Siem Reap, Cambodia - Bakheng Hill

For our last day in Cambodia, we decided to have the afternoon to ourselves - no driver, tour guide, or car. We wanted to slow the pace down and enjoy our last few hours in Siem Reap.



After our naps, we took a tuk tuk to the Old Market for some shopping. Then, we decided last minute to take a tuk tuk to Bakheng Hill. Bakheng Hill is a hilltop temple overlooking the entire area. We could see Angkor Wat, nearby jungle areas, and even the Tonle Sap, which is a large lake that the Mekong River flows into.



It was about a 20 minute hike to the base of the temple on top of the hill. We climbed up the temple and spent some time before hiking back down. We didn't stay through the sunset. I wanted to hike back down before it was dark. Our tuk tuk was waiting for us at the bottom, and we had a nice, cool ride back to the hotel at dark. After Brandon and I went to sleep, Steven made one last quick trip into the Old Market for a few beers.



Oh, and again, the paparazzi spotted Brandon at Bakheng Hill.

Siem Reap, Cambodia - Banteay Srei

Our hotel in Siem Reap. While we were there, some celebrations were going on as the resort was just given the rating of 5 stars!

For our last day in Cambodia, we drove about 37 km north of the Siem Reap town to Banteay Srei. This temple was built in the late 10th century.

"Banteay Srei" translates to "citadel of the women". It was probably so named because of the deep, delicate beauty of the carvings. The temple is also unique because of its smaller size and its pink sandstone material.

We passed lots of local children on our walk to the temple's entrance.

The paparazzi found Brandon at Banteay Srei.

Just one more minute before we leave. Okay, Daddy and Mommy?

Please! Just one more!

We looked for a child size hat, but we couldn't find one. Oh, well. Brandon investigated his new headgear before getting to work in the rice field.

On the drive back to Siem Reap, we made some stops at the villages on the side of the road.

The local people don't have electricity like we do. They use car batteries for power. Every four or five days, they have to take their batteries to be charged for the day. This man is starting to charge the batteries.

We stopped to see one local man making palm sugar. Liquid is drained from certain parts of the palm tree. Then, it is boiled in a wood fired cauldron for a while until it is a thick, sticky substance. Kind of like peanut butter. Then, that substance is poured into molds where it hardens into a sugar block. The people package the blocks and sell them. Sort of like a candy making process.

The local people put scarecrows out in front of their homes to scare away evil spirits.

Here is a well that the people use for water.

So cool to see who funded this well project!

This is another well. Here there is no pump. People pull the water up in a bucket. They use this water to wash themselves over the well. So, the water ends up recycled and very dirty and unclean for the people.

People here don't use their cows for the milk. They have to import their milk from neighboring countries. Mr. F said that here they don't know how to pasteurize the milk for safe drinking.

We also stopped by a few more temples on the way home.

Below is Pre Rup, another beautiful temple-mountain.

From the top of Pre Rup, you can see Angkor Wat in the very far distance. In the picture below, it's very small in the center to the right of the large tree - almost a speck.

We made a quick stop from the car at Ta Keo.

Last, Steven got out and did a quick visit of Thommanon.

Back at the hotel, Brandon crashed while we ordered room service for lunch. I decided to try fish amok, a favorite Cambodian dish. Fish amok is a white fish in a coconut milk sauce with lemongrass and other spices. Yum!!!

Also, after Brandon's fever broke the day before we left for the trip, I noticed a small rash behind one of his ears. Later that night, I noticed the rash behind the other ear. As we traveled, I saw that the rash spread to his chest and back. Maybe only a couple dots of rash appeared on his face and limbs. Maybe it was the Roseola virus Dr. Chiang was talking about? Anyway, as of our last day in Cambodia, the rash was completely gone. Yay!