 For our goodbye to PP, we had a nice river cruise on the Mekong with all the PEPY staff and some other random NGO people. Climb aboard the unaptly-named Love Boat! I didn't see any scandal or love on-deck, but the music was good and the cookies and tarts (pastries, not unmoral women) were fantastic. In the morning we had a long busride to Siem Reap to start Angkor Wat adventures. We hit the most popular temples-- Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm-- on our first day with a rather uninspired guide. Thailand has been the number-one ransacker of Angkor Wat over the centuries, and bad blood runs strong and deep. The guide pointed out a stone carving depicting a battle between Thai and Cambodian forces: "Notice the Thai soldiers. They are wearing LADY'S clothing!" and he chuckled and continued the story. Our last guide translated Siem Reap as "Thailand lost." This guy: "The thieves are defeated." Not feeling the *love* for Thailand.
 What's cooler than a 7-headed mythical naga snake? Six heads on our too-hot-to-handle August trip!  Siem Reap only exists as anything more than a village due to tourism. It's a strange town that changes dramatically every time I've come. In 5 years, Bar Street will be identical to Khao San Road in Bangkok, which is a shame since Khao San is an area in Thailand with almost no Thai people. I think our best night out was at a Khmer nightclub called ZoneOne where we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Undeterred by a "no guns, no hats, no flip-flops" sign on the door, the bouncers didn't frisk us and we walked our flip-flopped selves inside. It was packed, it was bizarre, it was fun, we left at 3am. Good times.
 Trusty Tim says... I am coming to eat your children. |
