MandaGoes: Thailand and Cambodia

We spent the entire next day on the beach.

A freshly chopped coconut

Enjoying a freshly chopped coconut, with enough water inside to supply a small army.

Fruit for sale on the beach: tiny bananas strike again!

The water was the perfect temperature.

I acquired a gnarly sunburn in my joyous fervor at not wearing 2 parkas everyday (as I do in Boston).

We bussed it back to Bangkok so we could catch our flight to Cambodia.

At a market in Siem Riep, I searched high and low for aloe vera gel, and finally stumbled across a humongous jar of it in a corner of a fetid market. It was $22 (basically a month's wages in Cambodia) and way too big to take on a plane, which I would be doing the next day. As I pondered buying it anyway, no lie, a ginormous spider crawled across it as the nonplussed shopkeeper looked on. The decision to find an alternative became easier after that.

The market, with shopkeepers snoozin' on their wares.

Spider Vera aside, Cambodia was brilliant. We met one of Grecia's yogi friends, Gabrielle (her blog here), who was staying at the same hostel as us. As we settled in for the night, we reluctantly set our alarms for 5:00am - early enough to take a tuktuk from the hostel to Angkor Wat and see the sunrise there. Since we only had one full day in Siem Riep, there was no time for leisurely lie-ins. Luckily, it still didn't feel like "rush rush rush," the day unwound perfectly in a blur of friendly locals, adorable children, and ethereal temples.

Sunrise over Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is to the northwest of the zoomed-in portion.

We had a wing of the building before the droves of tourists ventured from the main entrance, so we took advantage of the gorgeous sun rays to get some yoga in!

Ball of light

Grecia shining.

Lovely hallway entrance

A few hours after sunrise.

Exploring Angkor Wat

Carvings low on the walls of Angkor Wat

After being up since 5, walking around and lots of posing, it was time for breakfast. This little teenager (named "Darling") expertly corralled us to her "restaurant."

Breakfast was actually a full meal that resembled dinner, and no one complained.

After breakfast, we were off; on our way to the next temple.

Ta Prohm temple is in about the same condition as it was found in. It was built as a monastery in the 12th century, and abandoned at some point afterward, at which point the surrounding jungle took over; hence the overgrown roots.

Ta Prohm temple, with magnificent tree growing over stones.

When we were ready to leave each site, we went out to the tuktuk valet lane and looked for our trusty driver, Bahnet. At one point we wandered for about an hour looking for him: he had fallen asleep in his tuktuk, as many drivers do while waiting for their clients.

Like this. Note: not Bahnet.

Angkor Thom was the last city of the Khmer empire. Its temple is found far within the city walls.

Walls of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom, or: The Temple of the Faces

Dancing Buddha in Angkor Thom

View from afar of Angkor Thom

We went back to the hostel for some r&r before deciding what to do with the rest of our day.

Back to the tuktuk! With Gabriella.

Sadly we could not use our newfound Thai skills. Cambodians speak Khmer.

While the other girls stayed at the hostel for a much needed nap, I went to Phnom Bakeng to see the sunset. Among the regular sites I spotted these two monks.

Side note: Lotus chips are sooooo good.

Sunset through the guardian's mouth at Phnom Bakheng. Additional side note: I was paralyzed with shame when 2 American frat boy idiots started climbing over the ruins which are roped off. When called out by security below, I heard one say, "What can they possibly do? Come up and drag us down?" and they continued to ignore the frantic cries and whistle blowings of the guards, screaming "We don't understand! We speak ENGLISH!", frolicking among ancient ruins and instagramming themselves. Oh god, the shame.