They were really nice, gave us
water, offered us tissues to dry
our faces and our helmets. They
told us we could stay there till
the rain stopped and also gave
us directions to the old market
are located about 10 minutes
away.
It was important to find a safe
parking spot of our bikes. with
that automatically being our
topmost priority, it determined
our choice of places to stay in
crowded cities. we found a nice
and reasonable hotel at US 40 $
a night. We later found out,
there were rooms available even
for as little as US 10 $ per night,
however, this one was a proper
hotel. 'Siem Reap' is touristic,
very economical, and a great
variety of food. It can get a little
loud in the evening, but still a
nice place, to unwind for a
couple of days. It wasn't very
difficult to guess where we ate
dinner or even breakfast and
lunch the next day. It took
partner 5 minutes to locate
every Indian restaurant around
the hotel ! And I had no
complaints - I enjoyed the Chai,
naan and Indian music.
India continues to have a strong
influence on me. 15 years of my
life in India has made me an
entrepreneur, a designer, a PhD
and a biker. In fact, this gives me
a strong reason to finish my ride
and return to India.
The next day, we woke very early
and got ready to head to visit
the UNESCO World Heritage
Temple complex Angkor Wat.
We reached quite early and had
to wait for about 45 minutes till
they opened the gates at 7:30
am to let tourists in.
The temples were huge,
adorned with magnificent handÂ
Carvings. The giant trees hugged
the temples and became one
with them. We entered a temple
that was full of huge faces. we
were told that they were faces of
the Kings. My question remains -
how did they built that 8
Centuries ago ? How did they
cut stones and carve them into
these giant sizes, without the
use of technology and
machines.
I really was intrigued and
wanted to know more about
this place. what happened here
800 years ago, who lived here,
why did they leave and abandon
the place... So many questions ! I
need to research and read about
this place, which I will do as
soon as I get a good internet
connection ! We finally visited
'The Bayon' which is the biggest
Khmer temple, most well known
for its rich decoration. A monk
was sitting there, blessing
people and tying a thread to
their hands. His body was full of
tattoos - I had never seen a
monk like that before. I am
drawn to anything that is 'out of
the ordinary' so we went to him.
He prayed for us and wished us
luck. He tied a bright red and
orange thread to our hands.
Of course, a tiny thin thread
cannot change your life. But the
reality is that your positive
thoughts and your belief about
the thread is what works to
bring you luck and keep you
safe. You just need to believe
and trust. I call it "FAITH".
I hadn't realized how strong the
sun was that day. When I looked
into the mirror when we
returned to the hotel. I saw a red
neckline and a tomato instead
of my nose !! However, the best
part of our trip is that the way
you look, that doesn't matter to
you.