Photo Dump

Kim making a new friend in Mui Ne.

This is Holly. Holly was thrust into the arms of Ms. Anna, one of the teachers at CIS, outside of Hollywood gym by a security guard and he refused to take her back. She is a cutie, very friendly and she is also very lucky. Ms. Anna, her new owner, is an animal lover extraordinaire, she rescues animals on a regular basis and volunteers at a local animal clinic.

ELEPHANT! This was taken at Siem Reap as we raced past in our tuk-tuk.

Statue of Buddha at Angkor Wat near the lepper King terrace. Buddha's lips are stained pink, not sure why. Perhaps he is full-time fancy like Kim?

Sassy pants does Angkor Wat. :)

We are taking the road less followed...

Some Highlights

We have been taking a lot of pictures but haven't really had the the time to sit down and post them to the internet. Our connection in the apartment is slow like dial-up. The first image was taken in Mui Ne and the rest were taken during our time in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.

We will post more images soon!

Not-So Lucky

Since we got to Siem Reap the word lucky is everywhere. Lucky Market, Lucky Restaurant, Lucky the name.... We got a red string tied around our wrist by a monk and we were told it was lucky. Our Tuk Tuk drivers name was Lucky.
Maybe they weren't clear on what kind of luck it was.
Yesterday morning was amazing. We got picked up by Lucky at 8am, and went to the Angkor Wat site. Our first visit was a smaller temple but the relief work was amazingly intricate. I can't remember the name at the moment but.... it was really great. Then we headed to a very quiet temple I also cannot remember the name of. BUT the last temple we went to is called Tah Prohm and it was probably my favourite next to the Bayon at Angkor Thom. There were massive trees growing over the stone work. Really amazing.
Then it was about 12:30 and we decided to go back home. We hopped in our Tuk Tuk with smiles on our faces. Unfortunately though, fate was at work. A stray dog ran in front of us and we hit it, then swerved and went into a very deep ditch. Probably 6-8 feet deep. It all seems so surreal. We are okay, I am just bruised up but Naomi had to get 8 stitches in her ear. We tried to have a sense of humour the whole way, but there were moments when we got upset. I think we handled it very well and we encountered an amazing amount of kind people that helped us along the way.
Unfortunately we have no idea how Lucky and his Tuk Tuk faired. Because that is his support system we are very worried about him. No one could have stopped what happened, and we are actually extremely lucky (guess the red yarn did work) that we didn't get hurt worse. The mud in the ditch kind of broke our fall. Unfortunately Naomi took the brunt of it all, whereas I kind of got thrown into the mud. But we still have high spirits.
So, instead of taking a 14 hour bus ride home we are flying. Which is a relief.
I want to send a universal thank you to all the people who helped us, and send well wishes to Lucky and hope he and his Tuk Tuk are in one piece.
We also would like to say that our impression on Cambodia and Angkor Wat hasn't been coloured by this experience. We are so glad that we were able to see everything and had an amazing time.
Pictures to come later. Actually, in a state of shock I took a picture of our turned over Tuk Tuk, so we will post that just to better explain. I don't exactly know what my thought process was in that moment, I think I was mostly trying to see if my camera worked.
Will write more later. Love to our friends and family!

Siem Reap

We are now in Siem Reap the town near the archaeological ruins of Angkor Wat. It took us a fourteen hour bus ride to get here which we were told would only last eleven. Our hotel was supposed to pick us up but there was no one to meet us so we made friends with a tuk-tuk driver named Lucky and he took us to where we needed to be. He is also going to act as our tour guide today and tomorrow.

Yesterday morning when we arrived at the hostel where our bus was leaving from we were greeted by quite the sight. There was a group of drunken Irishmen, one of whom was wearing nothing but a pillow. Considering it was 7 a.m. it was unexpected. There was much hilarity as he danced around trying to get dressed. We politely averted our gaze as he dressed himself. When he approached us he had his shirt on inside out and backwards. He asked the woman at the desk to help him adjust his shirt and she chased him with scissors. Hilarity.

In other news: computers hate me.

Siem Reap

Siem Reap is the city closest to Angkor Wat, which is the amazing archaeological site that we are visiting in Cambodia. When we go we will probably be staying at the Garden Village Guesthouse. Apparently you can rent a tuk-tuk for the day for about $12 and they will take you to the ruins and wait for you at the end of the day. I know what you are thinking right now, you're wondering WTF is a tuk-tuk right? A tuk-tuk, my Mother tells me, is also known as an Auto rickshaw, which is basically a rickshaw with a motorcycle attached.  We will have to negotiate with the drivers in order to get a good price. I think Kim should be in charge of the negotiating. There are other options available for accommodation, here Kim, if you want to have a look. We also have to decide if we will fly in or bus into Cambodia. The bus trip takes 12-8 hours depending on who you ask but it is less expensive than the flight, by how much I am not sure.

Archaeological Wonders of Angkor Wat.

It is a little bit ridiculous how much I am looking forward to seeing this site.