Nico's Vacation - Day 6

18/12/2009 - Another super early morning as we depart from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap. The bus journey took 6 hours but with 3 scenic stops. First stop is a place with a couple of hawker stalls selling edible tarantulas, crickets etc. They look really gross. I think the only thing that puts me off is the flies that parties over them. The guide said the crickets are the tastiest...hmm...never in a million years will I dare to try them out! There were also other random stuff like mangoes, dried seafood produce etc. Some local children were trying hard to get tourists (like myself) to buy the tarantulas and bananas. They will pester you to death I swear!

Second stop was just a normal toilet stop at a resort like restaurant. Took the opportunity to sleep on some hammocks there for a while before continuing the journey. 3rd was the Kompong Kdey Ancient bridge which used to be the connecting bridge between Phnom Penh and Siam Reap. It is too old now for vehicles to cross and therefore not used excessively nowadays.

We reached Siam Reap around 1pm and went for lunch straight away. It's another chinese meal but with herbal crocodile soup - tasted like normal pork ribs herbal soup but a bit more stronger taste. Proceeded to Les Artisan Angkor - a local handicraft centre and then to Tonle Sap Lake for a one hour cruise around the floating village. It is quite amazing to see how those people live on the lake. Some houses are really very small but have to fit a lot of people! There are even floating school and church. The guide told us that 3 years back, there was no cruise for tourists. Visitors have to walk on mud to get to the center to the floating village - we went on the right timing! We got off the boat on one of the tourists stop in the village, lingered for a while before heading back to the main pier.

By the time we finished our cruise, it's almost 4ish. Next in the itinerary is to view sunset of Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakeng. The trek up the hill was about 15 minutes. Once up there the bigger challenge was to climb to the top of Phnom Bakeng. The steps were really very steep. That said, by the time I reach the foot of the temple, there were already a big crowd on top of the temple. As I squeezed my way through the crowds, I managed to take a couple of shots of the almost setting sun - satisfied!

Dinner was at Green Suki Soup Steamboat. And checked in Monoreach hotel after that...