After our amazing interlude at Halong Bay, we went back to the Hanoi airport by bus and flew 1.5 hours to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the gateway to the ancient Cambodian temples including the most famous, Angkor Wat.

1. Our hotel the first morning. We had to cross a bridge over this enormous lily pond to get to our room!

2. First day at the temples. I had planned to wear this black skirt a lot, but I felt incredibly frumpy wearing it with my athletic Keen sandals. The sandals were fabulously practical and comfortable, so the skirt stayed in my suitcase for the rest of the trip. I'm wearing a gold pendant but with my temple pass and blue earphone apparatus (which was great -- let me hear the guide without having to stick too close) it really got lost in the shuffle. I chalked this outfit up as a fail.

3/4. The temple, Angkor Thom, as it looks in a carefully framed photo (taken by Mr. K), and as you really experience it, with a gazillion people everywhere. Honestly, all of the temple areas were like Disneyland on a summer day! Wall to wall people! Mr. K and I decided we were not going to let it interfere with our incredible joy and wonder at being there. It's an amazing place and we were happy to share our experience with a gigantic international crowd!

5. If Angkor Thom is Disneyland, these lovely ladies must be the Disney princesses! One dollar for a photo op was a bargain! (Although Cambodia has its own currency, the U.S. dollar is more popular. Even the ATMs in Cambodia dispense U.S. currency -- up to $50 bills!)

6. On the way back to the hotel we were fortunate to stop off at an English-language school supported by our tour company. The children were adorable and very excited to practice their English on us! "Hello! What your name? Where you come from? It is very nice to meet you!"

7. Back to our hotel for dinner and a fantastic Cambodian dance performance. The costumes reminded us of Thai costumes, which is not surprising since Thailand is right next door.

8/9. Having acquired a palm-frond hat the previous day (for a dollar!) I felt a little better dressed the second day at the temples! Black linen pants, white cotton longsleeved tee, black and white dotted scarf, same sandals. (The black lines you see on my top are the straps of my backpack, which was super lightweight and turned out to be a real workhorse!)

I was happy I had gone with a modest wardrobe of long pants and long sleeves. See the lady in the tank top and skirt in photo 9? She was refused entry into the inner/top portion of Angkor Wat because her shoulders weren't covered. She was all in a huff because they told her a scarf wouldn't do it. Honestly, although she was very nice and would have looked fine in, say, Hawaii, I felt like she showed too much skin for the context, pretty much everywhere we went.

10/11/12. Angkor Wat, from the outside, from the inside (check out the Buddhist monk - they were everywhere!), and the amazing view from the top!

13. More lovely ladies in Cambodian dress, another "one dolla" photo op!

14. The view on the way out.

15. It was super hot even at night, so for an evening exploring the town I changed into denim clams and my trusty gingham shirt from Target. I'm sure Angie will be horrified by the matching flip-flops, but the were comfy and I felt like they were reasonably appropriate. Note to self, though: Next time bring some nicer leather sandals that are walking-friendly and look nicer with skirts.

16/17. We had a blast in the local marketplace. I loved the sign for the magical balm that seems to cure everything -- "even flatulence!" LOL We ended the evening at a great little bar where they were playing fantastic American music and had free wi-fi so we could check in on Facebook! What could be better?

Next up: Phnom Penh!