The Dancing Road

Greetings from Siem Reap! Today we made the journey from Bangkok, starting around 7am, overland to Siem Reap, Cambodia which is near Angor Wat and other famous temples. It was really interesting to see the countryside of Thailand and Cambodia and see how the people live here. It's a bit different in the rural areas than in the cities. It's a hard life but the people we've met - they're all rather happy and friendly. We stopped in this one tiny village to use the toilets and get some snacks & water. Since it's Sunday, we talked to some of the children. They learn English in school and knew all the different countries we're from & the capitals. Pretty smart, eh?

Last night I met up with my tour group - it's a good bunch! We have a pair of guys from Switzerland, a couple originally from South Africa who now live in Australia, another guy from Australia, a girl from New Zealand, a girl from Ireland, an English bloke, and my roommate from Belgium. There's a diversity in ages too - from my age to about 50, but everyone is really cool. Our guide is from Tasmania but has been traveling for quite some time and knows a lot about Indochina. Everyone except for our guide and the South African couple are on the tour all the way to Hanoi. In Ho Chi Minh City we switch guides and might pick up some other tourists to fill out the group.

I've included two photos here - the first one is one of the ways they recycle Coke bottles. It's kind of hard to see but they're filled with a yellowish liquid - gas! Gas stations aren't so common in the country side so this is how they fill up the minibikes. The photo is a bit hazy because the roads are packed dirt and rocks with lots of ruts so a lot of dust gets kicked up a bit. The locals all tie scarves around their necks to not breath it all in. It took us about 6 hours to go from the Cambodia/Thailand boarder to Siem Reap, but it wasn't too bad. The road must have been recently filled in because it wasn't as rutted as it could have been. My guide calls the road "The Dancing Road" because the bus jumps up and down so much as we go along.
The second photo is of a rice patty - isn't it beautiful!