Monday 27th September

Up bright and early, I had an awesome breakfast of parmesan and pesto scrambled eggs at my new favourite cafe, Cafe Central, before being picked up at the guesthouse for my Angkor Wat tour. I felt like a movie star with my own personal chauffeur (he even opened the car doors for me!) and tour guide.


Stopping at the main gate to purchase the entry ticket (US$40 for 3 days), we headed to the first temple, Angkor Wat. Although people call the complex Ángkor Wat', Angkor Wat is indeed only one temple in a large area of temples and structures, consisting of an area of more than 40kms in length (thus the need for a driver).

 I'm not going to try and explain all of the temples and the history behind them, but suffice to say the day was amazing. We covered all of the major sites, such as Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm (where Angelina Jolie filmed 'Tomb Raider'- the buildings which have been taken over by tree roots), and my guide told me of the history of them all, as well as of Cambodia in general and Buddhism. Some of these constructs were over 900 years old, and similar to the pyramids you wonder how they managed to build them with some precision and given the weight of the stones (some were 2 tonne!)


I also participated in a few Buddhist rituals - first, I made an offer in return for a piece of red string which was bound around my wrist for good luck (I figure with the state of Delhi at the moment, I need all the luck I can get!); and the second was a fortune-telling ritual. After the monk gave a prayer, he handed me a set of cards (in Khmer) which I held over my hands and then inserted a knife like item into. The card where the knife landed was my fortunate. My guide did his best to translate but it sounded more like a Buddhist story than a fortune - it was about a beautiful girl who got married and the man took care of her for the rest of his life. Is that my fortunate? :-)




The tour was supposed to go until sunset but I was a fast walker, so we completed the temples included in my tour by 3pm. I was keen to get out of the sun and was happy to end the tour early, so we headed back to Siem Reap town, after a quick stop at a temple with brightly coloured paintings outlining Buddha's life (which were the same as those in the dragon temple in Chiang Mai!). On the temple's ground there was also a sobering box, which contained skulls and bones of some of the victims of the Khmer Rouge. It was a very sobering reminder of the country's past - there is a major museum in Phnom Penh that I will be visiting later in the week, which contains human bones and even the clothes the victims were wearing at the time of their death.


Despite having a degree, speaking several languages (and knowing the basics of numerous more), and knowing the detailed history of Angkor Wat and Cambodia, my guide told he was paid only US$30 a month salary as a teacher, which is why he was a tour guide on his day off. I assume the driver was paid even less, so at the end of the day I gave them a tip of $2/$1, which I think made their day! (I felt like giving even more when the driver jumped out of the car and ran after me with my brand new camera, which I had accidentally left in the car!) They were both great so I agreed to meet up with them again on Wednesday morning at 5am for a sunrise tour of the complex.

I called home and then went in for my typical main meal at 4pm and purchased some supplies (meaning, Cadbury chocolate - the first chocolate I've had since leaving Singapore; diet coke; and a macaroon - the first I've ever sampled!) before returning to the guesthouse. I am absolutely loving this city but the one thing that is annoying me is how everyone calls out "Lady" as I walk past. "You want tuk-tuk lady?" "You want massage lady"? Aaahh!

After a few chapters of my novel I fell asleep at the ripe old time of 8pm, looking forward to a 'day off' tomorrow.