Siem Reap part two

Siem Reap was a friendly, charming little town. It had a few main streets filled with restaurants offering delicious coconut based Khmer curries and all sorts of exotic meat barbecues - no, we didn't try any snake, kangaroo, or ostrich. Prior to visiting Cambodia, a few Frenchies told us that the food was awful and that everything had animal organs in it, so we had low expectations. Come to find, most of the vegetarian food was similar to Thai food with a rich coconut base, perfect for us!

Before heading to the South Coast we visited a school/work center, a facility for teaching locals (including children and the disabled) traditional Khmer crafts. We saw people doing stone and wood carving, silk painting/spinning/weaving, and detailed silversmithing. It was amazing to see these people producing these beautiful works of art, all disappearing trades in the US. Although we could have left their store with a $5000 hand carved stone or gold Buddha sculpture, we opted for a few beautiful pairs of handmade chopsticks!