Cambodia. Day 1 - depart for Siem Reap and Angkor museum

This trip was a school trip with work, which means I give up time and follow the schedule and am responsible for teenagers 24/7, however the costs are covered for me aside from spending money.

Late night flight with 22 excited teens and 3 staff. We got them all checked in and through security, twice because of the Bangkok stop over... And we landed in Siem Reap early in the morning local time. Straight to the hotel for a quick shower and bag drop and then we headed out with our amazing guide, Nak, to the Angkor museum. I think my favourite story was understanding the tale of Naga and Buddha, since that was the depiction in so many buddha statues.

Naga, in Hinduism and Buddhism, is the Sanskrit word for a deity taking the form of a great snake, specifically the multi-headed king cobra. The traditions about nagas are common in all the Buddhist countries in Asia. In many countries, the concept of naga has merged with local traditions of many great and wise serpents. The Buddhist naga has the form of a great cobra, usually depicted with a single head but sometimes with many heads. The naga which is seen sheltering the Buddha while meditating is known as Mucilanda. Mucilanda is believed to have protected the Buddha from the elements like rain and storm after he attained enlightenment. It is said that the four weeks after the Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi tree, the heavens darkened for seven days, a heavy rainfall started. The mighty king of the serpents, Mucilanda then is believed to have emerged from beneath the earth and protected the Buddha with his hood as the Buddha is considered the source of all protection. When the storm stopped, the serpent king Mucilanda assumed his human form, bowed before the Buddha and returned to his palace in joy. The iconographic representation of this Buddhist folklore is known as the Naga Buddha statues. These artistic representations of the Buddha meditating under the protection of Mucalinda are common in many Buddhist countries which are famous for their unique Buddhist arts

After the museum, we went to lunch where we ordered our own meals - a rarity since most meals were set menus. Fresh juices were amazing!

After lunch we had some time back at the hotel for a swim and cool down before we took a walking tour of Siem Reap with the guide who showed us Pub Street and a couple of great night markets. I purchased nothing but a fan which turned out to be the Best Buy of my trip. I only paid $1USD and by the end of it, had I known how much use it would get, I would easily have paid 15! The country is so hot, all of the time. It is humid and sticky and all of us were non stop sweating the entire trip. Ew.