Cambodia: Sihanoukville

We got the bus from Phnom Penh down to the beaches of Sihanoukville for some well deserved beach time after all the history lessons of Cambodia. We decided to stay in Led Zephur Hostel on Serendipity Beach. We had heard that this was the more lively section of Sihanoukville and was advised to seek accommodation on a more chilled area, however we felt that a more busy location would be suitable for some party time, and we could always do a day to another more quiet area for some relaxing. On arrival at the hostel we were amazed to find a Sunday roast on the menu and quickly jumped at the chance - we were not disappointed! After months and months of seeing pictures every Sunday on Facebook and getting suuuuuuuper jealous, we finally had our own roast dinner to devour, oh god the gravy!

After stuffing ourselves silly we took a wander down the road to the beach front. We were soon ambushed by a group of small children trying to sell us string bracelets/anklets. We politely refused their offer but they proceeded to follow us anyway and it wasn't long before we had a group of them join us at our table while we ate. We didn't mind though, we had lots of fun chatting with them and taking selfies. Bethan was sporting a 'double bun' hairstyle that day which was quite the hit with the children. They kept asking why she had a hairstyle that looked like a cat - "meeeowwww" haha! It was cute to make these little friends because for the remainder of our stay they would spot us on the beach and come over for a while to sit with us. They even made us all friendship bracelets of our favourite colours for no charge whatsoever.

With everyone in high spirits we spotted a fire show going on at JJ's Playground just a few bars down, so we headed over for a closer look. We were happy to find an amazing drinks offer - buy one get three free, for a tiny 40p! We settled onto a table and were mesmerised by the skills of the fire show. It wasn't long before one of the guys, Danny, decided to join us and even convinced Rebecca to have a go herself. As you can imagine this didn't end well, Rebecca attempted to twirl the fire stick around a few times and decided it was too hot so dropped it on the floor. The table next door seemed very impressed with Rebecca's efforts and decided to leave us 2 beer towers as they were heading back home and we proceeded to dance the night away - thanks Mr Hong Kong!

After that heavy night we decided to check out the more chilled area of Sihanoukville, so asked a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Otres Beach. We were met with just a few beach shacks along the beach front but decided to take refuge on a deserted section of the beach under a palm tree. We had a wonderful day dipping in an out of the sea and sipping fresh coconut water. Soon enough the sun was setting so we went into one of the restaurants for dinner, where we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets we've seen to date!

So that's our Cambodian Trip all over with - now for a 20 hour bus ride back to Bangkok to apply for our Myanmar Visas!

Dinnerrrrrr!

Serendipity Beach

Drinks with Danny

Courtesy of 'Mr Hong Kong'

Otres Beach

Otres Beach

Sunset at Otres Beach

The Happy Wanderers

♥

China: Expectation Vs. Reality

*WARNING*

This post may sound quite 'moany' and 'grumpy' to some people but we just wanted to express the reality of visiting such a bizarre country like China. To most people, it may sound like a normal place to visit but it's honestly like a whole other world once you're there. Please don't think we hated our time in China because we thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip and would like to go back someday, but there were a few (okay, a lot) of things that we found particularly interesting about their way of life. Oh also, this post is quite long so you may want a hot beverage to accompany you whilst you read! :)

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Language Barrier

Expectation:

Getting in a taxi, going straight to your hostel.

Reality:

Taxi drops you off in the middle of nowhere. Takes you two hours to find your hostel.

Upon getting into the taxi at the airport, the driver signalled for us to show him on a map where we wanted to go. At that point we tried to explain we only had the name of the hostel in English. The communication barrier became immediately apparent as the driver could not speak a word of English and we obviously could not speak a word of Chinese. He eventually pretended to know where the hostel was and after a short drive told us to get out at a random location. He refused to take us any further, obviously not understanding that we didn't know where we were, so we then spent two hours wandering up and down streets, labelled all in Chinese before eventually finding our hostel. TIP: Make sure you get all street names/addresses in Chinese and ideally a screenshot of Google maps to show any drivers.


Expectation:
Getting on a bus, asking the driver if the bus goes to X location, driver agreeing, then telling you to get off the bus when you arrive at said location.

Reality:
Being told to get off the bus an hour later because you've reached the end of the route and the bus goes no further.

Again, it would have helped if we had written down in Chinese 'can you tell me to get off at X location?' The driver obviously understood that we were asking if the bus was going to X location but didn't realise that we didn't actually know where that was because we cannot read Chinese symbols and all station names are in Chinese. Many times we would get on the bus and try desperately to match up the name of the place we had in front of us with the name appearing on the electronic screen at the front of the bus, fail to do so, and end up having to get off the bus at the end of the route and do the entire route again on a new bus just to get to where we wanted to go. The struggle was REAL!

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Technology

Expectation:

Being in one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, a decent Wi-Fi connection to contact home and let everyone know you've arrived safely.

Reality:
Sitting in the corridor at 2AM when the hostel is most quiet, as close to the router as possible, in an attempt to get enough signal to send one single WhatsApp message.

Probably one of the most annoying experiences of our time in China was 'connecting' to Wi-Fi to then have absolutely nothing load at all, or a 'could not connect to the server' message appear. It was so frustrating to keep people up to date with how we were getting on because we had no means of contacting home (Internet cafes in China are non-existent).

Expectation:
Being able to travel freely around the country, undisturbed.

Reality:
Basically becoming a celebrity, subjected to constant photos and stares by almost every person we passed.

While we understand that we are a minority race in China, since the majority of Chinese tourists actually come from China itself, we found this to be one of the biggest grievances we faced. We couldn't go anywhere without being stopped and asked for photos, and even if we said no, people would take the photos anyway, disguising them as 'selfies' so we would be in the background. As if those photos were going to be attractive! As for the staring, it got to the point towards the end of our stay, that we started getting really irate and actually having to tell people to go away - a phrase we actually did come to learn in Chinese! It rarely worked, however, as people would just move to another location after being told and just stare at us from there. TIP: don't be a blonde or a red head in China! Or even a Westerner!


Expectation:
Photography being of normal, everyday things that you can put in an album and treasure as a reminder of your travels.

Reality:
Selfies everywhere!!!

And we mean everywhere! People will be alone in the middle of the street and will stop to take 5726235 selfies before carrying on with their business. Or they will take a selfie with their food/drink/random monument in the street. Pouting, cheesy smiles, frowns, etc - we've seen it all! As for the poses - people will take photos leaning on trees or a selfie of themselves pretending to take a selfie. Like seriously, it was ridiculous!

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Government Control

Expectation:
Keeping up to date with what's going on at home, and letting people know how you're getting on via social media.

Reality:
The Chinese government have decided that it's unnecessary to allow anyone access to Facebook, Twitter, Google, or any media outputs that they disapprove of.

We found WhatsApp worked (when Wi-Fi was decent) which was a relief, but had to change our search provider to Bing - annoying only because Google is default on all of our phones and just made doing anything online more difficult. Whilst in Kunming, Instagram was suddenly banned one day due to the Hong Kong protests. While we know that travelling is all about being in the moment and enjoying yourself, it annoyed us more so because we couldn't have it, and you know what they say - you always want what you can't have! TIP: get a VPN before arriving in China. This will allow you to bypass the government restrictions on any website and you won't have to be subjected to communist control - win!


Expectation:
Being able to sleep on a sleeper train.

Reality:
You will be unable to sleep past 6:30AM because government advertising will take over the TV and speaker system, which you cannot turn off and have no option but to listen to.

We have no complaints about the sleeper trains whatsoever. We had our own private cabins, comfy beds, linen and pillows, and a TV. Sounds perfect right? Until you're woken up feeling like you're in Orwell's 1984. The TV automatically turns on in the early hours of the morning, pouring out government propaganda and commercials which promote government projects, products, and people. There is no 'off' switch so you're forced to listen to it. While this doesn't seem like a big deal, in the context of China itself, and the unawareness of the population of the control they are actually subjected to, little things like this seem so much bigger to a foreign traveller within the country.


Expectation:
Visiting a country, with different cultures, lifestyles, and social attitudes, and wanting to embrace and engage with such behaviours.

Reality:
Although we are aware that China is a communist country, we definitely underestimated just how much control the government actually has over its people. (Ironic that it's formal name is the People's Republic, right?)

We found it really hard to comprehend the fact that everyone seems to share the same views. It may be the case that the government has so much control that people do not express contempt out of fear, or it may actually just be the case that the people genuinely believe the communist shpeil they are fed! Our overriding view is that Chinese people are actually real life 'Sims'. The government chooses what it wants them to do, and they do it with no reaction. Think of a Chinese cliche, and we can guarantee that you've just experienced 95% of the population. Everyone is the same. They have the same fashion, the same humour, the same personality traits. It's ridiculous just how little originality there is. Clothing is the main way people tend to express themselves, but even the outrageous fashion choices have now become mainstream as people try their best to be 'quirky' and 'cool'.

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Food

Expectation:

Getting into Chinese culture and trying out all the local delicacies.

Reality:
Being subjected to delicacies like dog meat, snake, stinky tofu, scorpions, locusts, and pretty much anything else disgusting that you would never want to subject your taste-buds to.

Even 'chicken' wasn't a safe choice - chicken meat in reality meant chicken feet. Also, all menus are in Chinese so you don't actually know what you are ordering which is definitely a risky choice when the above 'delicacies' are available. If you are lucky, you will find a restaurant with pictures so you can take a guess at what the meal is, but even then the food never arrives looking like the picture. TIP: get translations of different foods in Chinese so you can show the waiters what you want.


Expectation:
Ordering one meal per person, as a normal person would do in a normal restaurant in a normal country.

Reality:
China is not what we would call a 'normal' country because every meal is enough to feed 3 people with leftovers!! Groups of people tend to share dishes between them so they get to eat a few different things at once.

On our first night in Beijing we ordered a noodle dish each to which the waiter looked surprised but took the order anyway. When the first dish arrived, we thought a mistake had been made and all our food had come on the same plate - it was enough food to feed the 5000! Two seconds later, another two dishes arrived. We couldn't believe how much food was on our table. We were the talk of the restaurant. Everyone kept looking over at us and pointing and laughing, more so when we failed to finish even half of what we had in front of us. At this early stage, we also didn't know the etiquette for leaving food so left the restaurant stuffed to the absolute maximum so as not to offend. TIP: check around you for portion sizes before ordering to avoid making the same mistake.


Expectation:
Noodles, noodles, noodles.

Reality:
Noodles, noodles, noodles.

We knew that we would be living 'the chopstick life' while we were in China but we didn't realise just how little variety was available to us other than noodles. There were, of course, western fast food places like KFC and McDonalds but that's not what we wanted. Although it turns out we ended up spending quite a few of our evenings stocking up on Big Macs and Chocolate Sundaes. Whoopsy! After a while we got bored of Chinese noodles, so went to the supermarket to look for alternatives, and found, you'd never guess, POT noodles. And if you go to a mall, there's KOREAN noodles. As far as noodles went though, we did get some really great street food. Despite the oil which tarred most dishes and swiftly required removing, the flavours were actually really good. They were the biggest bargains too - around 80p per serving. On times, the chef would sneakily put some super spicy sauces in to the pot whilst cooking which resulted in numb mouths for hours on end! But on the whole, big thumbs up for noodle love. TIP: ask for 'not spicy' and then add spice later rather than getting it as standard, unless you love spicy food of course!

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Weather

Expectation:
China in September to be quite warm and dry, thus packing light, non-waterproof clothing.

Reality:
Severe weather discrepancies. Hot and dry one minute, then torrential rain and freezing winds the next.

While we didn't expect Indian weather, we weren't necessarily prepared for the amount of rain we experienced, mainly in Xian, Kunming, and Lijiang. Bethan and Sarah sensibly packed a raincoat in preparation but Sam ended up having to buy an umbrella which spent more time inside out because of the winds and barely kept her dry. Lijiang was definitely the worst weather we experienced, and was the place where we discovered one of China's finest inventions - waterproof shoe covers! TIP: buy these! They're basically like space boots which come right up your leg and keep your entire leg dry as opposed to wearing stupid flip flops and basically walking through puddles 24/7.

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Unique Inventions/ Fashion

Expectation:
China, as one of the world leaders when it comes to innovation, to have some crazy inventions.

Reality:
The unthinkable has been done!

It's really hard to explain just how random China is. Trying to remember all the random things we found is really hard now that we've left, but we remember always finding new things that amazed us. Here are just a few things we came across...

Fringe spirit level - yes this is exactly what it sounds like. A spirit level with a comb on one end to make sure your fringe is straight before cutting it.

Baby seat - this is essentially a bum bag that's padded for the parents to balance their child on so they don't have to carry the child's full weight on their arms, genius!

Poo pants - I know these sound bizarre but let us explain. Toddlers and young children in China wear trousers with a hole from the back to the front which is between their legs. We came to the conclusion that the parents put these on their children to save them money on nappies, but then we realised that it is to make it easier for the child to go to the toilet whenever and wherever they want. The children will squat down and do what they need to do in the street, on the train station and even on the local buses!!

Selfie stick - now we know these have recently become popular worldwide, but we believe the selfie stick began in China because they were EVERYWHERE! Whether the people were Chinese tourists or locals in the city, sooner or later they'd all bust out their selfie sticks and start their own personal photo shoots anywhere they pleased.

Flower cakes - these cakes weren't just flower flavoured, they actually contained full flower petals, WHAT!? The majority of them contained roses which unbelievably tempted Sam one day and surprisingly, she liked them.. Until two hours later when they made her sick for the night!

Meat floss - yes, this is as disgusting as it sounds! We saw this a lot at bakeries where it would be put over hot dogs, croissants and various other pastries. The first time we saw it, we thought it was stringy cheese as it looks exactly like it! We swiftly changed our minds the minute we ate it as it tasted horrific! Meat. Floss. Just, WHY!?


Expectation:
Being able to buy any colour hair dye you want - particularly important for when the dreaded roots start to appear!

Reality:
Chinese people have black hair and they seem pretty content with this. As a result, finding any shade of blonde hair dye is pretty much impossible.

It is not the case that hair dye doesn't exist. We managed to find many shades of brown, and even red which was perfect for Sarah. However, trying to find blonde dye was the biggest mission ever! Not even the massive beauty retailers such as Mannings or Watsons had it. Throughout our time in China, numerous people kept staring at our hair colour in disbelief, and couldn't understand how we managed to get it that colour. It was pretty clear that they have never found any need for hair bleach, and as a result, it is pretty much non-existent across the country. Luckily for us, we had a special delivery of it when the mermaids came to visit! Hallelujah!

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Hygiene and Mannerisms

Expectation:
Although it is very stereotypical, there is a general consensus that Chinese people lack manners so we anticipated that we would be met with some questionable manners and behaviours.

Reality:
Our expectations were confirmed almost instantly.

We're not sure of the correct term but 'hacking' or 'flegging' is one of the most disgusting things ever (maybe urban dictionary that)! Apparently, hygiene is very important to the Chinese. Many wear masks while out and about to prevent any germs/ pollution from getting into their lungs and when eating crisps or chips etc, they will pour the food into their mouths from the packet rather than use their hands to eat, and we often found people vigorously washing their hands after any contact. The worst, as we have mentioned, is definitely the way they clear their throat in such a way that we can only describe as VILE. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, or what you are doing, they will spit the phlegm they have gathered out onto the floor, but not in a subtle way. They maintain control of it as it comes it of their mouths, dripping it down and back up into their mouths like a yoyo. (Sorry for the graphic description but it's so hard to explain just how gross it is!) No idea why this is necessary or even why people haven't realised how disgusting a habit it is. All we know is that we never want to be around it again!

Expectation:
When you want to buy something in a shop, get on a bus, or order food in a takeaway, and there are other people in front of you, you form what is known as a QUEUE!

Reality:
What is a queue?

As every Brit knows, we love a queue. Often, we will try and form a queue even if there is no queue. And we also HATE queue jumpers. So when we arrived in China, you can imagine our disgust at the realisation that the word queue means absolutely nothing!! If a Chinese person wants to buy something, they will walk right past you, barge you out of the way, and purchase their goods without the sales assistant even batting an eyelid at the fact that they have just committed the biggest crime known to man *cough* Brits! (Not dramatic, honest. We just really, really love a good queue). It's almost like we had to re-programme our minds to become 'Chinese' and commit such a faux pas - which we had to do or spend an eternity waiting and getting nowhere. It felt so wrong! Haha! TIP: be aggressive, be, be aggressive! (10 points if you get the movie reference without Google - if you were in China you wouldn't have Google!)

The Happy Wanderers

♥

Cambodia: Phnom Penh

Next up on our tour of Cambodia was the capital city of Phnom Penh. We arrived into the city at around 6pm, so plenty of time to find our hostel and get some dinner. After bargaining with the tuk-tuk driver to get a reasonable price, all five of us squeezed into the car and we were off on our way. Checking into the hostel was such a hassle - the owner definitely talks too much! After a chat at the bar for over 30 minutes we finally got shown to our room. We were so hungry we decided to just get food at the hostel and get an early night. Rebecca got more than she bargained for when she got offered a side order of tarantula legs, not one to turn down a challenge she ate them with no problems. We were not completely happy with this hostel so decided to move to another the next morning. Our new place was called Eighty8 and was much nicer and even had a swimming pool!

We arranged a tour of the Killing Fields, S21 Jail and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum for the next morning. The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where more than 1 million people were executed and buried by the Communist Khmer regime under rule of Pol Pot during 1975-1979. However the total number of deaths resulting from disease and starvation during this time is estimated to be around 2.5 million out of a population of 8 million. Anyone suspected of connections with the former government were targeted and taken to these out of town areas for interrogation and usually executed within 24 hours of arrival. The most well known killing field is located in the village of Choeung Ek, around a 40 minute drive from Phnom Penh. Here there is a dedicated Buddhist memorial site which includes a stupa filled with over 5,000 skulls of the victims recovered from the mass graves in the area - some just tiny babies. Each of the skulls had been scientifically analysed for age and sex of victims and colour coded according to the cause of death. We all felt so shocked just how recently all this horror had gone on and that we knew almost nothing of its happenings. Even though it was a very eerie place to experience we felt like we learned so much.

Next stop was the S21 Jail and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This former school was transformed into a jail and was used to house victims before being taken to the nearby Killing Field. On arrival at the jail each victim was photographed, beaten and forced to write a very detailed story of their lives right from childhood, as a way to access the possibility of connections with the former government (a punishable offence). This often led to the capture of their entire family who were then also brought to the jail. We made our way around each of the five buildings, reading stories of the way victims were treated and of all the awful torture techniques that were used. We also learned how the guards used the old school gym equipment in the courtyard as a way of torturing victims for information. Again, it was such an overwhelming day for us especially since such horrific torture methods are almost unknown to us. It really hit us hard, again, like the killing fields, that none of this was discovered until 1979 and only because a journalist happened to stumble upon the stench of rotting bodies and followed it to the prison. Sorry for the graphic descriptions but it is really hard to talk about such tragic events in short - we wish that people knew more about this in the Western world because we felt really naive ourselves for being so ignorant to such horrible events.

We're very sorry for the lack of pictures here but we felt that taking photographs at The Killing Fields and S21 Jail was disrespectful. And we didn't really do very much else. As a city, Phnom Penh was our least favourite in Cambodia - largely because there was no real character to it and nothing really to rave about other than the above - which, although extremely interesting, was rather depressing and exhausting. We only stayed for 2 days and then decided to head on to Sihanoukville!

Cambodians love their king

Phnom Penh Palace

Enjoying your chips there?

The Happy Wanderers

♥

Cambodia: Battambang

Next stop in Cambodia was Battambang, a little town not too far from Siem Reap. Despite being Cambodia's second most populous city, it has a real small town feel which we really liked after the hustle and bustle of Siem Reap, especially at New Year's. The city centre itself is quite compact and we walked around it all by foot in barely no time at all. After the 5 hour journey on a local bus which was an experience in itself, we arrived at our hostel, Chaya Hotel, which we had booked as a 5 bed dorm. What we actually got was a box room with 4 mattresses on the floor and two ceiling fans which looked like they might fall into our heads at any moment. Not ones to complain, we snuggled up on our giant floor bed and researched what we wanted to do that day.

We managed to hire a tuk-tuk for the day for around $12 between us all which was a bargain. First stop was the Bamboo Train (the  term 'train' being used loosely). It was literally a large bamboo platform mounted on train axles and was powered by a small go-kart engine. We sat on little pillows while our driver drove us down the track. The journey consisted of an hour of clickety clacking along misaligned tracks and very rickety bridges. It was a single line track so when two trains meet the one with the fewest passengers has to disassemble their train and move off the track for the other to pass. It was certainly an experience but a very fun one at that.

Next up we visited the Killing Cave of Phnom Sampov. From the outside you see beautiful lonesome caves in the Cambodian countryside but inside you learn of the tragic genocide horrors that occurred just a few years ago. The cave is located halfway up a mountain which is covered with beautiful temples and beautiful lookout points over the village below. There is a concrete road and looooooads of steps up the mountain and back down again which peek into caves - the most fascinating being the Killing Cave. The cave is huge inside, complete with a huge reclining golden Buddha lying across the whole cave. As you walk down the stairs into the cave, however, the atrocities that occurred in this spot become increasingly apparent. A massive cage full of bones catches your eye on one side of the room while on the other is another memorial of human remains in a glass box. The bones belong to all different types of people who were killed by the Khmer Rouge in the cave itself. At the top of the cave is the natural skylight which the Khmer Rouge marched people to, lining them up, then bludgeoning them and letting their bodies fall into the cave to eventually die. It's a really eerie place to visit but it really made us appreciate how lucky we are to have such freedoms in our lives. We didn't stay down in the cave too long because it made us feel really drained and uneasy so headed back onto the mountain track to get a glimpse of some more of the beautiful views around us.

After exploring the mountain for a while we headed back down to ground level to find the Bat Cave. At 5:30 every evening around 3 million bats fly out of the cave in the mountain into the wilderness before returning back 12 hours later. We're not the biggest fans of bats but this was actually pretty cool to see! 

The most exciting time in Battambang, however, was the decision by Rebecca to get her hair cut at a hairdressers. In typical Rebecca form, this was a spur of the moment idea. After a mini debate with the lady in the shop who barely spoke a word of English, she managed to agree a deal of $4 for a dry cut. Minutes later (speediest haircut in history) Becca emerged from the shop with inches off her hair, and unfortunately off her fringe too. And an inch is definitely a lot in fringe terms. See below for the transformation!

All in all, our whistle stop tour of Battambang was a pretty good one. We learnt a little about the French colonisation of the town and the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, saw some pretty cool sights, and also got ourselves a well deserved rest after the busy few days in Siem Reap. Win!

Next stop - Phnom Penh!

Bamboo Train

Phnom Sampeau Temple

Phnom Sampeau Temple

Phnom Sampeau Temple

The bats leaving the cave

Beautiful Sunset

Nice Fringe Bec!


The Happy Wanderers♥

Cambodia: Siem Reap

So here we were, about to embark on our 60 hour adventure across four countries, eventually ending up in Siem Reap, Cambodia. First we had to get a 6 hour train from Bangalore to Chennai where we had to wait a few hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur. Arriving in Kuala Lumpur, we had about an 8 hour wait before our flight to Bangkok, so we got comfortable at the airport, did some shopping and had some food. Finally in Bangkok, we were to wait a further 12 hours before the first train of the morning to Aranyaprathet which allows land border crossings into Cambodia. We decided booking a room for this amount of time would be silly as we'd only had a few hours sleep anyway, so we donned Ko San road with our backpacks for some more food and a place to sit and wait for the hours to pass by. After about 4 hours in the same place, we gave up and decided to would be best to head to the train station where we could hopefully find a quiet place to rest for a few hours, so we hopped in a taxi. We found a suitable area and it wasn't long before 2 guys from England joined us as they were waiting for a morning train also. They were so funny, telling us how they'd spent their night on Ko San road, they really helped to pass the hours and before we knew it we were in the queue buying our tickets and jumping on the train. The train took 6 hours from  Bangkok to Aranyaprathet and really was awful! It probably didn't help that we had not slept in over 48 hours by this point and the guard on the train wouldn't let us lie down on the seats to rest, even though nobody wanted to sit in the seats next to us - it was so frustrating! Finally at the border and our journey wasn't over yet. We then had to queue at the Thailand immigration for our exit stamps, then walk to Poipet Cambodia immigration where we had to fill out forms and hand over our passports and money for visas. This was at a cost of $20 for a single entry, 30 day visa which took around an hour - all in all a total of 2 hours to cross the border. Next we were taken to a nearby bus station where we purchased bus tickets directly into Siem Reap where we were FINALLY greeted by our free pick up to our hostel! Words cannot describe how happy we were to see our beds at the Angkor Wonder Hostel - can you believe we had an entire double bed each! 

We had plenty of rest the first night, and got up bright and early the next morning to surprise our new Happy Wanderers at the airport. We were lucky enough to have two friends join us from home for the remainder of our trip - so now we were a massive group of five! It was so amazing to see Rebecca and Sophie's faces as they came through arrivals to see us waiting there for them, we were all sooo excited to see one another! We had a proper catch up during the drive from the airport and wasted no time getting out into the city for some well deserved welcome drinks.

The next evening was New years Eve, so we got all dressed up in preparation for a massive party. Siem Reap is well known for its party atmosphere along the amply named 'Pub Street'. We set off nice and early at 7pm to begin our evening with a nice meal and a few happy hour cocktails. It wasn't long before a few drinking games were in play - our personal favourite 'He's perfect but...'. It was soon time to hit the bars of Pub Street where we were met with one massive street party. It was a real effort to push through the crowds to enter any bars for drinks. However, we didn't mind we simply joined in the celebrations. After hours of dancing and now covered in every alcoholic beverage you could imagine (classic Bethan!) we decided to call it a night - not without a stop off for a large order of Nutella pancakes, yummmy! 

On New Years Day we didn't do very much at all. We wandered around the markets of Siem Reap and treated ourselves to a foot and leg massage, very much needed after all the dancing of the night before. Next we relaxed in a really cool coffee shop called The Blue Pumpkin, which we later found out is a chain store within Cambodia. We decided an early night was in order as we had to be up before sunrise for our visit to Angkor Wat. 

First Hindu, later a Buddhist temple, Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the entire world. It is Cambodia's most famous attraction, even appearing on its national flag. Design and construction of the temple took place in the 12th century and was used as the Kings state temple and capital city. We hired one of the guys who works at the hostel as our guide for Angkor Wat. We got up at around 5am to drive the 6km to the entrance of Angkor Wat. Here we joined the queue to purchase our day passes which cost $20 (three day pass $40 and 7 day pass $60). The queue didn't take longer than 10 minutes, however nobody warned us of the photograph that gets taken to put onto the pass, we were all still half asleep, looking very attractive indeed! We hurried along to the Angkor Wat temple to see the sunrise, which we have to be honest was completely ruined by the crowds and crowds of people. It was a real struggle to get a good photograph. We decided to get a head start of the crowds and entered the temple long before everyone else got going. This was a probably the best idea as it meant we got to roam around in side the temple with almost no bother from anyone. Then once we were done inside Angkor Wat, we got a much better view of the structure as the crowds had thinned out. For the remainder of the day our driver took us to numerous temples throughout the Angkor Wat park and after almost 8 hours of exploring we were truly exhausted. 

Here are some of our favourite pictures from our time in Siem Reap:

Our 60 hour journey across 4 countries

And then there were..

Five!

All ready for New Year celebrations!

Heeeeyyy Pub Street

Happy New Year!

Sun Rise at Ankior Wat

The worlds cutest driver!

All worn out after all the activities...

The Happy Wanderers 

♥