Hilarious! (and I’m curious to see how much this blog gets spammed because I used the word Viagra on a Web page)

Most people we talked to have great English skills…way better than anywhere else on the trip.

Finally, we got a massage from blind people in Siem Reap. Recommended by Lonely Planet and countless other travelers, it was one of the sketchiest activities ever. We went down a dark alley to a dirty building used as the massage parlor. We shared a hot and stuffy room with another couple. The masseur felt me up from head to toe to figure out my body dimensions (understandable since he’s blind).

The four massage therapists were talking to each other in Khmer the whole time and laughing. We had to put on thick hospital scrubs that were too small and made us sweat like crazy. The massage was mostly pushing down and was super painful. And, after it was over, one of the massage therapists grabbed the other’s crotch…probably to check for an erection. Even Carrie, who has had countless massages, ranks it as one of the strangest of her life.

And one final video…the Coconut Dance as performed by kids in Siem Reap.