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| Arriving at our beautiful hotel |
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| Tuk tuk excitement |
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| Old market Siem Reap |
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| Wanderlust, renews my inspiration |
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| 05.15 waiting for the sun to rise at Angkor Wat |
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| Is is cloudy but the sun is slowly revealing the treassures |
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| Angkor halls |
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| Holy morning, in ave and deep respect |
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| Five faces, Angkor Wat |
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| Beauty |
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| The faces |
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| Loving kindness to you |
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| Stubborn bambini on horse |
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| The guys |
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| Misha |
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| Advanced tuk tuk riders |
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| Making silk |
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| Spinning it |
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| Weaving it |
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| Beautiful Cambodian children |
So after nine sleepy weeks in Thailand we were hungry to see, feel and experience more Asia. We decided on Cambodia and Siem Reap for 6 days and I adored it.
I knew it would be tough to come here, a family with young children, we the 'fancy white' people with money, staying in nice hotels, eating well, seeing the good parts and all the poor, poor people with a missery of history. Two million people died in the Cambodian genocide 1975 - 1979 where Pot Pot and the Khmer regime wished for a clean start and decided all educated, wise (with glasses) non followers, followers with a bad day, many many fathers, mothers, working children was cut from life. Families were burried alive, starving people lead from village to village with no goal - no hope.
We started of by doing a very early first morning. Our alarm rang at 04.15 and we had arranged with a car to pick us up at 04.45 to take us to the Angkor temples for sunrise. I was thrilled and tired and realized very fast as we got out of the car that a flashlight would have been a great idea. We walked in darkness and tried to follow people ahead of us that came with the same purpose.
I felt the twinkeling excitement, but it was hard to put Teo (just realized he is two) and Misha four in the same mood. We walked in complete black over 12th century stones and hoped for the golden ball to rise soon. The weather was cloudy and the colour feast was hidden, but as the sun worked its way through the clouds the shadows of the temple became alive for me the first time. It is breathtaking, beautiful, massive, warm and welcoming.We spent a whole day at the different temple sights, sunrise, sunset and siesta in the middle of course, but easily have had three more days just there.
Siem Reap has a lot to offer and the cultural scene is boosting. There are new confidence and we met so many wonderful people. There are galleries making the neatest collage art, clothing designers and production places, art galleries, performance art and theatre in a lush happy pot.
We love tuk tuks!
As just crossing the street alone is like a game of chess, the four of us decided to tuk tuk around, and we got good at it. Just forget all about what you have learned about traffic, safety and rules and move with the crowd.
We had a day out at a silk farm. We decided to tuk tuk there which was 45 minutes each way. Rar, the driver, a gentle, mature and handsome man picked us up, we liked him imidiately, he wasn't pushy and wanting to sell. The childrens enthusiasm over riding a motorbike faded quickly, but I think they felt our moment and decided to keep calm. We rode through traffic and into the countryside. We smelled the sweet air, felt peace driving though the fields of grass, corn and rice. We rode past small children in their uniforms waving, big cows, playing dogs, swaying trees and gold colours. It was one of those moments - that will linger.
Cambodia was too short. We all felt that. I wanted to see more, feel more of this. Steffen has already been criss crossing the country for four weeks and was the experienced one, I want more of it, I will be back.
