DAY 3: Southeast Asia: Wonders of Cambodia, Vietnam & the Mekong
Day three started early again. I woke around 5:30 a.m., feeling a little more adjusted to the time difference than the days before. By 6:30 we were downstairs for breakfast, then met up with our tour group to board the bus for a full day exploring the local temples.
We began on one large bus, heading to the museum ticket agency, and from there split into two smaller buses for touring the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Our Cambodian tour guide Buth led our group. It felt like stepping into history almost immediately.
Our first stop was the 800-year-old South Gate of Angkor Thom, followed by the Bayon Temple (also part of the Angkor Park). It was very crowded, but still breathtaking. The temple is in remarkably good condition, especially the detailed stone reliefs, which felt alive with stories carved centuries ago. From there we walked past the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King, their worn stone surfaces holding echoes of royal processions and ancient rituals. We saw our first monkey’s roaming the property and a family of them with their young ones close by.
Next came Ta Prohm, the 12th century Buddhist temple made famous by the movie Tomb Raider. It was massive, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Rooms opened into one another in unexpected ways, and enormous trees grew straight out of rooftops and foundations, their roots gripping the stone as if nature itself refused to let the ruins disappear.
Lunch was at Spoons Restaurant, run by an NGO that trains underprivileged youth from the countryside for careers in the tourism industry. It was hands-down the best meal we’ve had so far. We started with coconut soup and an avocado and prawn salad, followed by pork with sweet potatoes for the main course, and finished with a fruit salad that included the most incredible dragon fruit.
After returning to the hotel for a short rest, we headed back out for our sunset gondola ride on the Angkor Thom moat. Our gondola mates, an Australian couple named Shirley and Bernd, were warm and welcoming. Gliding quietly on the water as the day softened into evening was peaceful, and we enjoyed sparkling wine and appetizers with the sunset. Our gondolier kept us afloat moving along the waterway.
That evening, we joined our tour group for the Phare Circus, one of Cambodia’s oldest and most respected circus organizations. The performance combined acrobatics, music, and storytelling under a big-top-style tent. It was energetic and funny at times while moving at others.
We returned to the hotel around 9:30 p.m. The 13-hour time difference was still making itself known, but it was slowly getting easier. I was starting to sleep a bit better than Chris, but we were both adjusting day by day.