We made it to the tiny Siem Reap Airport and then got through security in about 5 minutes. We had allowed about two hours and spent the bulk of it waiting in the uninspired single waiting area of the airport. Oh well. We were happy to have a snack of water (always always bottled here, but airplane water is sealed in little cups sort of like jello cups at home) and a chocolate chip muffin on the flight which was only 45 minutes. Chocolate here is really expensive so that was exciting.
We landed and then the real adventure began.
RM has an internship that he's doing in Cambodia and it's one that is, you know, like any other job. He can't just not go into work because he has a friend in town. So our driver, Sok, took Greg to work so he could put in a few hours, then me back to the apartment. I quickly changed clothes (one gets quite hot and sweaty quite easily here...what with the 80 degree and higher temperatures) and then headed out for adventure with Sok.
Our first task was to get a sim card in RM's old phone so that I have a method of communication with Greg and Sok. Sok took me to a market stall and we got it taken care of quickly and for 2 bucks. Sok is extremely helpful and pretty much did the whole transaction for me.
Step two was to rent a bicycle. We tukked over to a place where you can rent motos and bicycles and again Sok was a big help. The bike I ended up with has lights, a lock and even a baby seat in the back for Button Cat! I brought my helmet from home, so I'm all set to brave the crazy traffic with RM. We loaded up the Tuk tuk with the bike (really, I've seen all kinds of things loaded onto tuk tuks) and headed off to our last destination of the evening.
The Cambodian National Museum was a nice way to spend a couple of hours. While not a very large museum, it has wonderful collections and a beautiful inner courtyard. I was excited to see sculpture that was from Angkor, because I could totally imagine where it would sit in the temples due to our time in Siem Reap. There were lots of Buddhas, sculptures, very old items from the iron age and even someone's skull! People still venerate at the statues of Buddha and to assist with this the museum furnishes a few mats for kneeling and lots of heady smelling flowers for you to put into vases... This is just like lighting a candle. You make an offering and then you get to move a blossom from the basket to the vase. I picked one up to smell and one of the docents, an older woman, gave me two more. I tried to tell her no, but she insisted and then said "For you... A souvenir." The flowers are not real whole flowers at all. Instead they are a ton of blossoms skewered onto a stick in a lovely artistic way. So I got to take two home with me and now they are sitting in a glass on the apartment table, filling the air with their sweet smells.
Tomorrow I will go with Sok to Tuol Seng and the Killing Fields. Be prepared folks. It'll be sad.
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