Posted 5:39 AM by MelanieandSteve
kh'nyohm snahk neuv U.S.A. (I'm from U.S.A.), but I'm in Siem Reap Cambodia, sending greetings home...

BOAT RIDE TO REMEMBER: Since our Mar 4 blog, We boarded to boat down river to cross the Tonle Sap lake ("Great Lake"), one of the worlds largest fresh water lakes, at least during the wet season. We're in the dry season, though, so a couple hours into the ride our 84-person-capacity boat grounded. We spent an hour or so reving back and forth to get unbogged. As if that wasn't enough, once we got onto the lake a couple hours later, the engine gave out. There was another boat like ours travelling beside us. The crew ordered us to hop on. No problem for them that that boat was already filled to or maybe over-capacity. Passengers from our full boat climbed aboard. Unable to fit inside, they piled on top of the roof. We watched in disbelief as the top heavy, rocking vessell, with no life jackets or dingies swayed ominously way too far from side to side. We refused to get on, and Steve informed the passengers based on his ship training he didn't believe it was safe. Some listened, some didn't. The angry crew refused to commit to whether they'd send us a rescue boat today if we stayed. But we knew we had lots of snack food, we'd survive, and we weren't getting on that other boat. So we, and the about 30 other people who decided to stay, had lots of reading time and sitting time before a couple of smaller boats arrived 3 hours later to haul us on in. The 6 hour tour became a 12 hour voyage (almost Guilligan's Island style, but without the rough weather).

SIEM REAP AND THE ANGKOR RUINS: We spent the whole day yesterday checking out the ruined temples around Angkor. We couldn't believe how many there were and how extensive the complex of cities and temples was. We spent the morning in ANGKOR THOM, the city of temples and hiked around the BAYON with it's faces carved in the stone and it's bass reliefs telling countless stories of Khmer (Cambodian peoples') history and life style. Then there was the BAPHOUN, PHIMEANAKAS where only a couple of us dared to climb the ultra steep stone staircase using hands and feet like rock climbing, TERRACE OF THE LEPER KING, TERRACE OF THE ELEPHANTS, and others. Each was unique. It felt like a mix between navigating through ancient Roman ruins and through Indianna Jone's temple. The bigger highlights came in the Afternoon: TA PROHM temple has been left unrenovated since it's discovery over a century ago: trees have grown up over the complex and their roots streem down over the buildings and walls like waterfalls. Rubble lies all around the base of the building, but still an old monk (the same monk pictured in the cover this year's Lonely Planet Guide Book) sits in the center in his brown robes and quietly smiles at us. And then we made it to the most known, the ANGKOR WAT. The best part was the approach: the awesome spires extending to the sky, and the shere immensity of the temple grounds making you hold your breath. The second highlight of the Angkor Wat was the hiking up the center stairways - again steep like rock climbing - precarious, a little scary, and then totally rewarding with the gorgious view at the top. The biggest and best preserved temple here, it's been worth it's weight in gold (only in stone now, some historical accounts claim that it used to be covered in gold. Something to imagine as if it's grandeur could be more grand.) The two of us snuck away from our tour group to hike the rubble of a ruined stairway up the mountain of PHNOM BAKHENG to it's temple at the top for an awesome sunset view over Angkor Wat and the Angkor Thom valley. Unforgettable. Angkor temples are a treasure more extensive than we could have imagined. And we apparently only saw the tip of the iceberg.

CALM DAY IN SIEM REAP: Today we visited the BUTTERFLY FARM where the local children catch butterflies every day and bring them in to the peaceful garden restaurant for about 500 Real (about twelve cents) a butterfly in order to pay for their education. We followed that up with a traditional KHMER MASSAGE, and a stroll through the markets. Oh, and perhaps best of all, a nap. A little rested now, we're getting ready for our boat trip to Battambang tomorrow.

Be well.