Attack of the Killer Massage Fish

* warning - this post may not be appropriate for readers with feet issues*

In wandering the streets of Siem Reap we again encountered the local "massage fish" that we first glimpsed in Chiang Mai. After a couple of days of avoiding them, we cautiously started to get interested. We would chat up the people who were having a massage and we started to take a closer look at just how big the fish in the tank really were.

For our last night in Cambodia we decided to finally take the plunge. We negotiated a good rate ($1/person, down from the opening $3/person) for 15 minutes of fishy fun. Now all that was left was to actually dip our toes in.

Heather was the first to go while Chloe cautiously (as is her nature) assessed the situation)



Once she dove her toes in, Chloe was able to withstand the massive tickling sensation



Then it was my turn to get my feet wet. Hopefully from this clip you can tell the difference between my feet and Chloe's.



Now it was time to step up and visit the big fish tank. In my defence the fish were very large

Wat's Up?

For a long time Cambodia for me was a country that very easily could have been cut from the SE Asia portion of the trip. I was keen on Thailand and Vietnam for sure. As "beach countries" they are right in my wheelhouse. But for the longest time I really had trouble with whether Cambodia was worth any of our (now dwindling it feels) time.

A few things changed that. Chloe became a big advocate of coming here cause she wanted to do a border crossing via a bus. We realized that we could obtain our Vietnam visas in Cambodia fairly easily (we hope). And in doing some reading I discovered Angkor Wat, and especially after being able to see Machu Picchu, making the time to see it now became a priority.

It did not disappoint. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story (be warned - we are experimenting with b/w photos):


First glimpse of the gate to the temple. Yep - this is just the gate.


Chloe hiding out


Heading to the local library


Lots of super cool hallways


Bird's eve view


A headless Budha. Heads are taken by treasure hunters, but are now being returned by other countries


Chloe at the back door


This is the temple used to film Lara Croft Tomb Raider. That's me in the bottom right looking for anything Angelina may have left behind. And yes, I downloaded the movie right after we visited so we could check it out.


Just because monkey's are funny


Chloe getting grilled by security to prove she is 10 (and thus free)


More cool hallways, this time in the Bayon Temple


Temple has 54 pillars, each with 4 budha faces


Me going nose-to-nose with one of the faces


Heather having escaped the crowds


Our transportation for the day


Cause you can never have enough monkey pictures!