Deer and Monkey Go Head to Head over Bananas
We’ve uploaded some new photos from the Royal Palace of Cambodia, The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary near Phnom Penh as well as our Boat trip to Chau Doc, Vietnam.
At 8:30am we were picked up by Monin, a tuk-tuk driver who was recommended to us. We drove 2 hours south of Phom Penh to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary where we fed deer and monkeys who roam freely and ate from our hands. These and other animals, many of them wounded, like lions, tigers, bears, elephants and birds were rescued from poachers and are being cared for at the sanctuary.
We then went to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where 17,000 detainees of the Khmer Rouge were systematically executed. A glass tower of 8,000 skulls stands before an otherwise peaceful and scenic rural landscape as a reminder of the atrocities committed there.
Back in Phnom Penh we met with Charis and Stuart, both Americans living and working in Cambodia. They took us out to a cool, modern bar/restaurant called Metro where we dined on a variety of Asian tapas. A pleasant walk along the Tonle Sap River led us to a night market where fried spiders, beetles, crickets, larvae, and tiny birds are sold to be eaten. We ended the wonderful evening at a monthly dance party at Elsewhere, a beautiful garden venue with a pool surrounded by lush local vegetation and people sipping cocktails.
While in Laos we rented a tuk-tuk and drove 32km south of Luang Prabang to see the wonderful Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. The drive up the mountain through lush green land was wonderful and we saw cows, water buffalos and many smiling kids who were waving “hello” at us. We got some exercise climbing up to the highest point and cooled off on the way down. It was fun!
We continued touring Angkor temples, this time driving further out to see Banteay Srei – “Citadel of Women” and Kbal Spean – “River of Thousand Lingas”. While climbing up to see the waterfall (more like a puddle during this season), we ran into a few friendly Cambodian students who were happy to chat for a bit and give us recommendations. After getting back to the city, we went to a wonderful French Cambodian restaurant and enjoyed the closest thing we’ve had so far to a fancy dinner.
