So sadly hurting my hip flexor during a fun, competitive pickup in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) and overstretching the next day shot our chance for biking in Siem Reap. But taking a couple days of rest has been nice.
Yesterday Adam spent the 2nd of 3 days of our Wat sightseeing pass with a rented bicycle while I rested in the hotel. But today we both rested and went to "Joe to Go" for coffee and studying. Their profits all go to The Global Child NGO. Website is www.theglobalchild.org We also got a couple things from their upstairs boutique. For lunch we ordered a "make your own sandwich"with all the vegetables including grilled eggplant and then added avacado. Can we say A-MAZING! So delicious so we ordered a second.
Tonight we watched a free cultural dance all run by children. They played the instruments and danced several dances in costumes. Adults choreographed of course but it was worth the entertainment. You can donate after the show. All the children sang a song with a clapping audience at the end. One performer had his scarf on and his non-performing friend behind him proceed to wrap the other end of the scarf around himself and then pretended to put the first boy in a choke position...woulda loved it on my camera but my camera flashed twice so i got the shoulders of the two audience members in front of me. The dances consisted of a folklore about monkeys, a tiger and a fish princess from what I gathered. I kind of tuned out during the narrative at the beginning. Then one dance was with coconut halves clacked together between different dancers and the last of ladies and fishermen. The smallest of the girls and boys did a cute playful scene at the end where the boy took the fish basket away from the girl and teased her about returning it. The best part was that little of it was acting since it seemed more real as children tend to go off-script.
Now for dinner I am at the Mandalay Inn on their computer while Adam is getting our pasta from "Joe to Go". The food was so good we had to go again, especially by helping students achieve better education. Mandalay Inn has a full staff of very friendly English speakers. They have been very helpful in the smallest requests like hot water, calling a ttuk ttuk driver and allowing us to fill up a 1 Liter water bottle from their water station. We ask for a knive or spoons or something every day since we got some food from the market to save on food costs. I recommend staying here. Very good people and the rooms are nice. I guess the only one thing that seems petty is the smell of the water...a bit like rust to me but it could be a 'well' smell. I'm very keen on scents and I'm sure Adam hasn't even noticed it.
Tomorrow we will ttuk ttuk it to a sunrise viewing of Angkor Wat and then see the other temple that Hollywood celebrities enjoy (the one from Tomb Raider). Then we will head to Thailand for the very last leg of our SE Asia trip...AWESOME! There's no sadness anytime this year since there is always something awaiting us for the next step. So thankfully Adam and I can enjoy every step we take this year. Always something good around the corner.
Additional note, since we are nearing the end of our trip we seem to be getting souvenirs more than we had before. Partly because we don't have to lug it around for long and also because we sense the end is near and can't lose the opportunity to have a keepsake or two for others and ourselves.
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