The night before we left Cambodia we had a traditional Khmer dinner of burgers and fish and chips…ok, a couple of us needed a break from curry while the others had their last taste of the good Cambodian fare. When we arrived back at the hotel, they had laid out these beautiful silk scarves for each of us on our bed to thank us for staying with them. The girls were thrilled and luckily there were no arguments over the colours. The other interesting daily treat for us was each night; they put a Cambodian fairytale or legend which we read to the kids each night.
This morning we said good bye to Siem Reap and Cambodia. After another great breakfast at Pavilion d’Orient, we said “Orgoon” (thank you) and we were off to the airport. They gave us another gift – necklaces with our Buddhist birth signs as pendants so Madeline = Monkey (how appropriate), Erica = Snake, Joshua = Tiger, Scott = Goat and Kristen = Rooster. Another nice gesture.
A quick flight to Thailand was followed by a 5 hour layover in Bangkok. The airport is only 2 years old and was recently named the number three airport in the world – it could also be named the largest airport shopping mall we have ever seen!!
We arrived on our Royal Jordanian flight into Hong Kong on time and after a rather long line through customs, we met the taxi driver and headed to Discovery Bay to our hosts and good friends MC and Doug. It was nice to stay with friends after weeks of hotels and we were looking forward to exploring their city with them in the days to come. This is my third visit to Hong Kong but first as a tourist rather than on business. It is a new destination for the rest of the family.
As with the other departures from the countries we have visited, let’s hear from the family on their highlights from Cambodia:
Joshua
Favourite part - This is a difficult question. I liked Angkor Wat because it was interesting. How they got the stones and built it was good to learn. I also liked the hotel pool.
What are you bringing back? I am bringing back an Angkor Wat t-shirt and one with elephants on it and a green scarf that I got at the hotel.
Erica
Favourite part - The pool at the hotel was good because we could go swimming everyday. Angkor Wat because it is a very big place and very interesting. My favourite food was Khmer Curry with chicken.
What are you bringing back? I am bringing back a couple presents for my cousins and I got a present from the hotel for free. It was a scarf and I like it.
Madeline
Favourite part - The temple that was really big that had lots of water around it. Oh ya, Angkor Wat. I like swimming in the pool and jumping cannon balls in the pool with the goggles on.
What are you bringing back? I got a pink silk scarf from the market. By accident, the hotel gave us another scarf which was pink with a white line and yellow on the sides. “One other thing that I want to say that is sad. I lost Jessie (my stuffed lion) and my blanket. This is pretty sad”
Kristen
It is amazing what people built with elephants and bamboo rafts. I really liked the amok spices that they cooked with the fish. I am seeing Vishnu everywhere now and can recognise him (he is a Hindu God). I found the prospects for Cambodians to be less optimistic than the people of Laos and Vietnam.
Scott
The temples and palaces of Angkor Thom and Wat were beyond anything I imagined. With Suprai as our knowledgeable guide, we were able to understand the incredible history (from the 9th Century), architecture and religion of the times. The hotel was fantastic and generous and we were thankful each day for the pool and our tuk tuk drivers. Siem Reap was a nice town with great food. All of the people we met (Cambodian and other guests) were fun to talk to.
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