It is common to wake up to watch the sunrise over the main temple. We awake at four-thirty and take our tuk-tuk to the huge park where all of the temples lie. We see a ton of other white people up to do the exact same thing. We stand there as the sun slowly rises, but are a little less than impressed with this particular sunrise. It's more like somebody has the sun on a dimmer switch that they are slowly raising. We had pictured oranges and purples. We walk around the main temple which is huge. It's apparently the biggest religious building in the world. It's quite spectacular. We head to the next one which is beautiful. We take disrespectful photos in the temple, putting our hands inside the noses of the giant stone faces and placing our own heads in place of the decapitated heads of the statues. Our favorite one has to be the jungle temple. It has tree roots taking it over in the most majestic way. After our five temples, we are exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel. We take a nap and then go to a pool in the area. On the way back, I decide we need to get Laura a tacky Khmer birthday cake. I hook her up with one and have them write on it in Khmer. That night we go to a butterfly garden restaurant and have a wonderful dinner. 
At the end I have them bring out the ice cream and cake with candles lit while we sing her Happy Birthday. The cake has a fluffy icing and a strange chocolate/fruit situation going on inside. We're all happy with it because we don't get chocolate in Takeo where the orphanage is. After, we go to Pub Street where all the tourists go to get their drink on. I've decided if I can drink enough to loosen up, I will allow the Doctor Fish to nibble my feet. This is a popular thing to do in Asia for some reason. The doctor fish are supposed to eat the dead skin off of your feet, and you're supposed to be okay with it. My hang-up is that I am not only very ticklish, but I despise fish. So the night continues, and we drink a bunch of different concoctions. We sit around in the warmth and humidity of the night and dance in our seats to Michael Jackson and Queen. We've all grown quite comfortable with each other now, and conversation flows quite fluidly. It's so nice to be comfortable with people, and be way past the "Where have you been?" and "Where are you going?" that is (naturally) so prevalent in the travel world. So now I'm buzzed enough to do the doctor fish thing, but it's two in the morning. Fortunately there's a guy around the corner who understand that drunken tourists might feel the need to have their feet exfoliated at 2am.
We sit on the padded edge of the tank and dip our feet in. The fish swim to our feet and begin feeding. GROSS! It takes me awhile to get used to it, and then, after a few minutes in this tank, I decide it's time we graduate to the other tank with the bigger fish. It doesn't hurt, it just tickles, and ever once in a while you'll get a greedy fish who just won't stop feeding off of your arch. On our way home we encounter the world-renowned child beggars of Siem Reap. One of them wraps her arms around Laura and won't let go as she begs for money. Another girl carries her newborn infant sister. It's pretty grim.The following day we charter our own boat, and go down the river to Floating Village.
I know I say I love Cambodia, and the homes out in the country, but this is everything I love about Cambodia except it on water. It's amazing. We pass by boat/homes with people asleep on the wooden floors and in hammocks. Entire families of four or five live on each small boat. We pull over to let a huge boat by, and I snap a photo of a little girl looking out the corner of her eyes at me while her dog barks at us for being too close to their house/boat. It's my favorite picture yet. We pass a school, an orphanage, a flower salesman, and children rowing their own boats. This place is so authentic. We go visit the crocodile farm where we see tons of live crocs waiting to be fed. Somebody dangles a live catfish over them and then drops it while we all watch them scramble toward it. When one crocodile gets it, we hear a crunch as he crushes the fish's head.That afternoon we go to a pool at a hotel and swim and enjoy the food until a lightening and thunder storm ends our lounging session. The following morning we start the long pothole-filled journey back to Takeo province. That night the kids hold a talent show where they have a huge sound system and stage set up. What a wonderful welcome back!
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