Our guide awaits us in the lobby for our 8:30 a.m. trip to the temples. We are both contently-full from the gastronomic marvel they describe as an “included” buffet breakfast. Not only do they have Cambodian/Chinese breakfast soup, but they have Indian, North American, European, Japanese, and International vegetarian cuisine. I stick with my Asian (soup), with a side of cheese and a finish of fresh fruit and in-house-made yogurt, while Peter sticks to his tried and true N. American with a finish of some nice sweet pastries.
Our guide, Lem, is a thirty-year-old, very slim, married man who turns out to be extremely knowledgeable. He has been guiding at Siem Reap for five years and is getting bored with the repetition and prefers now to do more far-reaching eco-tours. We are together until 5:30 and it is never dull.
I won’t go into details, but we visit: Angkor Thom including Bayon first; Ta Prom next; lunch; story telling about the carved stones we will see at our next stop, Angkor Wat, and, finally, Phnom Bakheng (the highest temple) from where we can view the area and watch the sunset. We ask endless questions and Len patiently answers. He never rushes us, which we appreciate. We have a fifty-minute wait for the sunset and this is not a great
time of the year as it is hazy so the colours will not be spectacular. Peter gives me the “do you really want to wait” look. I agree we should probably start home as the day has been long and we have seen, already, many marvellous sights. I think the guide is sighing in relief as we follow the half-mile pathway down the mountain. Wow! Am I lucky I have an intelligent husband with a sixth sense for trouble. We are walking against a tsunami of humanity. I think all two-thousand visitors of the day are on their way up the mountain to see the non-existent view of the sunset. At sundown, Peter and I are at the pool enjoying a well-deserved cold brew.
On the tuk tuk ride back to the hotel, Lem informs us that he is free on Tuesday and can arrange, as we have requested, a trip outside the area to his home village and the surrounding area of floating villages and visit the Banteay Srey temple on the way back to town. This will be done without the knowledge of the hotel to save the commission that we would have to pay. We will meet down the street at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Tomorrow will be a “get the laundry done”, walk around town, and get my hair cut and coloured if we can find a place.
We have dinner again at the hotel with the cute waitress. A young, unattached man could lose his heart in Cambodia.
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