Melting away in Siem Reap (4-6 March 2010)

I just came back (okay, not just just but not too long ago...) from Siem Reap after attending our company dealer conference... It was a half day meeting and sightseeing for the rest of the 3 days trip... :)

First stop... floating village... we were brought to this area called Tonle Sap where the entire village was afloat... there were houses, churches, schools, workshops and even a basketball court... there were even pig farms... Quite quaint... when you dont like your neighbours, just float away to a different location!! haha!! On the downside, life in this village is really poor... everyone seems to be begging for money... from the kids to the women while the men are out for work... Apparently USD50 per months is the average salary of people in Cambodia.

Makeshift boat out of a very big wok/pot...

We then proceeded to Bakheng Hill to catch the sunset... the stairs were as steep as what was described...Quite a good exercise... haha!! was sweating all the way... had a little race with Andrew downhill but he gave up halfway... isk...

Me climbing... :)
Taking a breather...

Admiring the sunset....

View from another spot..


Next, it's Day 2 of our trip... by the way...did I tell you the temperature in Siem Reap? it was 39 Degrees Celcius!!!!! Crazy heat... I was about to fall sick from heatstroke... All you need to do to break into a sweat is step out of the hotel room... even walking the corridors of thee hotel makes you sweat... urrrgh!!! Yucks... Hate the feeling...

But then, of course we have to make ourselves more miserable by visiting where else? Of course Angkor Wat!!! In the sweltering heat with no shade whatsoever.... OMG!!! I was going to melt to nothing-ness... the view may be gorgeous... the stories may be interesting.... the architecture may be breathtaking but all you can think of is "OMG it's so hot!!!" So here are so pics taken while I was melting away....

Next we went to Bayon the place famous for the Tomb Raider scene with Angelina Jolie... the overgrown trees towering over the temples and breaking the walls down....

A group photo op...

and right before we left the place... we re-enacted mortal combat... muahaha!! The stage was too inviting... :D

Final nite and we had dinner at Hotel De La Paix (hmm... maybe got the spelling wrong)... if you ever have RM1000 to spend a nite then you should stay here... the hotel is gorgeous.... and the food was also good (but I only took one photo...gobbled the rest down too quickly...hehe!)

So that was my trip... I came back lighter than I went eventhough we had 5 meals a day... u can imagine how much sweating was involved... uuurrrgghhh!!! Just thinking of it makes me sweat... yucks!! Definitely not a holiday destination if you plan to relax....