It also came with this lovely surprise, just outside the back door!
Day Three: The Small Circuit
We met Clem in the morning and he took us out to do what's known as the "Small Circuit". (Angkor Wat is only one of many, many other temples in the area.)
We were walking back to our tuk-tuk when I saw Sarah and Meaghan, two other ETAs, whiz by. They hadn't originally planned on going to Cambodia so we didn't plan our trips together, but it was nice to see they had made it as well. We made plans to meet up later that night, and went our separate ways.
After Angkor Wat, we went to Bayon. It's famous for the faces that are carved into the rocks.
Clem recommended a Khmer restaurant for lunch -- No. 8 (which was, curiously, next to No. 3) -- and it was SO good. Turns out, the food in Cambodia was a major highlight of our trip. I think I might even prefer it to Thai food, which is huge. :)
We went to a few smaller temples around Bayon after lunch, one of which was Ta Keo. We climbed all the way up the ridiculously steep stairs to see the view from the top.
That was the easy part. Then we had to get down. Luckily, our impromptu tour guide (he hangs out at the top) showed us the best way.
"It's easy!"
Down the road from Ta Keo is Ta Prohm. It's covered in banyan tree roots and jungle, so naturally this is where they filmed all sorts of jungle-y movies. As a result, it's one of the more popular ones, so we couldn't escape the obnoxious crowds of tourists parading through it.
We came back to the hostel and cleaned up, then had dinner at Viva! Mexican restaurant. After being deprived for so long of good Mexican food, I can't even explain to you how amazing my burrito at Viva! was. We actually went back there the very next night and ordered exactly the same things. Who knew you could get burritos (dare I say it?) BETTER THAN CHIPOTLE in Cambodia, of all places...
We met up with the other ETAs who just happened to be in town that night (4, not counting Meg, who was sick), and that's when reality set in. We were sharing our horror stories and commiserating over rip-offs and scams, when a group of really young girls (maybe 5 or 6 years old) came over to our table and started begging and asking us to buy postcards. It was heartbreaking, because we wanted to help, but everything you read says not to give them money, as it may be going to someone who keeps them on the streets. One of the girls just looked at Sarah and said, "I'm hungry." It was awful. We bought them some chips to go, but we don't know if they actually ate them. The box just sort of disappeared.
