Siem Reap - Day Eight

Today was the last day of our 3 day temple pass. We left the hotel at 6:30 am to go back to Tha Phrom to take more photos before the crowds arrived. Plus, it was so cool, definitely worth two visits for us. It's one of my favorite places I've ever been. Here's a couple more photos of new trees we found on our second visit.

After Tha Phrom, we went to a silk farm. We learned how the silk worms are raised and how their cocoons are painstakingly stirred in hot water to separate a thread to create a single strand of silk.

We also saw how the silk is dried and dyed.

Then we got to wander through a few rooms filled with traditional looms where artisans still handweave fabric. I would never have the patience for it (it takes three days to make a scarf), but it was a beautiful process to watch.

Cultural moment of the day: I ate a silk worm. How very Andrew Zimmern of me. Squishy, not my favorite texture. Our guide at the silk farm said Cambodians usually have them fried with lime, served with beer. That doesn't sound half bad.

Then Mr. Han drove us the the Rolous Temples. The first one was Preah Ko, which had amazing white stucco that's lasted through the centuries. There's also writing in all the doorways that's incredibly well-preserved. It doesn't look anywhere near as old as it is.

The other temple was Bakong which had dark stones and steep steps. Animal statues surround the perimeter.

The Rolous Temples were pretty far away from Siem Reap. By the time we got back, we had lunch at our hotel restaurant, since one restaurant lunch was included in our package. (Whenever I haven't mentioned lunch, a sandwich lunch was provided by our hotel, in a cooler so we could take it with us when we left in the morning. This was awesome, so convenient, and worth paying a little extra money so we could eat lunch where and when we wanted.)

Hubs had fried rice with an egg.

I had beef kroeung, a traditioanl Khmer curry. Delicious, not spicy (not that I dislike spice), with lime and colorful peppers.

After lunch, we headed out to Phnom Bakheng. We hiked on a trail up to the top of the hill to get to the temple. Well worth the hike for the amazing views of the surrounding jungle and Angkor Wat framed beneath the trees. There was also a view of the Tonle Sap lake, definitely worth the hike up.

Angkor Wat in the distance



People staking out spots for the sunset

Since this was the last day of our temple pass, we had to go back to Angkor Wat for our last sunset. Again, no great colors, but great people watching and so peaceful, even with all the people. We were fortunate to get some amazing monk photos, some of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

We chilled at the Villa for a little bit, then headed to Pub Street. We ate dinner at The Red Piano, a Belgian restaurant, so we took a break from regional food for the evening.

I had spaghetti with chicken, ham, mushroom, and coconut cream sauce. The coconut was definitely there, but not overwhelming or too sweet. It was a very interesting, unique dish that I'm going to try and recreate at home one of these days. I had a Tiger beer, the best beer in the region IMO.

Hubs had a steak and fries. The fries were nowhere near as good as the fries in front of the Belfry, just saying.

2 entrees + 2 drinks + 1 shake + tip = $25

After dinner we walked through parts of the night market, every seller bombarding us. After awhile, it becomes overwhelming, and it was something I never got used to during the trip.