Intro: Sorry it's been a while since I have updated anything. I didn't bring my computer on my travels and then I had my first days back at work! But, I'll update here about my time in Singapore and Cambodia!
Singapore: I planned this trip around getting to see Prescott, a friend from undergrad for those who don't know him, and then we travelled together to Cambodia. Because we met in a history class of early modern east Asia and study many of the same things, while also being frequent HCroo and frat friends, I appreciated his rundown of history and also his description of his current life in Singapore! Singapore itself is pretty much exactly as advertised. The Singapore botanical gardens absolutely deserve their world famous status. I have not had so much fun just wandering around in ages! I did not get to see the otters they warn about everywhere :/ but I had a great time anyway.
Singapore butterfly photo
Singapore Dragonfly photo
the hocker, hawker? idk, centers in different sections of the city are Las so cool. Prescott took me to the one nearest his subway stop, and it is basically an outdoor market full of permanent stalls that all have Michelin ratings. The carrot cake (which is NOT what it sounds like) was by far my favorite Singaporean dish, but in fairness I was not going to try the stingray.
I also enjoyed my time meeting some of the Singapore squad in Prescott's life, making Swedish cinnamon rolls and going to Good Boy George, a dog cafe.
We did all the famous things like Gardens by the Bay and overall I just had a great time. How much of the joy was simply not being in the cold of north China? Probably a lot, but Singapore was still lovely!
Siem Reap After a few days in Cambodia, we flew into Siem Reap to go to Angkor Watt. Angkor Watt is ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT! We got up for the sunrise tour, watching the world wakeup from the base of a temple built around the sunrise itself. Our tour guide was historically extremely knowledgeable and also very funny. We spent the morning roaming to 4 different temples (including the infamous Angelina Jolie Lara Croft tree temple) and every one was so freaking cool. You could spend a week simply exploring the 90+ ruins and restored temples in the area. We only saw a few macaques on the roads, but it was fun to see the monkeys regardless of their scarcity on our visit.
Angkor Watt Sunrise
Lara Croft Tree
Temple Run Explorer Mode
The next day, we went to the rat museum; a museum dedicated to the Giant African Pouch Rats that sniff out landmines in Cambodia! These guys are so awesome and are working to remove some of the damage caused by the 6 million bombs Henry Kissinger dropped on Cambodia, in addition to the millions of landmines and bombs dropped or placed around Cambodia during their civil war and their current war. I did not hold the rats, because rats... ...but they are cool despite their general ick factor.
After the rate museum, we went to mini golf where the holes were designed around the temples themselves! I lost by 1 shot :(((
HeroRAT
Temple MiniGolf
Koh Rong Samloem After siem reap, we flew (no night buses for us this time) to Sihanoukville (the city of 1 billion scams) to take the ferry to Koh Rong Samloem. Koh Rong and its neighboring smaller island Koh Rong Samloem are the main beach destinations for tourists, with the big island having more of a party vibe, but Samloem was the perfect energy for us. We spent 2 days sipping drinks and watching the waves. The weather was perfect, the ocean was beautiful, and we experienced truly one of the most magical sunsets I have ever seen! (Also we stayed at the Sara Resort so you know it had to be amazing.) 10/10 would recommend!
