Well hello Cambodia. Home of the famous Ankhor Wat, fried bugs on a stick, and so many doggos. Starting at 4am, Bridget and I headed out to the temples to watch the sunrise, a breathtaking spectacle despite the cranky old British ladies trying to get the perfect shot and loudly protesting the amount of tourists. Rich orange and pink tones surrounded the structure, magnified by the glassy water on the lake below. Watching the world come to life amongst the throng of tourists one thing came to mind, the voice of Darryl Kerrigan, "How's the serenity?" Our driver Doran escorted us back to the hotel for breakfast in his little orange tuk-tuk before returning to the temples for further exploration. By this time the cheeky monkeys had come out to play, there were triple the tourists, and the sun was high in the sky, resulting in some epic burn lines for my pasty self. The temples were beautiful inside, featuring motifs telling stories of war and kings who lived 800 years in the past, with detailed elephants, horses, monkeys and so much more. Most of the original steps were still intact, and I'm in awe of how such a tiny people were able to manage the incredibly steep inclines, let alone haul bricks at least 2ft across up them to create these amazing structures. Ankhor Wat is enormous, with most guides suggesting multiple days to explore. We quickly learned that this was not only due to the sheer size of the complex, but also the unrelenting heat and humidity. After four hours and 8 bottles of water we were both feeling worse for wear, and so headed back to our hotel. After some seriously cold showers and a nanna nap with the aircon on high, we had lunch at a traditional Khmer restaurant in the city centre, followed by a stop at the gelato lab where they made a perfect ristretto coffee, making me one very happy tourist. With bloated bellies we parked ourselves next to the pool to enjoy happy hour before dinner. Turns out our hotel bar staff make a mean margarita. Bridget had booked dinner at a training restaurant call Marum. The service was excellent, and we sat in the lantern lit courtyard with a bottle of Pinot enjoying a range of beautiful tapas style dishes, followed by house made chocolate cake topped with ice cream and fresh passion fruit. We talked until there was no more wine, and we were the last people there. The night was still young, so we headed to Pub Street in search of further beverages. Aptly named, the street is packed with pubs, bars and restaurants. Crowded with tourists the packed street is a sensory overload. Bands were playing in the street while on either side music blared out from every pub. Neon lights flashed all around and bells were announcing winners of various drinks competitions in every direction. We settled on The Red Piano, a corner pub with cute little lounges looking out on to the street. Our "one more drink" turned into several margaritas, an extra packet of cigarettes, and an affogato for Bridget, an ice cream fiend if I ever saw one. Realising we didn't have enough cash for the bill, our friendly waitress informed us they didn't take plastic. It was after midnight, and seeing the look of panic on our faces the waitress took pity and offered to pay the difference in our bill, so long as we returned the next day to repay her. Shout out to her, the real MVP for the evening. We returned with her money first thing in the morning, and in fact doubled it for her troubles and good will.
