Siem Reap, Day Three

We had the morning off for exercising at the gym and a late breakfast which included a Bloody Mary which was not good enough to have another before we left here. The breakfasts have been very good and Jim enjoys trying Cambodian food even for breakfast. We head out at 2pm today for our afternoon and evening excursion.

We were surprised to see this enormous ferris wheel fairly close to our hotel. It is called Angkor Eye and its 85 meter height from the ground offers 360 degree breathtaking views of the city and countryside. We did not bother to ride it.

We received a blessing from this Buddhist monk. I know you must be thinking he is too young to be a monk. He is actually a 12 year old novice monk. Monks age 7-16 live together. Like adult monks they also shave their heads and eyebrows and wear the traditional robe. They do have a probationary period to decide if they want to continue to ordination at age 20. Many of these young boys come from extremely poor families who cannot afford to feed or educate them therefore the boys actually have a better life in the monastery.

In Buddhist culture, receiving a blessing from a monk is a significant and meaningful act, often associated with good luck and spiritual purification. We went to the monastery’s Pagoda for our blessing. The “monk” chanted then sprinkled us with holy water for quite some time as he prayed. Then he tied a sacred thread around our wrist. We then got to ask him questions which were translated by our guide. Yup once again the Steens are purified.😇 So be prepared because by the time we leave this trip you may have to bow down or kneel to us next time we see you.

Wat Svay Romeat where we were blessed is a contemporary monastery and pagoda located along the Mekong River. It has a tranquil beauty to it. This road led us in to the monastery.

It is a hidden gem that is usually not on the itinerary of Western tourists so we were very happy our guide chose it for our blessing.

This stupa was built by a very wealthy family to hold the ashes of their remains. It was located very close to the sacred pagoda so our guide said that means they are prominent and wealthy people.

The women behind Jim in the tent were making sticky rice and beans in bamboo. Jim is trying it, he will eat anything.

It was so interesting to walk through the villages of Siem Reap and experience the culture of the countryside which will soon be gone as technology and infrastructure encroach upon it.

After watching these women we have a greater appreciation for the work and intense time involved to make these wicker baskets. They are mother and daughter.

Watch this video of Sandy getting a crash course in basket weaving.

She was quite proud of the thumbs up this village woman gave her in the end.

The cows are so so skinny here. It is due to the fact that they are primarily used for labor in the rice field and the farmers have limited access to high quality feed so they just eat the native grass which does not have sufficient nutrients in it.

Our next stop in the village was to sample the local coconut milk prepared by a woman at her home. Jim really liked it but Sandy just took a polite sip. She also made the baskets on the table. We later wished that we had bought some just to be polite.

We like our drivers better than the guides most of the time because the guides drag us out into the heat and try to get us involved in all this local cultural stuff. The driver has the car all cooled off and they greet us with cold wet facecloths and a chilled bottle of water. This is Mr. Chin

This is where local Siem Reapians bring their families to the beach on holidays and weekends.

Video of the boat on which we crossed the river.

The boatman pulled up to these stairs for us to get off in the mud. He then pushed his boat off the riverbank and swung himself up onto the boat.

and through the woods. Mr Chin could have just driven us over here but the boat and the woods are part of the experience😏. We are headed to villa Chandara which is a village inaccessible to most of the tourist crowds. It is surrounded by rice paddies in a spectacular countryside setting offering fine khmer cuisine.

Speaking of experiences, if you ever get the chance to ride in the back of an oxcart please say “no way”. The roughest most uncomfortable short ride we have ever taken.😩

After being blessed with holy water by a twelve year old monk we are now being taught how to make a mojito by a twelve year old bartender.🤨

Here we are enjoying pre-dinner cocktails while a chef prepares the food we will be served.

Prior to dinner we were we were offered what Jim described as a painful foot massage. He claimed it took him three days to recover. He couldn’t even smile for the photo.😣

Here is a video of the foot massage. Jim is trying really hard not to grimace. Sandy told her masseuse ahead of time to go easy so it wasn’t so bad for her but certainly not as easy as she would have liked either.

The experience did provide us a beautiful sunset.

Sandy was complaining about why we didn’t get a fancy tented table like other diners had that you can see in the distance behind us.😠

We did get a fan blowing on us though and the meal was ok. Sandy said the tented tables probably got a better meal. 😩

Looks like the table in back of us in the fancy tent is about to go up in flames. Sandy stopped complaining about our table. 😌

Video of our flambe dessert being made. Bananas Foster.

Tomorrow we awake very early to go to Angkor Wat Temple. Not the holiest in the world but the largest religious structure in the world.

3 responses to “Siem Reap, Day Three”

Bill Boyle

April 17, 2025 at 10:55 am

Hope you enjoyed Ankor Wat.
I never made it there.
I did visit Borobudur on Java.
Maybe one’s enough.
Bill

1. Living our retirement dream
  
  April 17, 2025 at 7:03 pm
  
  One is enough.
  
Bonnie/David Swanson

April 17, 2025 at 10:29 am

This was a very funny post. Really enjoying hearing of your adventures, which truly are, in the best sense of the word. Keep enjoying life!

Living the retirement dream

3 responses to “Siem Reap, Day Three”

Leave a ReplyCancel reply