Sugarcane drink with a twist of lime in Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Day 3

Woke up at 6am. Walked around looking for a shop or stall selling local food. Found one opposite Jai’s favourite bookstore (BOHR bookstore). Yes, he bought 11 books to bring home. We had porridge and soup noodle. The food was great. Really, the local food is excellent!

Sima picked us up at 8am and we started on our 52km journey to Phnom Chiso, a smaller but similar temple to Angkor Wat built in the 11th century. It was great sitting in the tuk tuk feeling the wind in our faces. Throughout the journey, we noticed that almost every stall, shed or house had at least one hammock hung up. Cambodians seem to love lying or sleeping in their hammocks. Wish I had taken some shots but was never fast enough to capture a good shot.

Meet Sima, the tuk tuk driver (he is currently studying Marketing in one of the universities in Phnom Penh and drives the tuk tuk to support himself through uni!)

The last 5 km was very bumpy with puddles and potholes on the road. Poor Sima. Obviously, it was not an easy task manoeuvring the heavy tuk tuk to avoid the potholes. Finally we reached the site. Imagine our horror when we realised that we had to walk a few hundred steps up to reach the temple. Believe me, for a city person who loves driving and being driven around, it was not a welcoming sight. But, since we had already endured the bumpy ride, it would seem such a waste not to make our way up, so up we went….huffing and puffing.

Reached the temple and we met so many local kids there. Many were bare-footed. They brought us around explaining some details along the way. We were fascinated by their confidence in speaking in English and the fact that they were not shy at all of strangers. If given the opportunity for better education, I believe these children can go far in life.

Four of the children walked with us all the way down. Asked them how old they were – the youngest was 10 and the oldest, 12. We gave them some ang pow before we left.

Next, we headed to Tonle Baty- a lake where locals love to go for picnics. There were several bamboo shed on stilts built above the water along the banks of the lake.