10 days is not enough time to travel in 1 country. Already, Mal and I are leaving Cambodia, on our way back to Thailand. We have high hopes for our night bus which leaves at 2am since we paid a whole $14! Cambodia was AMAZING! We didn't have any plans to travel here, but after hearing so many other travelers speak about the country we had to see it. Cambodia has recovered well from the devastating war and mass genocide, however you can't miss the broken down and abandoned buildings around the cities. As we crossed the border we were greeted by guards, half-dressed in their uniforms, drinking beer and eating dinner. They refused to let us in with the standard fee of $25 and insisted we had to pay $35 to get it. After trying to haggle down the price we settled as I'm pretty sure they would have turned us away otherwise. I guess there are some times you shouldn't try to bargain...especially when there are guns involved. Instead of heading as most travelers do, we stayed in the border town, Koh Kong, which is in the heart of the Cardamom Mountains. Two local Khmer guides helped us trek through the unspoiled jungles. As we were searching for local wildlife we were flicking leeches off of us left and right. Those things really hurt when they burrow inside of your shoes and socks!! As we relaxed and ate our lunch by an enormous waterfall, we watched monkeys play and swing from tree to tree across the river. As the sun was setting, we set up camp by a lazy river...well, actually our wonderful guides did all the work (they wouldn't let us help!) We had a camp fire complete with pork and veggie skewers, coffee, fruit hand-picked from the jungle, and local whiskey. Delicious! We slept like babies in the most comfy hammocks I've ever been in and awoke to a campfire breakfast and a brisk swim in the river. Luckily, we made it out alive as we passed by a HUGE snake on the side of the road. That was enough wildlife for us, and we headed back to town.
We then made our way to a really chill town, Kampot. As Mal put it, it was just the right combination between travelers, locals, and expats. We spent a couple lazy days hanging out around the guesthouse eating, reading, and chating with other travelers. One day, we peeled ourselves off the hammocks and set out to explore bat-filled caves with the local kids. With all the hard work we did (just kidding), we treated ourselves to a day at the spa. After a month of traveling, it was nice to be pampered a bit. Sometimes traveling is actually hard work, you know, with long bus rides, sweat and dirt-caked bodies, as we sometimes don't shower for days, and very very very uncomfortable beds. Hard life, I know!!
It would have been easy to spend so much more time in Kampot with our new Swedish, German, Norwegian, English and Aussie friends, but we had to move on to Siem Riep for the Temples. The Temples of Angkor Wat were spectacular. It is right up there with the other world wonders. We were real Lara Croft and Indiana Jones explorers, making our way through structures that were built by the old god-kings of the Khmer Empire. It was truly inspiring.
So, now I am Bangkok bound, and ready for the beautiful beaches of Thailand once again!
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