Tomb Raider – Rise of the Rice God
[featured-img]
Cambodia welcomed us with a mixture of rain and sunshine along with modern technology and ancient buildings. Our plane landed in Siem Reap and we were welcomed by Kama’s family who, for the next several days, were our hosts, drivers and guides 🙂
Siem Reap, located just a few kilometers away from the temple complex at Angkor (Angkor Wat being the most famous one) was a buzzing city filled with tourists, markets and vendors. We shopped, enjoyed cheap massages (just $5 per hour), tried delicious food and exotic fruits, and took hundreds of photos of the ruins (well, Derek did).
After a few days we headed to Phnom Penh, the current capital of the Cambodia. In comparison to Siem Reap it was a crowded place with newer buildings and technology. We stayed in a hotel near the Waterfront (by the Tonle Sap River) within walking distance to major attractions of the city.
We witnessed a partial solar eclipse (as the path of totality went through China), ate pizza and dodged dozens of persistent tuk-tuk drivers who annoyed us with their touts (especially by the Royal Palace). Waving your hand and saying “No, Thank You” gets tiring pretty fast. After few days we said goodbye to Phnom Peng and took bus back to Siem Reap.
The remaining time in Siem Reap was spent on massages, temples, shoppings and entertainment. One day was spent on a trip to Floating Forest. During our visit to Cambodia Cultural Village, Derek was chosen to play the role of Rice God (see video below) – unfortunately his stage debut was cut short by a sudden rainstorm (better luck next time!)
Visiting Cambodia was an amazing experience and we will definitely come back again. We are now on our way to Thailand – to visit Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other norther regions of the country. See you soon!
– Derek out
[youtubeplaylist 8B73915448DB825C 550 430]
Hahahahaha that’s so funny the video of derek! How did he get chosen to be the rice god? Were those ppl really mountain people? How fun 🙂
No, those are not real tribal people, only actors. They were performing a play and starting looking around the audience for someone to play the Rice God. We were in the front row and when they came near us, I pointed at Derek causing them to talk to each other and then chose him. I then grabbed my camera and shot the video while Nang took pictures as Derek was taken into the hut to dress and be informed of what to do. The cultural village puts on many shows 15 minutes apart and you go from one to another. For each play, they choose a foreigner to play a role. Usually the person they “choose” was pre-selected by the tour groups (usually the Koreans, Japanese, or other). For all the other plays they had this one Korean tour group that they pre-arranged but this second to last one, they didn’t and so Derek became the Rice God.
I think it went to his head a bit though. LOL!!!