Losing blood to Celine Dion
One last temple today...the women's temple called Banteay Srey. It was a long drive through the jungle to see it. We drove past endless villages of locals who were enjoying cooking and swinging in hammocks. I stocked up on a few more postcards, because at 10 for a dollar, one has to have at least 40. On the way back to the hotel, I got dropped off at the local hospital in Siem Reap with another lady in our group, Jane, who is an eye doctor in the UK. We were taking up the challenge to donate blood. Now, this was a first for me, and I was super nervous...but Jane made all the necessary hazard checks and told me what to expect. The doctors working there looked younger than me, and other foreigners trickled in as we were on the beds, so I tried to be brave. The doctor heard my request for some relaxing music, and found some Celine Dion on the radio, being played by DJ Monkey. This and the feeling of blood escaping my body was quite a surreal experience. Jane and I were treated to a can of coke with a straw and a goodie bag to show appreciation. When we left the hospital, we looked around for a tuk tuk. And we couldnt find one!! Irony...
After a little food and lie down to replenish my energy, I met up with Joy and we went to the market and some craft stores in town.
As it was my last night with the group, who would be traveling on to Thailand the next day, we all went for a fancy cocktail and a nice meal at a place called the Soup Dragon. I realised how fortunate I was to be with such a lovely group of people exploring Cambodia together.