Siem Reap Cambodia-Saturday
Arrived on our early flight, gave Paul a ride to his hotel in our own tuk tuk with private driver, Tchia. We had our own tuk tuk and driver at our disposal as part of our hotel. It was a fabulous benefit. We got settled in our room and then back out for Tchia to take us to a vegan place for lunch. The whole place is a garden where they grow the food (see 4th pic, on right.) Of these dishes, whose names I don’t remember, my favorite is the left-most one. It is beets, avocado, and tomato, perhaps lime and salt.
Jan’s first order of business is always to see if there is business. She seeks unusual, local hand made crafts. So after another break at our absolutely fabulous hotel we ventured out to the old market and the night market. We gave Paul a heads up that we’d be heading out that way seeking dinner. He had already eaten so we left it loose that we’d meet up later. Here’s the hotel. In the first picture, that’s the view of the pool when we open our room door or sit on our private terrace. In the second picture you can see how that is. The main dining area and bar. The bathroom is okay but the shower is one of those that sprays at you from all over and it is amazeballs.
We went to visit the APOPO “hero rats.” Fascinating and so heartwarming. Jan is holding Shamira. She is a giant African rat trained to smell explosives (mines and bombs) and to scratch a spot on the ground marking exactly where it is. Four teams of 13 rats each are working in Cambodia. They grid search, each rat with two handlers. Takes 30 minutes to clear what a human with a metal detector would take four days. No danger to the rats as they are too light to set off the explosive. These little heroes have saved thousands of lives and limbs already. They hope, with enough funding, to clear Cambodia completely by the end of 2025. I adopted Ronan the rat and will get updates on his find rate.
The “Old Market” and the “Night Market.” Found ourselves on “Pub Street” which is party central, at the end of the market lane. Immediately ran into Paul. I know one person on this entire side of the earth besides Jan and we bumped into him on the crazy busiest street you ever saw. Funny. Fish pedicure, anyone? (Last picture, bottom right. I’ve tried it before, can’t handle it—tickles.)
