This time we weren’t supposed to go to the school because the king was coming, and of course, Phaly wanted us to see the king. The staff at the Shining Angkor didn’t know anything about it, so Kristen and I went on another adventure into town. We looked around and went to the Lucky Mall, a big flashy mall that has no place in Siem Reap. It was nothing special that’s for sure – we got some gelato, but decided to stick to the markets for our other shopping needs. We walked back to the hotel, which wasn’t too bad, but was still a bit farther than I expected.

We went to the school tonight and a teacher didn’t show up, so I was the teacher. We talked about same vs. different, conversational skills, and fill in the blank. Even though I’m a teacher in the States, it was a little difficult to jump into teaching there.

July 10

The Khmer Rouge is still on everyone’s mind in Cambodia. At some point during the day, every day, someone brought it up. Today we found out that Phaly’s father was killed by the Khmer Rouge in 1977. I can’t even begin to imagine the devastation and destruction that caused a country to still be recovering from something that happened 30+ years ago.

We were really tired from our work at the school this morning so Kristen and I went to the Blue Pumpkin for some ice cream and to lounge in the “aircon” (it’s Australian) on daybeds, which are like futons. It was amazing.

on the daybeds – ahhhhh

That night we took a couple books, some coloring books and crayons to the kids at the orphanage. Their eyes were huge when they saw the gallon bag of crayons I had brought with me. At the end of the night, the kids tried to give the stuff back, which made me and Kristen really sad (of course we let them keep everything).

coloring with the kids

July 11

It’s Saturday! Time to visit the infamous temples! A very exciting part of the day was when we got to ride on an elephant. It took a minute to get used to the rocking as he walked, so just a tip – if you have motion sickness, you should not ride on an elephant. on the elephant! and yes, they are treated very well, i checked

It got very hot. I was very dehydrated and very gross. I took my first midday shower of the trip, and couldn’t have appreciated it more.

We went to a monk chat at the Singing Tree and learned about Buddhism from a real monk. The best quote of the night, “Destiny is like your shadow”.

Got back to the guesthouse in time to see the Angels beat the Yankees 10-6!

Photo Credits:  Abbie Mood & Kristen Ihde