It has been a busy week!

Saturday 24th September
From Siem Reap, Cambodia

Thanks to the current monsoon that is flooding the streets and keeping us in the hotel, I have enlisted Izaac's help to get me blogging again!

                                              Golden Banana Hotel.  Doug with neighborhood children.
                                                                       View of street from lobby
                                                         
We are having a  fantastic time! Hanoi, Halong Bay in Vietnam, and now the ancient ruins of Angkor in Cambodia.   We are in sensory overload.   Hot and steamy, new sights, sounds, and smells, wonderfully  friendly people, fantastic food, Doug comments from behind me - "50 cent beers", and on top of it all we are with Izaac and Leslie.

It rained VERY HARD last night and they added sandbags outside the front entrance - there is no door.  The rain and flooding is adding to our adventure.  Although the children in Siem Reap seem to love  swimming in  the flooding streets, it is very tough on the Cambodian people, especially the farmers, some have lost everything.

We are staying in a great little atmospheric hotel, The Golden Banana, but it has the disadvantage of being on the wrong side of the river.  The tuk tuks can't get here because of the deep water and we have to wade a 1/4 mile into town to be picked up.  But as Doug says the food in our hotel is good and the drinks are cheap, and there is a salt water swimming pool all for $35 a night.

Waiting for breakfast in Golden Banana lobby/cafe

Notice swimming pool and bar in background!