After our first day exploring the temples of Angkor, our group of five went to downtown Siem Reap for a very memorable night which included:
-Drinking Pastis in honor of the 4th of July with Jean Philippe, and toasting to Lafayette
-Lots of shots of Cambodian Whiskey, thanks to Knut
-Arm wrestling at the bar with the Cambodians. It turns out the Jean Philippe is very, very good at arm wrestling
-Knut disappearing at 3am
After sleeping in, Nisha and I headed back to the temples on the 5th to see Angkor Thom, a huge walled city full of temples. It used to also have regular buildings in it, but stone and brick were thought to only be appropriate for the gods, so all other buildings were made of wood and rotted away long ago. The highlight for me was a large complex known as "Tomb Raider" (presumably because the movie was shot there). There were huge tropical trees growing all around the stones of the temple, giving it a very unique look and making for some good photo opportunities.
After spending yesterday in transit all day, we made it to Ko Samui last night. This island is on the opposite side of the penninsula from where we were before. It is a much larger island than Ko Phi Phi Don, and also quite expensive. This afternoon, we will be taking a ferry to Ko Phangan, a nearby island that hosts the world-famous Full Moon Party later this week, which some of the people in our group will be at (I'll be in Beijing by then). The plan is to go snorkeling and diving and spend more time at the beach. No complaints here.
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