The branch pres. and his daughter picked us up at 9:00a.m. today. I told them about a horseback riding place called "The Happy Ranch" that I'd read about in my guidebook. I'd had the concierge from the hotel call The Happy Ranch already to get the scoop and warn them that we were fixin' to ride. After driving through the red light district of Siem Reap and stopping several times to ask men with chickens where this place was; we made it!
We were all amazed to see that a mama horse had delivered her baby that morning so we got to see (and touch) a foal only a few hours old! It was amazing to see her stand for a few seconds and then fall again! We are such city dwellers that this was an awesome treat!
Check her out...Her name is "Bee." (Mom's name is Honey.)
I also soon found out that Chetana had never ridden a horse in her life so I had the kids all convince her that that would be a fun thing for her to do. I told her I would pay for her if she would come with us. She was a bit scared to try but soon relented to our begging...we weren't taking no for an answer so she really had no choice!
Chetana's First Ride:
We had an awesome ride through the back yards and front yards and side yards of all of the cows and people's homes in the area. We got to see several people showering underneath their water pumps which was. of course, a highlight of the ride. Sammy, our guide and I rode up at the front of the line...she let us trot the horses and even sent the other horses back to the ranch while Sammy, the guide and I went out trotting for a while on our own. Sammy was in heaven but you can imagine how Bailey felt. That was not pretty.
When we got back to the ranch our guide showed the kids around a bit. She also showed them 2 baby kittens that had been born a few days before and were still in a box with their mother.
Here's the girls checking out the kitty's...
(Our ride was an a hour and a half for $20 per person.)
Chetana & Carson are hangin' after their ride.
We hit the pool again for a bit in the afternoon.
Then we headed back to our room to pack up for the airport! Goodbye Cambodia...we love you!
Cambodia Rocks!
