We thought we were pretty templed out from yesterday. But Ta Prohm was really something else. We visited early in the morning, and with the mist, the castle gave off a mystic feeling. It was in crumbling state partly because of the silk cotton trees of which the roots caused a lot of damage. But these were what made the place unique. It was as if the castle is haunted by a tree spirit, with its claw-like roots crawling under each and every stone.
On our way leaving the temple we were followed by a number of children. Sachin gave them some candies, then they came back and asked for more! They wanted us to buy everything from them, from bracelets to flutes to bangles. 2 for one dollar went to 3 for one dollar then went to 4 for one dollar. Sachin tried to ward them off by pointing them to a group of Asians across the street. “Hey there are Japanese tourists there…. they will buy something!”, he said. But the kids were all too smart, they instantaneously recognized them as Chinese ., “No they are Chinese. They are cheap they wont buy!” was their reply. They continued to remain around us until our bus took off.
We then took a boat for a short ride to Tonle Sap Lake. It was a different sort of fishing village compared to Mekong River. And because this boat was a lot lower, we got to see the villages in much closer details.
We then took a boat for a short ride to Tonle Sap Lake. It was a different sort of fishing village compared to Mekong River. And because this boat was a lot lower, we got to see the villages in much closer details.
After lunch we parted from our tour group and we were now on our own. We took an adventurous tuk tuk ride to Old Market (Phas Cha) from our hotel. $6 was the asked price, and we lowered it to $5. But even then it was really too high. When we took the tuk tuk back that night, Sachin insisted to the tuk tuk driver that we previously spent only $2 going there, and with that it was settled that $2 was we had to pay.
When we arrived at Phas Cha, we knew what we would have missed had we followed the rest of the group back to Phnom Penh. We had a great time checking out the restaurant street. And for the first time we had the chance to try the $1 Angkor beer, and local food. We love the desserts there for their rich coconut tastes. We knew that we were paying a tourist price but at $12 we had a full dinner with drinks and desserts. Even after that we had left overs for the next day. We bargained even in shops that we didn’t mean to buy just to check whether we got a good price from the shops before. Most of the time we found ourselves bought things a few more dollars more expensive. We cannot remember the last time we enjoyed ourselves this much.
When we arrived at Phas Cha, we knew what we would have missed had we followed the rest of the group back to Phnom Penh. We had a great time checking out the restaurant street. And for the first time we had the chance to try the $1 Angkor beer, and local food. We love the desserts there for their rich coconut tastes. We knew that we were paying a tourist price but at $12 we had a full dinner with drinks and desserts. Even after that we had left overs for the next day. We bargained even in shops that we didn’t mean to buy just to check whether we got a good price from the shops before. Most of the time we found ourselves bought things a few more dollars more expensive. We cannot remember the last time we enjoyed ourselves this much.
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