Feeling like Lara Croft

Monday the 10th til Thursday the 14th of February: The hostel I stayed at in Siem Reap was the best so far. Bokre Angkor Hostel. I had a private room and it was like a hotel. The staff was super friendly and made you feel very welcome and at home. The food was very affordable and so good. The first night and the next day I just chilled and got to know another traveler from Australia, John. We went out together to see a traditional Khmer dance show in the evening. It was very interesting and beautiful. We then went to the beer street, had some cocktails and ended up playing cards against humanity with an older couple from California. Great night! The next morning I got up at 4am, to do the sunrise tour to Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. At Angkor Wat I booked a tour guide who explained the history and symbols of the temple and helped me take nice pictures, he was an Instagram pic professional. If I would only be half as professional as an Instagram model 😂 My lovely tuktuk driver Sy then took me to Angkor Tom. Unfortunately, I had a bad headache and needed a break. I felt a little better after some food and ibuprofen, but Sy was worried that the busy temples would be too much for me, so he took me to a calmer temple a little off the beaten track, down a dirt road in the jungle. I can't remember what it was called, but it was magical. There were hardly any people, and for a while, I was all alone in the temple 😍. It was wonderful to sit on the ancient stones, take in the scenery, and listen to the sounds of the jungle. After that, I felt ready to go to Ta Prohm, the temple where scenes from Tomb Raider were filmed. It was very impressive how the trees had grown through and around the stones. Of course, this temple was very busy with tourists again, so I must say, my favorite one was the lonely temple in the jungle, even though it was not as spectacular as the Tomb Raider temple. When I came back to the hostel at 13:30, I slept for 3 hours. In the evening, I enjoyed the great food at the hostel and nice conversations with other travelers. The next day I went to a silk farm with John. It was really interesting how they raise the silk worms and then get the silk from their cocoons. You can also eat the larvae. Of course, I had to try one: they taste fishy and a bit like a nut. In the evening, I met Francisco from Lisbon. As a restaurant owner, he was up for new culinary adventures and went to the Bug Café with me. We had Waterbugs (horrible), Scorpions (not so nice), Grasshopper (OK), and ants (quite nice). Insects are definitely not my new favorite dish, but I am proud that I dared to try them. The next morning, I left for Bangkok. Even though I only had 4 days in Siem Reap, I really enjoyed it. The temples are stunning, but what I liked most was how friendly everyone was. I did not encounter one person who wasn't super nice to me. Goodbye Cambodia! It was a short intermezzo, but a lovely one.