Greeting of peace to you my friends and family..again I write to your from
Siem Reap. After I wrote last night..I explored the city which I absolutely
love. Has a great vibe, friendly, clean and safe! Michael and I went out
to eat at a super fancy restaurant and couldn't spend more than $15 between
the two of us. We didn't get home until 11 pm.

The alarm awoke me at 4 am!!! Yes, that early...we wanted to get to Angkor
for sunrise....we were there by 5 am...we had a private tuk tuk driver for
$14 for the day. Words cannot even describe Angkor...it is like machu
picchu, Petra, etc. words cannot do it justice. It is the largest
religious building in the world and covers 1000's of sq km with numerous
temples. Some built as early at 700 AD but the most famous Angkor Wat and
Angkor Thom were built in the mid 1100. The Portuguese discovered them in
1520 or so. It was also nice to get there early before the heat. I
literally move and begin dripping buckets of sweat. There were a fair
number of people there for sunrise. we spent time exploring and climbing
the ruins and then went to Angkor Thom which was equally stunning. At this
point it was 10 am...and the heat was becoming unbearable I had already
drank 2 liters of water (my average each day) and was getting a little light
headed...so we rested for a while. In the afternoon we went to a few more
temples and one was wonderful in the jungle with trees growing out of the
temple and gnarled roots bigger than my body thrusting through the stone of
the temple. It was like Indiana Jones! There were monkeys climbing the
ruins as well. The weather cooperated with us until the last 20 minutes at
sunset....the dark clouds gathered and thunder roared across the sky. then
monsoonal rains fell and it felt great! I was already soaked with
sweat..what was a little rain water going to do.

There were also 100's of Buddha’s in the temples and I learned a great deal
about Hinduism and Buddhism today. I have already taken over 500
photos...of course the ones with me...I look like a disaster with sweat
stains all over!

by the way..when we entered the park there was a sign..Warning Severe Dengue
Fever Threat! I had to take a pic. Our Tuk Tuk drive brought us back and
Michael wanted to sleep....I went out to hear some Khmer music...drums,
pipes, etc. Awesome...it was a group of men who have lost limbs from
landmines. And they raise money by playing Khmer music. I bought there
CD..it's for a good cause. Cambodia still has a ton of land mines and there
are warnings at Angkor to not go off the path because of land mines.

So...it's now 7 pm....going to go to dinner. Tomorrow is our last day
together. Michael is going back to Angkor but there are things in Siem reap
I want to see. WE both have flights out of Siem Reap tomorrow evening...he
will go to Hanoi...and I will be off to Bangkok...

Now the real adventure begins...I have no plans, no reservations, just me
and my bags showing up in strange city, strange land and I will have to
forge for myself and become centered on just for today...where will I eat,
where will I sleep, where will I visit. thus far, things have gone
well....my health has been holding up well...though I did start to get a
toothache two days ago...but I took some amoxicillin to clear any infection.

The poverty hear is astounding and the children beg in the streets all day.
They swarm you like flies "one dollar, one dollar". It very disheartening.

well, I think that is about it for today’s adventures....