Angkor Wat Half Marathon

You must have been the tallest people in the race!

Well no, because Cambodian's don't run for run. Expats do and they came in their droves to Siem Reap to race around ancient temples. So many of our friends from BKK were going we got a nice little crew together for the weekend. 

It started before dawn, but heavy clouds robbed us of the epic Angkor Wat sunrise. Rebecca and I had a very interrupted training regime, so we suffered through a 5min run, 2 min walk schedule with low expectations. It was very muggy with the clouds and the water-loss was intense.

The trail is lined with local families for miles, and we high-fived the adorably scruffy little kids. It was very peaceful in some places, passing overgrown ruins and jungle, and busy and trafficked in others. I needed serious cajoling to run over the finish line, but Becks got me through.

High Five!

We used up a lot of time doing this with the mies of kids along the route!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and had a great night out in the always entertaining Pub Street area. 

The next day, we took a tuk-tuk tour to the Tonle lake, where fisherman live on floating houses. It's scenic but poor, with families living with no plumbing or electricity, raising kids and animals on platforms. 

There was a crocodile farm beside the tourist shop, and we listened in awe as 3 women in attached houses screamed bloody murder at each other through their flimsy partitions. Village life is the same everywhere, I guess! 

The Cambodian countryside is so beautiful and serene, it was a lovely break from smoggy Bangkok. It had me fantasizing about a cottage in a rice paddy..with air conditioning of course!