Part two of my Cambodian adventure.

Siem Riep

The town of Siem Reap is very pretty. We walked along the river, spotted a cute mobile library, and obsessed over these watermelon sorbet things (is it just me or is it totally wrong to have an icypole in the shape of a hand grenade…?).

We visited an evening market which was mayhem – essentially all the shoppers are on motorbikes and pulled up to sellers to haggle – a fresh food drive-thru!

We also visited the incredible Apopo Center, where they train rats to detect land mines. Note that holding the rat was as far as I get out of my comfort zone but figured I’d have FOMO if I didn’t take the opportunity. Terrifying stuff.

But really, visiting Siem Reap is all about Angkor Wat. We arrived for sunrise. It’s a magical place.

It’s always the scale of places that is hard to describe. In the pic below, you’ll see some monks coming down the very steep staircase – it gives you a sense of how high it is.

After Angkor Wat we visited the nearby Ta Prohm temple (otherwise known as the Tomb Raider temple because it was featured in the movie, Tomb Raider). After the temple was abandoned, the trees took over. Another magical place.

And our last stop was the Bayon Temple. Shouldn’t have favourites but this was mine. Every surface featured smiling faces.

Koh Rong

And lastly, the glorious Koh Rong island. Absolute paradise. Pure white sand, warm water and a few days of doing absolutely nothing except swimming and napping (pic below was taken at the door of my bungalow).

Actually, we did one activity – night swimming with the bioluminescent plankton (a tick off my bucket list).

We stayed at the beachfront Secret Garden Resort (can’t speak highly enough of the staff, who were so helpful when we had to navigate a flight stuff-up) and honestly did not move. Yes, there are other beaches on the island, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the view (either from the beach or the pool…).

All up, we had such a fantastic trip. Cambodia was a great destination for combining sightseeing and some relaxation.