Sunday, August 10, 2008

After Angkor

We spent the weekend up in Siem Reap, which is the city outside Angkor Wat, checking out the temples around the place. Our hotel itself was pretty nice, with a little pool and very friendly staff who were always offering us things. It felt like a vacation from a vacation. The town itself was riddled with touristy restaurants and bars with clever names like "Angkor What?". We spent all day Saturday checking out temples, crawling around the ruins, taking loads of pictures, and listening to a goofy, awkward tour guide who barely spoke English. I would have enjoyed the experience better if it wasn't brutally hot and humid the entire time, as we had to keep huffing and puffing and climbing up and down steps and such. At every turn we were also assaulted by little kids trying to sell us bracelets and fans and silk scarves. I somehow ended up with a free fan which I kept using to fan myself down. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I had a bad time. The temples were truly breathtaking, and I was just in awe of how they could have constructed such massive architectural wonders. You're not going to see anything amazing if you stay in your airconditioned room all day, so I guess it was worth it trudging through the heat to get such amazing views.

Really, the pictures speak for themselves, and I will try to get all of them up soon, but as I said it is difficult to get the time to do it. Here is one, though, to whet your appetites, and please be patient for the rest to come!



Tomorrow begins our second week of training, beginning with a grammar test that I will hopefully not fail.

Until next time, as usual.

4 comments:

Jackie said...

Very nice, Petro. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures!

Anonymous said...

Guess all that huffin' 'n puffin' and perspiring is keeping you in shape. You look great!...Loved the other pictures, too. xxoo

mrlucky said...

It would seem to me that a place like Siam Reap (what a great name for a steven King movie) would have a Starbucks© or at least Dunkin’ Donuts(they can’t spell dough and don’t have any nuts—the perfect American icon).

Keep climbing......

xvxsariexvx said...

What a breathtaking view! Sounds like it was quite a trek, but definitely worth it! You have been to some amazing places! Good luck with your adventures in teaching!

Love,
Sara