Emily and Joey: A Comparative Analysis: Day 2

December 9: Day 2

Emily

Woke up at 4:20 am. Got in a tuk tuk at 5 with Joey and two other girls from the hostel. Drove through the darkness with other “smart” tourists trying to beat the crowds to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was nice. Traveled around to other temples, which were really cool because we could walk around and see all the detailed work that went into them. There were so many, and Joey and I couldn’t figure out if they were still being used as temples or if they were strictly for tourists or what. I walked up the stairs of one and was greeted by a kind-eyed lady who handed me an incense stick and a bracelet and taught me how to pray to a Buddhist idol. I thought that was cool and she asked for a donation so I gave her one. I declined to pray with the other ten kind-eyed women I saw at the temples today.

By the way, if Joey ever mentions a “giraffe”, please know that he is lying. We have not seen a giraffe in Cambodia so far. He insists that all cows and horses are giraffes and refuses to listen to logic. He is shocked and pleased at the sheer number of giraffes in this country.

We got done seeing temples by 11:20 and had no idea what to do with ourselves. We had been awake for 7 hours and it was still morning. We got some lunch and then wandered about. (I felt like maybe Joey would get sick of me, just because he's one big ball of energy and I'm usually pretty low-key, but he said he's excited to be traveling together so I'm happy. Joey can get along with anyone. So I feel very lucky to be traveling with him.)

Then we figured the only thing left to do was get a fish massage. So I sat down and held my feet over the open fish tank. The fish swam to the top and flapped their mouths in anticipation. I gently lowered my toes, feet, and legs into the fish tank and the fish immediately began to nom on my light, flakey skin. I couldn’t stop laughing! Joey, on the other hand, plunged one foot into the water, freaked out as soon as the fish touched him, kicked them away and yanked his foot out of the water. I stuck it out, but informed the fish-tamer guy that if the large, scary black fish lurking at the bottom of the tank began to eat me, I would be sad. He assured me that the scary fish didn’t eat skin, it ate other things in the tank. Lies. There wasn’t anything else in the tank. I looked down in fright as the evil fish chomped voraciously on my heel and then decided we were done.

Joey and I bopped around a bookshop for a while, frolicked aimlessly until we found a park to sit in, took a tuk tuk home and computed for a while. By 4:30, we were in nap mode. Woke up at 6:30 hahah. Ventured out into the world at 7:15 for dinner with Zoe and Sophie. Then we got ice cream. Now we're going to watch a movie in my room.

Goodbye. Emily.

And don't miss the pictures below!

Dec 9, Day Twoooo

Joey

Another action packed day for Emily and me. Woke up to my invasively loud and annoying alarm at 4:30 AM. For those who don’t realize, an iPhone is one’s phone, watch, camera, and alarm clock among other things. So when my iPhone was stolen, I had to buy a new alarm clock and the one I bought is absurdly loud and annoying. And it woke us up at 4:30 so we could leave for our hostel at 5 so we do the sunrise tour of Angkor Wat.

We thought we were being smart and would miss the crowd because what kind of tourist wakes up at the crack of ass to go see something that not going anywhere. But so did thousands of other people. Emily and I, along with lots of other tourists watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was really nice. We walked around this temple for a while, crawling through the various crevices, taking pictures, and taking pictures of the tourists taking pictures.

We did the “small circuit” of Angkor Wat, a 6.5 hour tour of the Temple Complex. I think we visited 5 temples and they were really really really cool. Angkor Wat is the most famous one and the one featured on the Cambodian flag. One had 216 faces carved into the facades. One had these MASSIVE trees growing literally on top the buildings. I think Emily posted a picture. They were so cool, and the roots were huge.

We toured with two other girls from our hostel. One was British and 28 and had a sabbatical from her job. (Why do only professors in America get sabbaticals?) She had been travelling through SE Asia by herself for a few months. She gave us some good recommendations for Chaing Mai. The other girl was from Zurich Switzerland, spoke perfect English, and worked at an airport so she got mad discounts on flights. (Again, what an awesome gig.) We bonded over our mutual understanding New Orleans is a totally amazing place.

Foods of the day: I bought a loaf of bread to eat for breakfast at like 5:45 AM. All I wanted was a loaf of bread because I carried a jar of peanut butter with me, as a I started to do in Vietnam when I realized I had no idea what I was eating a good portion of the time. So I ask for a loaf of bread, and only a loaf of bread, and the Cambodians working just had no clue. “You want bread? Only bread? Ummm, okay?” “Yes, I only want a loaf of bread.” For lunch, Emily and me walked around, and eventually found this place where I got a delicious pizza. Dinner, we met back up with Zoe and Sophie, went to a restaurant/bar, and I got a Cambodian dish called Khmer Amok. It’s really crazy how Western Siem Reap is. I know I mentioned it last time, but all the Cambodians here speak English, they use American currency which Emily and I didn’t realize so we converted all our USD to Cambodian currency which has been a pain in the ass, they have super Western places to eat, and the main drag, called Pub Street, is like a less trashy drunk version of Bourbon Street.

It really was awesome to stand by the Temples and reflect on the last few months. It really has been a blessing to travel the world, take classes, and meet some amazing people. Now to be travelling on my own and see something as amazing as Angkor Wat is amazing.

Last bit- as we were driving through the Temple Complex, we saw monkeys. That is all.