Our Most Unusual Valentine’s Day Ever

Wars of attrition, piles of old rocks, and Cambodian orphanages aren’t typical Valentine’s Day venues.  But that’s exactly how we spent our February 14 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

I should explain here that we’ve been engaged in a protracted war with package tourists on this trip (Jordan’s dubbed them the People’s Package Tourist Army).  They can be loud, pushy, and jam a place up taking 10,000 photos of themselves. They have superior numbers, bigger vehicles, and bigger bank accounts. We try to stay one step ahead of them through flexibility and quickness on our feet. As discussed previously, we got trounced at the Battle of Bangkok’s Grand Palace.

We spent the day on our trusty Schwinn warhorses, peddling around the magnificent Angkor Wat and walled city of Angkor Thom.  Through our bikes and our ability to outwait them in the heat, we figure we scraped a victory that day.

 

After rinsing off the dust and grime from the temples, time for dinner and a show!  A friend of ours recommended the traditional Khmer dance show at ACODO, an orphanage in Siem Reap.  The kids were wonderful, so talented and loving.  At one point, Jordan leaned over and asked if we could just give them all our money and head home early to Heidi.

 

Next we made a stop at the famous local pub Angkor What? for a gin and tonic.

For dinner, we made a small splurge at a local Italian spot we eyed earlier in the week.  Who would have thought that you could find delicious, thin-crust Neopolitan-style pizza in Siem Reap, Cambodia? This place was owned by Italians and imported everything from Italy. It was no Antico, but it really hit the spot.

 

Finally, we cooled our heels at Dr. Fish.  Stick your feet in the water and the fish nibble on the dead skin.  It didn’t hurt — mostly tickled.

 

No teddy bears, no chocolates, no flowers, and one of our best Valentine’s Days yet!

What’s your most unusual Valentine’s Day story? Please share in the comments!