Thanksgiving in Cambodia

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My Thanksgiving didn’t include turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes this year.  Instead, it included temples, tuk-tuks, and fried noodles!  My friend and fellow student teacher at Singapore American School decided to travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to spend our 4 day Thanksgiving break.

Before arriving in Singapore, I knew essentially nothing about Cambodia and hadn’t heard of the Angkor Wat temple complex.  However, once I arrived in Singapore, I quickly learned that it is one of the major tourist destinations for those living in Singapore, as it is a quick and easy two-hour flight.  We went to Siem Reap, the town including the Angkor Wat temple complex, which is a huge draw for tourists.  We got around the city by riding in tuk-tuks, which are essentially motorbikes with a cart for up to 4 people to ride in.  Our guesthouse was near Pub Street, the central hub of restaurants, bars, spas, and night markets.  We spent a couple of our evenings trying all sorts of food, getting inexpensive foot massages and pedicures, and bargaining for good at the night markets.

If you are interested in hearing more about the temples, please read my post titled “Angkor Wat.”

Slideshow pictures:

  1. Thanksgiving dinner in Cambodia, complete with spring rolls, Khmer curry (traditional Cambodian food), and rice.
  2. Bright and colorful pub street, the hub of activity both during the day and at night.
  3. The finished pieces of pottery I made during a Khmer pottery class.
  4. On our way to our guesthouse from the airport, riding in a tuk-tuk.
  5. Pictures from Phare, the Cambodian circus.  The circus included teenagers who had gone through a circus arts training program.  This organization provides children with difficult home situations or nowhere to go with training in circus arts and then provides opportunities to perform.  It was a wonderful thing to see!
  6. My friend Emma and I at one of the spas on Pub Street, getting a “foot massage” from the fish!
  7. Rolled ice cream!  I got this ice cream at a little stand on Pub Street, where they use dry ice to freeze cream into a sheet, and then roll that sheet into tasty ice cream rolls.

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