This is Where I Live

Tuk-Tuk Temple Trip

Since I’m not teaching anymore, I have lots of free time, so on Wednesday, I spent that free time traversing the countryside with my new friend, the tuk-tuk driver Vibol. He took me to Tonlé Bati and Phnom Chisor, two ancient temple sites.

Tonlé Bati was fun: he has been taking people there for years, and so he knows some of the guides from when they were little. He always calls them when he is on the way, so they can come show his passengers around the temples. And they know their way around: After taking me all over the ruins, they took me off adventuring over a few fences and locked gates to an old crematorium where they hang out in the shade of big, beautiful, old trees. It was a tad creepy (but only a little), and really, really fun to hang out with the girls. I was able to talk with them and get to know them a bit. One wants to be a teacher, another wants to come to the US eventually, and the third (the youngest) just wants to marry a rich guy and be a mother.

After a ride by the river, we went another hour south to Phnom Chisor, a hill (526 steps!) with a ruin on top that is 100 years older than Angkor Wat. The ruin was beautiful, but the most amazing thing was the view. My guide led around the temple to see a huge, ancient tree (which is cool in itself), and then, as we passed the tree, the hill dropped away, almost straight down, and I could see about 180° of plains, rivers, and a lone hill off in the distance. It was completely unexpected, and literally breath-taking.

My day ended with a nap on the ride back to Phnom Penh, a shower, and a dinner of spring rolls (one of the best dinners we have in the apartments).

Monkeys and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

On Sunday, I went to the zoo with Pernille and Amina, both from Projects Abroad. We saw monkeys galore (including one that was blind, who came over to you as you approached his cage and held your hand!), bears, deer (a few were out of the enclosure, and they would come up and nudge your bags and pockets looking for treats), otter, a zillion different birds (storks were walking around like they owned the place – which I guess they kind of do, they were here first), pythons and two tigers (who were chilling out in the shade – smart cats that they are).