"I HATE LEAVING THIS COUNTRY"

BANGKOK, THAILAND
Temperature: 27 Degrees Celsius
Track of the day: Here comes the sun
"I hate that this is the last day," Sam says as we lay on hammocks on a small island where some temple ruins lie, "can't we just cancel our flights and runaway." Cambodia is intoxicating, there is something utterly sensational about it and we all agree to come back again. Rattana invites everyone to his restaurant for a delicious set menu and everyone returns to their respective hotels/houses to change and wash up. Sitting at the table together one last time has everyone looking sad but we try to take advantage of our last moments together. Wanting Rattana and Ravovine to experience the fish massage back in the Night Market we all head there one final time. "Can I get a refund," Rav says to the fish massage worker. "Rav. you can't give up," I say telling him to just put his feet in the water. Rav is our fearless leader, the guy who knows where to go and who to ask to get anything done but when it comes to tiny fish tickling his feet he becomes a complete baby. He wiggles and squirms until finally about 15 minutes into the experience he says "hey it feels good now." Shaking our heads and laughing we know we will miss his antics. After the massage our feet feel rejuvenated and Rattana and Alecs disappear into the market to buy some shirts. With Rattana at his side Alecs gets a good deal on everything and leaves the market quite proud of himself as do I finally having learned to bargain a little. Night comes far too fast and Rattana tears up as he says goodbye dropping us off at the hotel one final time. Although he and Rav are taking us to the bus station in the morning we all know that this is the end. There is a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that won't go away and all I can think to do is sleep.
"We will come again," we promise at the bus stop hugging a teary eyed Rattana, "we told you we would last time and we came again so trust us we will return," Alecs says, biting his lip. We wave out of the window of the bus as Rattana gets further and further away. "I hate leaving this Country," I say wiping my eyes, "I hate it." We've arrived in Phnom Penh taken a final tuk tuk to the airport and are now waiting to board the plane to Bangkok, Thailand. No one smiles as we go through the motions of travel looking forward to a good sleep in Bangkok.
"Let's go get some dinner," I say to Sam and Alecs as we sit in our hotel room in Bangkok. The three of us have decided to find a McDonalds and bring it back to the hotel as no one really feels like finding a restaurant as we are thoroughly exhausted from travelling. Sam gets his first taste of travelling in Bangkok. Heading straight for Chong Nonsi BTS skytrain we hop on and head north until we see the golden arches. Bangkok is an eclectic city filled with third world poverty, riches beyond imagination, technology far beyond that of North America mixed with people living in bamboo huts. We grab our dinner and head back to the hotel as we reminisce about Cambodia and talk about coming back here together one day.
"Ready to get your shopping fix," I say aloud as we head towards Paragon shopping mall on the train. Sam has been saving most of his money on the trip to spend on electronics here in the shopping mecca of Bangkok. Our first stop is to the luxury theaters upstairs where we purchase tickets to see Avatar later in the day. Back on the train we continue down one stop to MBK and we all separate to the floors with what we want to buy. Sam heads straight for cell phones, Dad and Alecs fiddle with electronics and Mom and I look for purses and shoes. With bags in our hands and more Swensens ice cream in our stomachs we head back to Paragon to watch Avatar. As we sit in the VIP lounge waiting for the theater doors to open we take advantage of the many massage chairs. A waitress delivers our complimentary snack and drinks while Mom and Alecs sit in a full body massage chair and Dad and Sam in a foot massager. "You need to try this Alecs says," as the chair compresses his shoulders, squeezes his calves, runs a ball up his spine and vibrates all the while, "I have 6 minutes left on it," he adds looking at the timer. We all try the different chairs before being escorted into the luxury theaters. We find our leather fully reclining couches, set our drinks and popcorn in the holders, spread out the blanket and prop the pillow's behind our heads. It's a nice relaxing end to a pampered day and tomorrow we will do some really touring.
"I think this is the stop for Wat Pho," Dad says moving towards the front of the boat on the Chao Phraya river. We exit the boat and wander to the entrance of Wat Pho the temple which houses the reclining Buddha.Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha. Taking off our shoes we enter the temple housing the auspicious Buddha statue. The Reclining Buddha is forty-six metres long and fifteen metres high, decorated with gold plating on his body and mother of pearl on his eyes and the soles of his feet. After exiting the temple we wander around the complex before proceeding back across the river to Wat Arun. This temple is far different in style than that of Cambodia's or any of the one's we have seen in Thailand so far. Decorated with seashells and bits of porcelain believed to be from China adorn the exterior and steep stairs lead to the central prang. The last set of stairs to the top proves the steepest of any we have encountered yet. Using the railings we literally pull ourselves up step by step to the top where we are rewarded with sweeping views of the river and surrounding temples. Today Alecs, Sam and I are exhausted. We can't figure out why we are so tired but none of us seems to have any energy at all. We head to Paragon theater afterwards and watch Sherlock Holmes in the luxury theater, but I miss most of it falling asleep 1/3 of the way into the movie.
Tomorrow we are going on a tour to Ayuthaya and in the evening it will be New Years Eve - and we have yet to agree on something to do.
Until next time so long,
Alecs and Meg in Siem Reap

"I'VE LOST MY PANTIES,"

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
Temperature: 31 Degrees Celsius
Track of the day: "You gotta have faith" George Michael
"It's Christmas Eve," I say to Sam as he glares at me for waking him up, "can you believe it, it doesn't feel like it." Mom, Dad, Sam, Alecs, me and Ravovine are sitting at reception waiting for Rattana to arrive. While Rattana spends everyday with us since we arrived he also works at his restaurant until midnight and sometimes later once he drops us off. This morning he is about 15 minutes late as he didn't get home until 2am and it is now merely 7:00 in the morning. Soon enough though he arrives with his wife and daughter and we pile back into the van. Rattana's wife is pregnant with a child he is hoping will be a son (we can reveal that he did in fact get a son named Joshua born on March 03). Ravovine's daughters went to school today and did not get to join us nor did his wife who was working at a busy market as a seamstress. The trip to Kulen Mountain, another place Alecs and I have not yet been but Mom and Dad have is much shorter and less bumpy that yesterdays haul out to Ko Ker. As we wind up a dirt road to the top of the mountain flanked by rich forest where some of the Khmer Rouge hid after Cambodia was liberated by the Vietnamese we come upon an elderly monk on the side of the road. The monk holds a simple pot in his arms and Buddhists give him food also known as Alms. Our driver stops beside the monk and Dad and Ravovine step out of the car to retrieve some fruit from the trunk. The driver and Rattana give some money while Dad and Rav offer the fruit. The monk cannot accept the dragonfruit which he has been given as there are too many seeds in the flesh. "If he eats the seed then he will kill future dragonfruits," Rattana explains to us, "and monks cannot kill anything". Unlike Apples there are too many seeds in a dragonfruit to pick out and this holy monk who follows the teachings of Buddha religously cannot accept this. Rav performs a quick ritual on the fruit which Rattana explains is killing the seeds. Now the monk thanks Dad and Ravovine for the generous oferrings and we continue up to the top of the mountain. Phnom Kulen is considered a holy mountain in Cambodia, of special religious significance to Hindus and Buddhists who come to the mountain in pilgrimage, there is a sacred hilltop site on top of the range. At the foot of this mountain is a small market where we exchange roughly $3US into tiny denominations of Riel (Cambodian currency). Along with Rattana and Ravovine we also purchase flowers to give as offerings at the top. Following our leaders we head up the many stairs in front of us where dozens of beggars sit along the sides. With each stair we hand the men, women, children, elderly, disabled and babies a single bill. The Buddhists believe that by doing good you will be rewarded and at this most sacred temple they give offerings to those less fortunate as do we. At the top we give a quick prayer, light an incense and leave flowers at the alter. The experience is quite soothing and the magnificent scenery of this hilltop temple far from the tourist trail with the vast forest before us makes for an intoxicating experience. We continue through the temple at the top and find a spiritual man sitting cross legged in a corner and we all get our fortunes told by him. Kneeling on the mat we place an old book of fortunes above our head and place a wooden stick inside the book. Handing the man back the fortune book he reads it aloud to Ravovine who translates. Dad will get something I have forgotten, Mom will get everything she wants in life, Sam will have the riches and power of the King, Alecs will always have lost things returned to him and I will have three wishes fulfilled within my life. Each fortune is accompanied by a story with a lesson. "That was one of the best things we've done on this trip," Sam says as we exit the temple, "I really like this place." Alecs buys a wooden backscratcher from a small stand and we head into a little cave/altar where he continues to scratch the local childrens backs - they giggle uncontrolably at this. Piling back into the van we head to our lunch spot at the top of a waterfall frequented by locals. This little makeshift village where we spread another picnic lunch out is something like we have only seen in movies. There are probably 5 or 6 homes, a small river runs through it where a women squats, washing her clothes and naked children run around chasing eachother without a care in the world. "Be careful," I say to Sam as we climb down some rather steep stairs to the base of the waterfall, "don't hurt yourself." This simple phrase "be careful" has become something of a joke on this trip as nearly everyday, usually several times a day, Alecs, Sam or I will hear this from Mom and Dad. "You kids are bad," Mom scolds, "you'll see, one of these day's I won't say it and you'll get hurt." We laugh and argue and laugh some more until soon enough we are at the bottom. The water at the base of the beautiful large waterfall is chilly and it takes me quite a while to join the boys in the swimming hole. Soon enough though we are swimming over to the plummeting water while Rattana and Ravovine jump off high rocks into the water. "This has been my very favorite day so far," I say to Alecs, "me too," he adds. Rav splashes around like a child and Rattana and him laugh and push and time goes by way too fast as usual. We join Mom, Rattana's wife and daughter back at a more secluded area where a smaller waterfall feeds from the main one. Pushing against the current Sam, Dad, Alecs and I use the force of the water as a personal waterslide and take turns going behind and under the water. Finally we agree to head back up the mountain so the driver doens't have to drive down the hill in the dark. "Are you crying," I ask Mom whose eyes are red and puffy, "no," she says between stressed breaths, "I'm laughing." Mom tells me that Ravovine has gone up the stairs already because he lost his panties. "He lost what?" I say perplexed. Mom erupts into laughter once agian, "he told me that he lost his panties and I said Rav, men don't wear panties," Mom says trying to catch her breath. She continues with the story telling us that Rav asked perplexededly why men don't wear panties, not understanding that she was talking about the word panties not the wearing of undergarments. Back at the top I goad Rav asking him what he's looking for. "I've lost my panties," he says and all of us erupt into uncontrolable fits of laughter. Mom explains to Ravovine the word for Men is underwear and he now understands why we have been teasing him. Luckily he finds his underwear wrapped in his towel and heads to the washroom to change from his swim shorts to clean pants and I suppose his panties. For dinner tonight we head to a slightly upscale French restaurant with cheesy carols playing but a secluded family dinner. We should get a fish massage at the Night Market,"I say after we finish dinner. Everyone agrees to try this massage that Alecs and I have been raving about. We ask our drivers to drop us at the Night Market, an exciting touirist market bustling with stalls upon stalls of things we all want to buy. We lead everyon to the back where we had our first fish massage. A worker at the business wipes down our feet with a towel and we place our feet in a pool filled with small fish. Immediately the fish flock to our feet and nibble away the dead skin. "Oh this is weird," Sam says flinching as they send what feel like tiny electric shocks through our feet, "it's hard to stay still." We finally get use to the sensation and enjoy the feeling for the next 30 minutes. "Alecs you need to decorate your stocking," I say back in Mom and Dad's hotel room holding the small stocking and a glitter pen that mom brought along. Since this Christmas vacation is our present we have agreed to exchange small gifts in stockings that we are hanging in the hotel room. I open a gift from my Aunt Cindy - a small Christmas quilt that we use for the presentation of our little hotel-room Christmas. We hang the stockings from hooks in the windowsil and fill them with our wrapped presents. We end up having quite a lot of presents for one another, spilling out of the stockings, onto the window sill and the floor. Dad sets up a little projector he bought back in Malaysia to my iPod and we all spread across the bed and chairs to watch "Charlie Brown's Christmas" on the wall. It's a perfect end to our Christmas in Cambodia and Sam, Alecs and I retreat to our room to await Christmas morning.

"Merry Christmas," Alecs says waking me up the next morning. The three of us hurridly head to Mom and Dad's room, where they are patiently waiting our arrival. There seems to be even more presents since we left last night and Dad hands out the stockings with their respective overflowing gifts. Alecs and I cannot believe the number of gifts we recieve including a load of US dollars from our family back home, heart-felt cards and much more. I recieve more items than I could shake a stick at including mascara, earings, cream, body wash, books, a hoodie, new shirts, lindt chocolate, nail polish, stationary, a mini camera, an Angkor Wat snowglobe, travel games, candy and a huge canvas painting of Angkor Wat that I had been eying a few days ago. Alecs recieves new socks, undershirts, a new dress shirt, soap, a new razor, eatmore chocolate bars, hot chocolate, mosquito repellant, old spice, body wash, a lifesaver book, scrabble dictionary, comic book and a pair of speakers for his computer that he had been longing for back in Malaysia. "Oh wow," Alecs says after he finds the speakers, "thank you so much Lorrie and Kevin," he says opening them up to examine the red speakers. "I knew you really wanted them," Dad says, "you kept coming back to look at them when we were walking around the electronics store in Kuala Lumpur." I spread out my massive painting to look at it in all it's glory while trying on my new shirts, hoodie and jewellery. Everyone else finds their treasures and begins fidelling, reading, trying things on and just admiring before we have to prepare to meet Rav and Rattana. As we stand on the balcony outside we watch a commotion below as the staff run a relay race around the pool during their Christmas Party. Under a shower head they must peel and eat a banana then race to a lounge chair and dip their head in coloured water, continuing onto a bowl of flour and then run around the pool to the finish line. Roars of laughter can probably be heard from blocks away - it's great fun. "Merry Christmas," Rav says after we finish breakfast. Rav has brough gifts for us all each with a great deal of thought and charectar put into them. We thank him profusely and await Rattana's arrival. Today we are visiting an orphanage just outside Siem Reap and are heading to the market to pick up supplies first. "So what did you guys end up buying?" I ask Mom and Dad outside the city. "50kg of rice, 2 volleballs and 2 nets, those feather hackeysacks they like, school notebooks, pencils and candy," Mom tells us pointing to the myriad of bags in their tuk-tuk. We follow Rav. who knew of this newly established orphanage and enter into the small compound. The children are expecting us and have obviously had a quick lesson in English. "Hello my name is Ek, what is your name?" a young boy asks me as I hop out of the tuk tuk. "My name is Meaghan, how are you?" I reply shaking his hand. "I am well, thank you for visiting us." Nearly every child approaches us and introduces him or herself. The adults greet us and happily take the rice away to the smallest of kitchens and then distribute the notebooks and pencils to each child. The older kids immediately setup the volleyball nets and then they eagerly line up to recieve their new school supplies from the teacher. A little girl no more than five grabs my hand and guides me around the compound showing me all the posters and classrooms, where they eat and play and sleep. It's a rewarding experience to be with all these smiling kids and a humbling one aswell. A small vegetable patch grows in front of the small classroom and Rav explains much of their food comes from this. After spending quite some time talking to the children, getting to know the area and understanding more about their lives we bid them farewell and the children run beside the tuk-tuk's waving goodbye until we can no longer see them. Rav. finds us a nice relaxing place for a Christmas lunch equipped with some excelent Mango Shakes. We stop at another temple with awe impressive views before heading back to the city. "Stop at Swensen's Ice Cream near the old Market," Mom says to Ravovine, "we want to take you and Rattana out." Mom has been talking about Swensen's ice cream for weeks now, claiming it is to die for. This is actually a strange statement coming from someone who normally does not enjoy sweet foods so we all agree it must be good. Sure enough this is an ice cream store like no other, complete with a full menu of just ice cream. We sit down and peruse the offerings, Alecs orders five scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, whip cream, wafers and a cherry. Sam and I agree to try something we have never seen before - an ice cream fondue. We choose nine different favours of ice cream from mango to green tea, peanut butter, strawberry, strawberry cheesecake and so one. The food arrives and everyone eagerly digs in. Our fondu comes with melon balls, wafers, cookies, whip cream, a pot of chocolate, brownies, banana's and of course 9 scoops of ice cream. By the time we are finished are stomachs feel about a mile in front of us and we can barely move from having eaten so much. Alecs rubs his belly feeling the same way having eaten all 5 schoops of his ice cream alone. It has been a Christmas to remember, I think this will be our first and only one away from home but it was certainly a memorable one. It has been two of our best days of the trip so far but it just doesn't feel like Christmas away from home. Tomorrow is our last day in Cambodia and each and every one of us feel sick just thinking about it. Alecs and I fell in love with this country in March, Mom and Dad two years ago and Sam has now too fallen in love.

Until next time so long,

Alecs and Meg in Siem Reap

"MY SISTER DIED OF STARVATION"

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
Temperature: 30 Degrees Celsius
Track of the day: "Greatest Story Ever Told," Oliver James
"This is Victory Gate," Rav tells us as we stand at the entrance to the ancient city of Angkor Thom, "and this is the churning of the sea of milk," he adds gesturing to a line of statues leading to the impressive gate. A causeway spans the moat in front of each tower with a row of devas (evil) on the left and asuras (good) on the right. This famous depiction of the popular Angkor myth the Churning of the Sea of milk is pivitol to this former capital. According to legend the devas and asuras were fighting over the elixir of immortality around a mountain. Using the king of serpents they played a tug of war around Mount Mandaranchal to churn the ocean. However once the mountain was placed in the ocean, it began to sink so Vishnu in his second incarnation as a turtle came to their rescue and supported the mountain on his back - thus good won. Beyond the towering stone gate are a myriad of temples each unique and impressive unto itself. Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital of the Khmer Empire, established in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII and his succesors. Alecs practices his Khmer with Rattana as we follow Rav to the Terrace of Elephants, a long platform used by the King to address the people. The terrace is named for it's carving of elephants on its eastern face. Rav. takes us through a winding corridor that Alecs and I missed last time and explains the meaning behind the many guardas and lions carved into the stone. During our tour of the temples we stop for a cool drink at a little vendor. Dad buys everyone a cold pop and the vendors gather plastic chairs for us to sit together in a circle. A young man comes by selling books and mom peruses the many titles he has in his basket. "What book is that" Rav asks Mom after she purchases a couple. Mom hands Rav the book titled "First they killed my father," a chilling tale of a little girls struggle to survive through the Khmer Ruge while her family dies off like flies around her. "My family were peasant farmers," Rav tells us, "so we were more okay than the city people." Rav. tells us of how hungry he was, forced to eat live frogs while the all mighty Angkar's head was turned. Rattana talks about how children couldn't live with their parents and Rav. mentions he was in a child labour camp. "My sister died of starvation," Rav tells us he continues to laugh at his own desperation during the time....it's a grim conversation but Rattana and Rav. manage to keep a smile. Sam, Alecs and I speculate that by smiling they manage to push through something we can hardly understand - and it must be said that Cambodian's smile alot! Continuing back to the tuk-tuk's we join Rattana's friend who has been one of our drivers and all of us go to a little lunch spot together. Rav, being the negotiator he always is, manages to ensure he, Rattana and Sinat get their lunches free as a 'finders fee' for bringing the five of us to this restaurant. So after a hearty lunch and a little shopping we hit Bayon temple whose most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. "Looks like me right?" Rav says pointing to the massive carvings visible from nearly every angle within the temple and smiling. Inside the temple an elderly women maintains a small buddhist altar with statues and incense. Alecs decides to light some incence and complete this spiritual ritual. After he finishes the old woman takes his right hand and ties a simple red bracelette around his wrist. Sam and Dad follow suit, while Mom leaves the dark temple cavern after having been stung by a scorpion in a similar place a couple years ago. We venture through many more temples and end the day with dinner at the Indochine.

"Sam!!!," I yell for what feels like the hundreth time this morning, "get up now!!." Today we are heading to Ta Prom again but this time for sunrise - thus Sam is not awake. After many shoes thrown at his head Sam finally gets up and showers and we manage to meet mom and dad at reception only moments before Rattana, Rav and Sinat arrive. Ta Prom is a magical place and nothing beats sunrise here as the hoards of tourists head to Angkor Wat where the sun rises over the temple but here we cannot see the sun. The morning dew clings to the stone, the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surrounding make this place feel like another world. "I think this is my favorite temple in the morning," Ravovine says after explaining more of the history, "it's very spiritual, a place to meditate." The sun creeps into the sky and tourists begin to filter in signaling our time to leave. The morning breeze in the back of the open air tuk tuk is quite chilly and Sam, Alecs and I shiver as we head to our next temple. Beyond this temple lies a mountain with a small waterfall and a number of lingas carved into the river at the top - known as Kbal Spean. Mom and Dad have been here before but since Sam, Alecs and I have not we decide to head up the mountain not knowing what we are getting ourselves into. The first part of the hike is moderately uphill but not overly difficult and Rav entertains us with a brief history lesson. Kbal Spean is commonly referred to as the River of a Thousand Lingas due to the presence of an estimated 1,000 lingas, which are scluptures dug in the Siem Reap river beds. Every 400 meters we pass a sign letting us know how far we've come. Soon enough the terrain becomes steep and uneven, wtih tree roots being used as rope's to pull ourselves up we press on. Sam and Alecs find several branches to create makeshift swings, acting like a couple of monkeys. Roughly 5 km later we make it to the top where simple carvings can be seen under the clear waters of the river. Ravovine, wanting to get a photo on his camera to ask his teacher about a specific carving jumps the roped off area and quickly get's a stern talking to from a couple security guards. Like almost everything he seems to remain completely unphased and laughs all the while. We find another winding path to take us to a nice cool waterfall where we spend quite some time relaxing before our long descent which ends up proving much more difficult that the hike up. "I don't even feel like eating," I say as we sit at a nearby restaurant at the bottom of the mountain having just reached bottom moments ago. "I know what you mean," Alecs says finishing his second mango shake, "I'm too tired to eat," he adds. After our late lunch we crash back at the hotel before dinner as tomorrow we are leaving bright and early for Ko Ker, which is considerably far away.

Mom convinced both Rattana and Rav to bring their wives and children with us today as we have hired a van and driver with enough room for a dozen people. Ravovine has two young daughters, one studious, shy and well-manered, the other rambunctious, clever and cheeky. Rattana's daughter is a small barely walking and very shy little girl who clings to mom and dad. Our driver is another one of mom and dad's friends who has a thoroughly interesting life. During the war, he foughts against the Khmer Rouge with an underground army of former Lon Nol soldiers and set landmines to capture the militia. After the war ended he worked tirelessly in organizations to rid the country of the millions of deadly landmines now killing civilians. We all pile into the car with a myriad of fruit, veggies, baguettes and much much more for a nice picnic. The road is long, bumpy and very dusty but all three kids are brilliantly quiet and well manered for the entire trip. We stop at a number of small temples en route before arriving at the picnic area and final and largest temple. Here we find a picnic table, order some rice and spread the delicious food across the table. "Here you go," Alecs says rolling his eyes handing me pieces of his ham sandwich to feed the stray dogs. Alecs pretends to be appeasing me but I have seenhim sneaking food to stray dogs several times throughout this trip - I think I might have rubbed off on him. After we finish eating I notice the restaurant owners young son sitting with his father, eating a simple bowl of rice and I walk over to offer him a package of Oreo's. He nodds is head as his father whispers something to him and he brings his hands together in thanks. Watching him back at my table it becomes quite aparent that his father has instructed him to finish all of his lunch before he can eat the cookies. Eyeing the package the never takes his eyes from them as he loads spoonful upon spoonful of rice into his mouth. I follow everyone else to the main, massive and almost Mayan looking temple. Unfortunately, due to centuries of unuse and a lack of restoration we cannot climb this temple as there are almost no actual stairs left. After wandering around the temple we head back to the van where I spot the little boy sitting with his younger brother licking the icing off the oreos. I grab a couple Mars Bars and two packages of skittles and deliver them to the boys who nearly jump in the air. Rattana tells me these children who live so far from the city will have never had candies like these and even city dwelers cannot afford such goodies. Hopefuly this small gesture at least gave these little boys some excitement in their day as their home gave me such excitement. "This next temple we're going to is our favorite," I tell Sam as we approach Beng Mealea. "Ya, there's a lot of climbing over walls, through corridors and swining on branches at this place," Alecs adds reminiscing of our last trip here. This temple is around 40 km from Angkor Wat and Siem Reap and Alecs, Rattana, Sam, Rav's wife and daughters climb a wall to the interior while mom, dad, Rav, Rattana's wife and daughter walk around to the main entrace. We make several wrong turns and find ourselves climbing over walls that lead to more ruins, over crumbling bridges and into dark corridors. A single u-shaped vine provides the only way of crossing a particular gap in the temple and although there are ways around it both Sam and Alecs cannot resist the thrill. Finally we enter the main area where a maze of wooden planks and boards connect us with the rest of the crew. The sun sets quickly and not wanting the driver to have to be driving too late we head out and home for the evening.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and will be a Christmas like none of us have had before. It will be my first Christmas without snow, but more imporantly my first Christmas without our families (except mom dad and Sam). We are sad about this but it doesn't really feel like Christmas time despite the cheesy attempts at Christmas trees and carols that make us smile.
So long for now,
Alecs and Meg in Siem Reap

"I FEEL AT HOME HERE IN SIEM REAP"

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

Temperature: 27 Degrees Celsius

Track of the day: "Real World" Matchbox 20

"Rattana we're just entering Siem Reap," Alecs whispers over the phone as our bus passes a landmark that Alecs and I remember to be a mere five minutes from the bus stop, "see you soon." We quickly unload our luggage from the bus and wait a few minutes for Rattana to arrive. Back in March when Alecs and I were here in Cambodia, Rattana was our tuk-tuk driver and we quickly made good friends with him and have since kept in touch. As I anxiously wait for Rattana to arrive, wondering if he knew where this exact bus terminal was located my questions are answered as I see him literally running over to us. "That's him," I say, elbowing Alecs as he approaches. We make quick introductions and head to the hotel Alecs and I fell in love with last time - Golden Banana. It's been about 10 months since Alecs and I were last here but within moments of our arrival several of the staff members have recognized us. Rattana is no longer a tuk-tuk driver but rather the supervisor of a Khmer restaurant and we have agreed to have dinner there tonight. "I love this place," I say as we wait on the quiet street in front of the hotel under illuminated Chinese lanterns, while children ride bicycle's past us and the hotel dog rubs against me for a scratch behind her ears, "I feel at home here in Siem Reap." Alecs nods his head in agreement as the dog moves over to him for a belly rub. Moments later Rattana's friends arrive in a couple tuk-tuk's to escort us to Thany Khmer Restaurant. Although we are excited about eating at the restaurant where Rattana works, we assume this restaurant will be a random hole in the wall frequented by mostly Khmer. However we finally arrive at the restaurant we are greeted by a smiling and proud Rattana who guides us up to the traditional styled eatery under a bamboo thatch roof with romantically dim lighting. Rattana has instructed his staff to cook a set meal for us to his exact specifications, which means not-so-spicy (mostly because of me). The meal includes a dish called Amok - the national dish of Cambodia and a food we had tried back in March and thoroughly did NOT enjoy. Both Alecs and I give each other a knowing look out of the corner of our eyes but continue eating nevertheless. My first mouthfull is sensational, the deep rich flavour of the amok spice mixed with the creamy coconut milk and local spices is something I had not expected. Alecs flashes me a quick smile and we finish the amok in a matter of minutes and continue onto the next course. The night goes on with plenty of laughs and smiles before we retreat to our wonderful hotel for the night.

"I hope Rattana and Ravovine get along," Alecs says nervously the next morning over breakfast. Ravovine was Mom and Dad's guide to the temples when they first came to Cambodia and is meeting up with us this morning. A few moments later a friendly and very smily man approaches us and Mom and Dad jump to their feet. Ravovine introduces himself and moments later Rattana arrives. As he walks towards us Rattana stops in his tracks and imediately recognizes Ravovine and the two make like old friends. In fact they played in a volleyball league together and soon we are all headed off towards Angkor Wat thinking about what a small world it sometimes is. "We're almost there," I tells Sam after we purchase our week long Angkor Wat temple passes on the back of Rattana's tuk-tuk. Moments later we round the long dirt road beside the massive temple moat 190 meters wide, within the moat is the outer wall and as we all walk towards it the grandeur of the temple dwarfs us and I imagine what it might be like to have been the King so many centuries ago. Ravovine gives us a mini-history lesson throughout the entire complex, from the extensive bas reliefs, to the intricate carvings, and nearly everything else. "I am learning so much more this time around," I say to Alecs after Rav. explain a particularly interesting story about Vishnu. Standing at the reflecting pond where the awe inspiring temple shimmers on the water Alecs and I can hardly believe we are here once again. The day continues on with more temples including one of Alecs' favorites- Preah Khan. This temple does not have the voracious vegetation that has overrun much of Ta Phrom but still remains largely overrun by the forest. Unlike Angkor Wat, which is completely restored and magnificent in that way, Preah Khan is a maze of partially restored corridors and rooms where the adventurous soul can take flight. Sam gets his first taste at what made Alecs and I fall in love with these temples. Winding through fallen stones and climbing over fallen walls we explore the extensive temple before continuing onto the next. Exiting the temple, we pass one of the magnificent trees that has become one with the temple, pushing it's massive roots straight through the stones, engulfing parts of the outer wall in it's entirety. "Rav. is hilarious eh?" I say to Sam and Alecs as we sit in the back of the tuk-tuk heading to our final temple of the afternoon. Rav. is something of a comedian and has a funny anecdote at nearly every moment and it makes the experience all that much better. Rattana and Ravovine are always laughing while the rest of us are busy exploring the temples and it brings a smile to both me and Alecs. We arrive at Pre Rup, a temple with many many STEEP stairs that Rav and Rattana both decide not to climb. We crawl up the impossibly high stairs to the top where we are rewarded with panoramic views of the Cambodian countryside. "Going down is going to be harder than coming up," I say aloud looking down the stairs. Alecs and Sam nod their heads and we begin our descent.

Back at the hotel Sam, Alecs and I join Mom and Dad on their outdoor balcony for a few beers. Earlier in the day Sam and Alecs discovered they had inadvertently worn the same t-shirt and Mom and I goad Dad into wearing his so we can get a good laugh and of course an ever-lasting photo!Today was one of those days that seem like perfection, the kind of day you never want to end and tomorrow will hopefully be one of the same!Until next time so long,
Alecs and Meg in Siem Reap.

"UM, ISN'T THAT YOUR SANDAL?"

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

Temperature: 33 Degrees Celsius

Track of the day: "Let it be," The Beatles

"I really love this market," Alecs says to me as we wander around the Russian Market for a second time. We all agreed to return here to not only buy some souvenirs to take home but also to get some gifts to bring to Phanit's mother who is cooking us lunch this afternoon. Mom and I head out to a flower shop and choose a lovely bouquet of flowers and then she and dad continue to a little market and choose a huge variety of fresh fruits. We become something of spectacle as locals stop by to help us choose our fruits, translate for us and find the perfect basket to put it all in. When we are finally done we have a magnificent looking fruit basket filled with watermelon, dragon fruit, mango's, banana's, grapes and much much more. We pile ourselves back into the tuk-tuks and head out of the city. "Um, isn't that your sandal?" Alecs asks Sam as the three of us sit in the back of a tuk-tuk heading to Phanit's family home. Moments ago we were plotting along a dirt road in rural Cambodia when Sam dropped his sandal out of the side of the tuk tuk. Both Alecs and Sam have been just staring blankly at each other for the past 15 seconds as we move further and further away. "Ya, I should probably go back and get it eh?" Sam replies and they both shout to our driver to stop. As Sam hobbles along the gravel road to find his lost sandal while Alecs explains what happened I can't help but laugh. Mom, Dad and Phanit are far ahead but luckily our driver knows Phanit and where he lives so we arrive shorty thereafter with all our footwear. Phanit's Mother and Father come out to greet us, two lovely frail old Cambodians who have created a feast for us. Their simple wooden home is on stilts, while the kitchen and eating are below the living area on the dirt ground. Beautiful blooming trees enclose the house from the rural road in front and behind the house are endless fields of rice. A mom and her three tiny puppies come waddling over to us after being scolded for barking and I can't resist but to cuddle with the flee infested pups. Phanit scales a tall palm tree and cuts down enough coconuts for each one of us. "I don't think we will ever get a more fresh coconut than this," Mom says as we all watch in awe as Phanit's frail old mother hacks open the coconuts in a matter of two swipes with her knife. As we sit at the wooden table sipping our fresh coconut milk Alecs and I can't help but think how lucky we are. Dish after dish of delicious looking food is piled in front of us and we happily dig in. Phanit's mom ensures there is never a moment when our plates are empty and spends the better part of an hour cutting fruits and feeding us until finally we can't fit an ounce more food in our bodies. "That duck stew was really good," I say to Alecs after all is said and done, "I really liked that beef dish," he adds rubbing his belly. Phanit offers to show us around the rice fields that his family works in behind the house. The community shares the responsibilities of cultivating the rice behind their homes by rotating days. There is no cover from the sun out here in these fields, with few trees in sight we are all sweating within moments. A number of men and women stand in the middle of the open fields completely covered head to toe as protection from the harsh sun. Phanit clambers from the path into one of the fields to bring us a few stalks of rice and we get a quick lesson in rice cultivation. We stop to say hello to one of the men working hard in the field and mom gives him her bottle of water as he clearly needs it more than any of us. All this hard work earns the family roughly $10-$12/month, a salary that barely pays for food. We continue on to find a man and women wading through a murky pond in search of fish. After spending roughly 30 minutes walking around the rice fields we head back to Phanit's family home where Sam and Dad find a vendor selling sugar cane juice. Just as we are packing up and thanking our gracious hosts, Phanit's sister arrives home from work and we all get acquainted, have a drink and then sadly bid them farewell. Alecs, Sam and I sit in silence for the majority of the trip back to the hotel deep in thought about today's experience. It is our last day here in Phnom Penh and although Alecs and I are eager to see our friend in Siem Reap we are sad to say goodbye to new friends here. With one last glance over my shoulder we pass through the heavy wooden doors of the hotel and head to our rooms. "How about this place," I suggest, reading from a 'dining in Phnom Penh' brochure later that evening . "Ya, let's just go there," Mom says reading the good description of a place called 'Sharky's'. Our old drivers from the first couple days here meet us outside the hotel and we ask them to take us to Sharky's. "Sharky's?" our driver repeats, "you want to go to Sharky's?". We nodd our heads and point to the word Sharky's in our brochure. "Is this it?" I say to Alecs and Sam as we hop out of our tuk-tuk's. Waving our drivers goodbye we look up and down the dusty side street that seems a little too far from the normal hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh. Sceptically we climb up the rickety old stairs to a smoke filled bar and quickly find a table as we begin to feel more and more out of place. "I don't think this is exactly a family place," Alecs says as we all scan the crowd. "I think you're right," Dad adds and we all nod our heads in agreement. A number of scantily clad Khmer women sit at the bar while several others dangle off male tourists who have clearly come to Cambodia for something quite different than the five of us. "Let's just order a beer and go somewhere else for dinner," Mom suggests and in a matter of minutes we have paid the tab and are walking towards the main strip. "No wonder our driver looked at us a little weird," I say aloud as we all laugh and discuss the dark side of tourism. Sex tourism in Cambodia has been a problem for years and is an ever growing concern. The child sex-trade is ever prevalent in Cambodia, as in many other Asian Nations, but it seems the government is continuing to turn a blind eye. We don't have to walk far to find a much nicer looking place for our last dinner in the capital. Reminiscing under the night sky we all discuss the trip so far and our respective love for this country, despite it's many flaws.

We arrive back at the entrance to Sharky's to meet our driver's fashionably late so they can see we didn't end up eating there. When we left Phanit's family home earlier that day his parents sent us off with a bunch of banana's, and by a bunch of banana's I mean they literally hacked of a branch of banana's for us. Dad asks one of our drivers if he would like them as we cannot possibly carry these all the way to Siem Reap and he happily obliges. We hurry off to our hotel room and carry the banana's out past the guards. "Did you cut those down from the banana tree in your room?" the guard asks Dad quite amused at the size of the plant. Dad explains they are from our friend and gives them to our new friend bidding both the drives and guard a final goodnight. We take a final dip in our private pool under said banana tree before bed. "So, what did you think of Phnom Penh this time around?" I ask Alecs moments before we drift off to sleep. "I actually liked it way more than last time we were here," he says, "I just love Cambodia."

Tomorrow we are taking a 6 hour bus ride to Siem Reap where we will meet up with our good friend Rattana.

Until next time so long.

Alecs and Meg in Phnom Penh