Kbal Spean

11am
we finally reached kbal spean with a heavy heart, but we wouldn't let it ruin the trip. we had to hike a long way up, about 45 minutes up the hill, and this is definitely the longest and most richly rewarding mountain hike throughout the trip.(come to think of it, this is the ONLY mountain hike, since the others were all ruin hikes). right at the top was a waterfall and when we trecked a little higher up, we started seeing these sculptures/ carvings along the running stream and most importantly, what we've gone up to see, the river of a thousand lingas. it was amazing looking at all these lingas under the water, how the people have thought of carving them under the water. we were told that during monsoon season, the water was alot higher and it was even more amazing looking at the carvings all the way under the clear river. btu this was good enough, i'm contented seeing it as it is.

12pm
it took us another 25 minutes or so to go down the slope, faster this time since we were going downhill, and we chatted abit with our driver. he had asked us if we needed him to come along for the hike and we asked if he wanted to, to which he agreed to join us. i'm so glad he did, he was quite curious about us as we were about him (he always thought singapore was a part of malaysia!) and he told us how he decided to leave his village to work in town with a smattering of french/ german/ italian/ japanese/ english/ chinese. mostly consisting only of hi and goodbye. (ha!) At the bottom of the hill was a foodhouse which we ordered coconut juice from. a girl came over to sell us scarves (whom we didn't buy from, there's so many of them!) and we left with a stomach full of juice but empty from food.

12.30pm
our driver introduced us to this place for a quick lunch before our visit to Banteay Samre. the food was good and the experience actually felt quite weird to say the least. halfway through eating, this puppy came in from the back door and started scavenging for food. then came this larger dog and following it a couple of chickens. i even saw a young naked kid holding onto the collar of the dog, hitting it playfully while they walked across the road together. the whole place felt so much like a farm that we ended up sitting there for an hour looking at the puppy and the people there.

1.30pm
before entering the temple, about 6 girls happily skipped towards us, asking us to buy things from them. this happens at almost every temple, but here, it's different. it's funny because, they look totally happy. we were later told that it was their school holiday that day, and they were using the time to sell items to make some extra cash to buy books. about 6 of them surrounded me, and they introduced themselves, asking me to buy some things from them, be it scarves or silver figures or paper fishes. they looked like they were having fun, jostling with each other and running about. i managed to make 2 of them agree fro a picture if i bought something from them. funny thing was, they tried to sneak away playfully but when i saw them they just froze and smiled! before we left the place, i saw all of them running about across the road laughing, and there was a sense of peace. this is how life should be like. i will never forget those girls.

1.30pm
banteay samre looked pretty much like a quiet Angkor Wat, and i quite liked the feel of it. constructed around the same time as angkor wat, it has the same distinct carvings and architecture as it, albeit quieter and less touristy. throughout our hour or so there we only saw two tourists other than us. that was how quiet the whole place was. the kids selling souveniers aren't allowed into the place so we were pretty much left to ourselves to take pictures and take in the surroundings. not as breathtaking as angkor wat though, the banteay samre to me felt more like an angkor wat site b, or something of that sort. but i liked the fact that it stayed quiet all the way throughout the visit and we weren't disturbed one bit by anyone around us.

4pm
on the way back to the guesthouse we decided to visit the mine museum which we had heard so much about. it was kind of impromptu but along the way. paying USD$1, we were treated with a wide range of defused mines and ordinance. there, posters and banners on the harmful effects and history of mines were put up to educate on the effects of landmines. in the front yard is a small mock up of unexploded ordinance (defused in the set up) left lying about which one should report to the authority if he sees them. set up and created by Akira, this exhibition aims to teach and inform the people about defusing landmine and bombs left over from the past. very educational and depressing at the same time, it left quite an impact on the effects of using landmines. we stayed around for an hour or so before leaving again for the guesthouse. the thought that it's the last day today is certainly very depressing.

7pm
after coming back from the mine museum we were walking around aching for a massage when we came across the Blue 7. Opting for a 30 minute foot message after looking through the flyer that was handed out (almost every 20 steps will bring you to a massage parlour and you would most probably have collected more than 5 on your way back to the hotel), we were led into the hallway filled with a dozen armchairs where we were instructed to take a seat. two ladies came and gave our feet a brief cleaning before exerting their strengh on our feet. i would say the massage was quite acceptable and not as painful as we had feared it to be. my friend though, thought it was pretty ticklish and that not enough force was exerted. at USD$3 it was value for money and worth the visit. furthermore, it was recently mentioned in the weekend australian, so there's really no harm in giving it a try.

8pm
on our last night in siem reap, we decided to eat something we didn't dare to for fear we would get a stomachache the next day. the food stalls next to The Touch. at USD$1 0r 4000r per plate, we got to have one of the most wonderful meals in siem reap, the closest you can get to what cambodians eat without getting a stomachache with your delicate stomaches. hygiene queries aside, the stalls were almost full of tourists that day, all out for a quick and cheap meal and a mug of angkor beer. i ordered a mama instant noodle with vege, topped with a mug of angkor beer, which pretty much tasted like tiger beer come to think of it. how i was surprised by the incredible amount of vegetables that was cooked with the instant noodles. sheer delight that you can't get from USD$4 per plate restaurants. this has to be one of the best meals i've had in the whole trip.