Land mines and NOT the last word on Cambodia

Thursday 17th July
It was the earliest start we've had so far today, everyone was up and ready to leave by 4:45 to experience the famous Angkor Wat sunrise. The fifteen minute bus ride to Angkor Wat showed the tired states that everyone was in, as we all tried to take every opportunity to sleep. Attempting to get the best view for the upcoming sunrise among the massive crowd of fellow tourists and locals, we situated our selves along the side of the lake. I would describe the sunrise as pretty but not amazing as the weather was not working in our favour, though it is something we can all tick off our bucket list. This time of the year, brings clouds, rain, storms and a lot of wet walking experiences.

After returning to our accommodations we all dug in to breakfast and were given an hour to relax and get ready for the day, then we are all packed in to either the yellow submarine and as Connie calls it or the blue eyed white dragon for an hour journey to palm sugar village. At palm sugar village the majority of us purchased the delicious palm sugar sweets and quickly piled back into the buses to escape the massive bees.

We were on the road again to our next destination, the Land mine museum. The Land mine museum was an eye opening experience as we all learnt of the extent of how many bombs etc are still situated around Cambodia and how often injuries are still occurring. The mine museum was established by Aki Ra - an ex Khmer Rouge child soldier who set land mines as a ten year old child. This museum was an awakening we didn't expect.

Our short drive to the Bantey Srei temple allowed us time to explore and look around. This is the temple of women, of beautiful pink sandstone with amazing decorative art all around. With the heat, we all headed to our lunch spot and had no limit to our budget - resulting in ordering multiple drinks and meals, for a set price ably negotiated by our guide and tuktuk driver. The weather was against us today so we went back to our accommodations and were given hours to rest, during which time everyone had naps. By 4ish it became obvious that the rain was not stopping anytime soon so we waited it out then headed off the the markets. Our improving bartering skills showed off and we all left with more items and less money.

Dinner has become a cultural affair with groups sharing their meals just as the Khmer people do. It certainly allows a greater variety of foods to be tasted. We were then given the option to go back to our accommodations or head back to the night markets. Everyone that needed to get their last minute items, including me, went to the markets to continue improving our bargaining skills, we are all "professionals" now. After the markets we all went back to pack and get a decent sleep for our long travel day that would follow.

What did we learn today? That Cambodia is still suffering from the land mines of the 1970s and that nearly 30% of those mines planted are possibly still active. Something we all need to work on to eradicate.

Hannah