Day 2

I slept in until 6 this morning, which means I'll have to try for sunrise at Angkor tomorrow.

In honor of the 4th of July, I started my day with a walk to the old market for a double Americano at a place called The Blue Pumpkin.
Then I sat by the river for a little while and collected my brains for the day, before scoping out a cheap place for breakfast. Ended up at a rice porridge stall with no English menu and a few Cambodians who laughed at me (nicely) for not knowing how to order. The porridge was delicious - broth, rice, chicken, bean sprouts, basil (I think), a splash of hot sauce, and little plain airy pastry things chopped up into bite-sized pieces and added to the bowl until slightly soggy. The whole meal was less than a dollar.
After breakfast and a walk, I rented a bicycle for a dollar and started off for Angkor Wat around 8:30. I did a six-hour loop, taking in most of the major sites and a few minor ones, with stops along the way for dragonfruit, pineapple, and sunscreen re-applications (alas, to no avail! terrible burn lines...). I met a group of Korean university students (from Cheongju) at Angkor, and practiced speaking with them for a little while. At the Preah Khan ruins, a young Khmer guy appointed himself as my guide and took me through all these amazing side passages and chambers, telling me stories and history and pointing out interesting carvings, inscriptions, and archeological features. At the end of the tour, he asked me to marry him. When I said no, he asked me to sleep with him tonight. When I refused again, he asked me to pay him a couple dollars for the tour. THAT, I agreed to. :) We then had an interesting conversation about why he likes foreign women better than Cambodians - basically, according to him, because Cambodian girls will rarely sleep with a guy before marrying him, but American girls always will. Sad perception.
Got back to Siem Reap, returned the bicycle, and had a late afternoon meal of spicy banana leaf and shrimp salad, with an ice cold, fresh, coconut shake. 2 dollars for the whole dealio. I love southeast Asia.
I took a much-needed coooool shower back at the guesthouse and a tiny cat nap. Then I journaled while it poured outside. The rain seems to have cleared up now, and I might venture out again this evening, depending on how my tired and sunburnt body feels after I get some dinner into it.
Thanks for reading! :)