Siem Reap

Back at "home" at Jimmy and Nine's in Phnom Penh (their balcony is the second one above the entrance), we relaxed for a day and shared stories of our Thailand trip.

After a little shopping, we stopped at Mike's Burger House for a "fix."   Mike, originally from Cambodia, spent a number of years in California. Upon returning to Phnom Penh, he wanted to make sure the city offered a good hamburger. It was up to Stateside standards, as you can see in these photos.

The next day, January 25, we embarked on yet another adventure. Early Wednesday morning, the four of us traveled by tuk-tuk through Phnom Penh traffic to board a sixteen-passenger van for a trip to Siem Reap (pronounced Sim Rip) to visit the the fabled Angkor Wat temple complex. 

Believe me, there wasn't a square inch of space in the van that wasn't filled with someone or his/her stuff. We were shoulder-to-shoulder and almost cheek-to-jowl; Siem Reap a very popular destination.  We traveled for several hours past rice fields, houses and small villages

The roads were narrow, with very little shoulder, and were crowded with everything from overloaded trucks to "iron cows" to motos to school children on bicycles. Our speed was close to 70 mph, and Jimmy Joe said our driver "had a demon" because he drove with a vengeance, sometimes passing what seemed like only inches from our fellow travelers. 

I was glad to be seated in the center of the van, so I couldn't see what was ahead. I did have a window seat, though, and took what photos I could out the side window and sometimes through the windshield between the heads of the driver and my fellow passengers. Some of those shots, and those from the return trip (which was just as nerve-shattering!) follow.