Angkor Wat

 Our Tuk-Tuk Driver

We hired a personal tuk-tuk driver for the entire day ($20), who took us to Angkor Wat and a silk farm. The structure took 27 years to build and was completed in 1140. It is one of the oldest continuously used religious structure in the world. The entry fee was a hefty $20 for the day, (locals get in for free!), as sees 2 million visitors a year. 

Warding off Evil Spirits

Angkor Wat, Main Gate

Silk Farm

Boiling Silk worm Cocoons

Do you know how silk is made? I didn't, but I do now and it is very labor intensive.

The silkworm, which only eats mulberry leaves, spins a cocoon in five days so it can metamorphosis into a moth. But, to make silk, the silkworm cocoons are put out in the sun for about 7 days so the silkworm dies before becoming a moth. I'm not entirely sure why, but if a worm becomes a moth, the silk cocoon is damaged and cannot be used for silk. Each cocoon makes 400 meters of silk.

 Once the cocoon is baked for 7 days, it is ready to unraveled and put on to a spindle. To get the silk strands separated from the cocoon, they are placed in hot water to loosen the thread. Once the cocoon is entirely unraveled, the dead worm is cooked and ready to be eaten! Yes, Maya and I tried one (flubbed the video of this) and they taste like corn!