Cambodia Day 2: The Road to Siem Reap Breakfast was at 5:30 am at the coffee shop across the street - fried mee hoon with the hottest cili padi, some slightly over-cooked half-boiled eggs and that wonderful Cambodian coffee which we had last night. 

Siem Reap, here we come! 

After spending 30 minutes on the road, we couldn't resist making an impromptu decision to stop over to take some photographs. It was the perfect weather with the perfect "lighting"(something I learned from photographers) just after sunrise. The point of this trip was also to take more photographs that is off-the-beaten-track. We stopped by a bridge and had a full view of a river, village and Cambodians going about their daily activities beneath the bridge. Being not widely awake (zzzzz....blurrr), I guess I didn't take that many photographs. The stop took half an hour before we unwillingly piled into the van to continue our journey. 

We passed by endless hectares of paddy fields and flat land again. The people on the outskirts lived in wooden huts, some in better shape than others. The only brick buildings we saw were temples and schools. Along the road, there were plenty of bullock carts, horse or pony carts, motor carts and trucks packed high with people and goods... a scene that is totally different from our traffic congestion back home. 

We made another half-hour stop along the way at a local market place. Our driver was a little annoyed as we arrived in Siem Reap an hour late at 1:00pm, he was tired and hungry. Our driver took us to lunch at a local Cambodian eatery frequented by tourists. The price was not cheap, 3 US dollars for a plate of noodles or fried rice which would have cost of half the price. Well, we are on a tight budget, reserving our money for more sight-seeing and good bargains :-) 

We checked-in at Bun Nath Guest House, a nice, clean place where we stayed for the next 4 nights. After an hour's rest, we left to do a little sight-seeing around town. Our driver took us to Angkor Shopping Centre which sold gem stones and souvenirs at cut-throat prices. With nothing affordable to buy, we ended up taking pictures of the surrounding area. 

At a little after 4:00pm, we left the place to make our very first step into the ancient city of Angkor. We were told that we could get free entrances after 5:00pm. After purchasing passes for the next 3 days, we felt our adrenalin pumping as we drove through the checkpoint to Angkor. The road leading to Angkor Wat was serenely lined with trees on both sides and you could see many locals having picnics by the moat overlooking the Angkor Wat. What a sight!

Our first sunset stop - Phnom Bakheng, situated up a hill, a difficult climb for those who do not include the word "exercise" into their vocabulary. And when we thought climbing up the hill was difficult, the climb up the steps to the peak was worse. Each step was only about 4-5 inches, just enough space to place your foot sideways and some steps were about a foot high. My hubby and I (and I can say most of us except for KK who seemed to be the fittest) reached the peak panting heavily, with wobbly knees and legs that felt like they weighed a few tons. The peak was crowded with tourists, some taking photographs and the rest just enjoying the view of the sun that was setting. It's a different atmosphere... so many people, in a small space, watching the sunset together. I guess most of us don't even watch the sunrise or set at home, we are either too busy working or going around with our daily routines. So this is the best sunrise and sunset trip (for 5 continuous days!) I've ever experienced, and I'm sure most of us in the group felt the same. We even got our driver influenced into this later on.

We were one of the last few to leave the peak. The remnants of light in the sky was more beautiful than earlier on when the sun was setting. Going down the steps proved to be tougher, we had to use our torch lights to find our footing. Safely on ground, we proceeded to have dinner at a local stall, where the food was cheap and good. We returned to the hotel with some drinks and junk food, showered then sat on the balcony to chit-chat. Our journey continues...