Holiday In Cambodia :: Part 4

On our last day in Siem Reap, we had another early wake up. It was at 5:30 this time though, and it felt pretty luxurious compared to 4:30!

We took a beautiful tuk tuk ride out of the city on the red dirt road along the Siem Reap River. Even though it was dawn, everyone was up early because it gets really hot out by noon. There were tons of food stands with plastic red chairs lining each road and even though they were usually empty by midday, at breakfast they were all packed.

Our destination was a Caring for Cambodia school. My aunt knows the woman who founded the organization in Singapore and we were able to go, help serve breakfast, and see what the school was like.

It was really special being there. Most of the kids didn't speak any English, but we tried to communicate as best as we could. Even with the language barrier, something about being at a school made Cambodia feel so much closer to the U.S. than it really is, which I really liked.

After visiting the school and returning for a quick breakfast, we visited Artisans Angkor workshop. Artisans Angkor employs many Cambodians by teaching them different ancient arts such as carving wood and stone, painting, weaving, and more. While we were there, we got to walk around to see many of the crafts being made. It was hard to tear myself away. I think I could've watched that last one being made all day although it takes more than two months to finish!

On our way back to town, we stopped by the river to walk alongside it for a little.

Then we made it into town for some lunch. It ended up pouring while we were eating, but the rain stopped right as we headed back out for our last round of exploring.

One of the highlights was picking up some durian to sample. I've wanted to try one since seeing one of those spiky fruits my freshman year of college while visiting Chinatown in Boston. It was weird to finally try one. They smell horrible, but weren't actually so bad. Kind of like a mango/banana crossover. I was the only one who ate more than a bite though!

The other highlight was going to fish spa! Dan was a champ, but I had the worst time putting my feet in for more than ten seconds at a time. I am way too ticklish.

Afterwards, we said goodbye to Cambodia and flew back to Singapore for the last leg of our vacation. Siem Reap certainly was a beautiful city to spend two days exploring.