Rainy Season

We've not only entered Cambodia, but also the rainy season! Yay. In Siem Reap, the rain has a very distinct schedule. The mornings are decent, but cloudy. And around 2-3pm the rain begins, always! Which means waking up at the crack of dawn (literally, we've had breakfast at 4:30am the past 2 days!) in order to maximize one's time for viewing the temples. It also means that by 8pm, you're ready to squish 3 people into two shoved-together double beds!

After a short stay in Phnom Penh we headed up to North-eastern Cambodia. Skipped out on the Irawaddy dolphins in Kratie because they cost $8! Spent one day in Ban Lung - saw a couple waterfalls & swam in a volcano lake. Jungle trekking was $20/day, so that was out...therefore, we headed back south & over to Siem Reap. How did we get back south from Ban Lung? Well, we missed the 6am bus because we thought it left at 8am. Our only alternative was a share-taxi, which cost a little bit more, but saved us wasting a day, so we said yes. The taxi came to pick us up at our guesthouse with one other man in the front seat. But was that all? Ohh, no, we stopped in town to pick up 2 more people - in a toyota camry! They tried to squeeze one of them in the back with us, but there was definitely no room without having to sit on each other, which we wouldn't have. So two men each shared either of the front seats - yes, even the driver!?! It was obnoxiously ridiculous! Oh, and we also got a flat tire along the way.

Siem Reap...
After another day on the bus, we made it to Siem Reap. Yesterday we started on a 3-day pass for the Angkor temples at 5am with the hopes of catching the sunrise. Unfortunately the road to get to the temples is never-ending, and the sky was bright by the time we arrived; the clouds also helped ruining the splendor of the sun-rise & sunset.. The spread of the temples however is massive! I've seen at least 10 different temples, all with something unique to offer - elaborate carvings, huge towers with steap stairs you can climb up (at your own risk!), trees' roots taking over the structures, hidden passageways, etc. It's HUGE & amazing!! And I haven't even been to Angkor Wat yet! Also great exercise if you're riding a bike. After day 2, and over 40km's (at least) of riding today, I was longing looking at the tuk-tuks that went zooming past!
Random note - I bought a cow 'bell' made out of bamboo today, which I'm very excited about!

I won't bore you with the details of the temples, you'll just have to hold out for pictures.
SORRY clause: my camera has ben very bust the past 2 days, and has chosen this perfect moment to run out of batteries, meaning that I can't upload any photos of Angkor!!! I'm very disappointed, but will try again tomorrow.

xoxoxo