A New Path to Follow: Temples, Floating Villages, & Markets- Day 3 in Siem Reap

After our first full day trekking around Angkor Wat, I wasn't sure if the boys would be up to another full day back at the temples. To my surprise, all 3 boys were begging to go back. It really is a paradise for 3 little boys who are looking for an adventure. My three year old had convinced himself that we would end up finding a hidden treasure among the ruins. My eight year old discovered that he loves photography and has a pretty great eye. And we learned that my six year old has great appreciation for ancient art. He was amazed by the carvings and architecture there. We all walked away with a sense of adventure and love for the Cambodian culture/history.

Grey taking more photos

Lincoln with the Apsara

We started out New Years Eve morning heading back to Angkor Thom to get a better look at the Elephant Terrace per Greyson's request. We learned that the Elelphant Terrace was built for the king to address all the people in the town for ceremonies and meetings. You'll recognize the Terrace from the elephant carvings all along the wall and the three elephant head sculpture at the front. Climbing up the Terrace is pretty spectacular. Looking out at the land that a past king addressed his people is a strange experience. I wondered what it was like for the royal family, how the staff was treated, how did the townspeople feel about their king? When you see these amazing ruins, it's hard to imagine them actually in use at one time. The boys favorite part of the terrace was watching large groups of monkeys running around. Even after living in Asia for 2 1/2 years, it still is a bit shocking to see wild monkeys running around!

Numbered stones that helped piece the terrace back together

3 elephant at the front of terrace

Standing at the top of the Terrace

After the Elephant Terrace, we headed to two smaller temples. The main thing to see at these temples were more of the trees growing out from the buildings. We loved the tree that looked like an elephant trunk. These smaller temples were a little more difficult to admire due to many women and children trying to sell handicrafts. They swarm around you trying to get you to buy postcards, bracelets, & artwork. It was sad and frustrating all at once. It brought up great discussions with the boys about these children who were their age spending all day trying to sell items. We did end up finding a beautiful table runner with Angkor Wat sewn into it and a few more postcards to send back home.

The elephant trunk tree (look at the bottom)

This hallway stretched forever

We decided to change our plans after we left this temple and made our way to the Tonle Sap Lake Floating Villages. A few months back, I had watched a special on the floating villages in Cambodia, but while planning our trip, I never connected the two. I didn't realize we were in the right part of Cambodia to see these villages. The villages were built by refugees that were not able to afford land in Cambodia. If they lived on the water, they did not have to pay for "land". Pretty ingenious. So now they have entire villages of floating houses, grocery stores, churches, schools, & restaurants. Food, water, & supplies are shipped it, but the people of the village bathe and wash their clothes in the lake. When the villagers are asked if they like all the tourists coming to see their homes, they say yes. It has brought jobs to many of the people in the village. They have a welcome center that sells handicrafts and restaurants to eat at, but it also makes you very aware of the poverty these families live in. There were many boats with women and one or two small children (one of the children typically had a python around their neck) begging to have their photos taken for money. In all honesty, we probably had more pictures taken of our children by the Cambodians than we took of them. We noticed that most of the tourist were from Asia, so the villagers do not get to see lighter skinned children that often. Our boys were being followed around like rock stars.

Lots of kids playing around in bins in the water

Lots of pythons around. They use them for photographs.

This little boy's family wanted him to get a picture with Britton.

The boats that take the tourists to the village.

This girl was selling drinks and hopped right on our boat to ask if we wanted any!

Floating houses

They farm crocodiles for their skin.

Checking out the gift store.

We really enjoyed our two days at the Temples and at the floating villages. I highly recommend getting a tour guide. We learned so much about the history and culture from our guide and I am not sure I would have come back with as much appreciation for Cambodia without a one.

Our tour guide, Ravi

To finish off our night, we spent time out on Pub Street. This street has loads of places to eat and markets to shop at. We also walked over to the Night Market, which was a really nice market. We had a great New Year's Eve in Cambodia and were even treated to a front row view of the fireworks from our hotel window!