This is Part 2 of the Thailand & Cambodia Travel
Series. Read Part 1 Here.
WE WOKE UP early to catch our international flight from
Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. There are two airports in Bangkok: Suvarnabhumi
International Airport, which is the newer airport into which the majority of
international flights go. However, there is also the older Don Mueang Airport,
which is about an hour apart from Suvarnabhumi, which is used now for domestic
flights and many Air Asia flights. I’d made the mistake of thinking they were
much closer together, but Don Mueang was definitely a good 40 minutes away from
our hotel.
We called an Uber to take us there. There were a couple toll
roads along the way, but the Uber price accounts for those.
Don Mueang was also an easy airport to navigate around. Make
sure you collect your immigration departure card from check in before you go
toward security; our agent forgot to give us one and we had to go all the way
back.
The Air Asia flight worked well; do keep in mind their
weight requirements if you’re traveling with just carry-ons. They didn't check on the way over but on the way back, they were weighing carry on bags. At the time of this article, your two carry-ons couldn't exceed 7kg or 15.4 lbs (
The Siem Reap Airport was just an hour flight away. The
airport was small with a single room. We had filled out our Cambodian visas
online on the government website ahead of time, but it didn’t seem to take that
much time for those who applied on arrival.
We had messaged our hotel, The Golden Gecko, ahead of time
using Expedia’s messaging feature, and so a tuk-tuk driver “Sam” from the hotel
was waiting. Sam would be our driver for the rest of our stay in Siem Reap. The
tuk-tuks were great; they were shaded but open-air carts so you stayed quite
cool and protected from the rain.
We selected The Golden Gecko Villa after noting its proximity to
Angkor Wat, which was the main site we had planned to visit during our three
day stay in Cambodia. Our tuk-tuk took about 30 minutes from the airport to the
hotel. There were three highway strips, with the center lane being used for
passing cars. Along the sides of the roads were hoards of mopeds with whole
families aboard, one of the most popular means of travel.
Wealth and poverty were visible in equal extremes. For every
lavishly gated hotel, next door there would be dozens of stalls stitched
together with tarp roofs and scattered trash. Our hotel was located off a sandy
road that turned into puddles when it rained, the color of Thai iced tea. Two
dogs ran up to greet us upon arrival.
The Golden Gecko was owned by an Australian couple, we
learned. Their friend assisted to check us in. He shared additional tips including
that the riel, Cambodian currency, was less in demand than US dollars. They
would still accept riel if offered, but at that point the exchange rate was
about 4,000 riel to 1 US dollar, so both were equally accepted.
It was a great family atmosphere at The Golden Gecko. One of
the dogs, we learned, had been adopted by the owners after being hit by a car
and left in the middle of the road. There was an island-style bar, a pool, and
a little shaded area for complimentary breakfasts. They also offered tours of
Angkor Wat, either a small tour that focused on the main temples, a larger loop
that could easily take 1-2 days to see all temples along the main path, and
then a separate tour that would take you to some of the off-the-beaten track
temples, such as the waterfall ruin. They offered a tour guide or could set you
up with one of their tuk-tuk drivers.
Power outages were common across the city, the front desk coordinator
“Mr. Kay” told us. It was already midday, and the humid air was sweltering, as
if a thunderstorm was brewing. Also, Mr. Kay told us, looking a bit sheepish,
they had just learned of a Khmer wedding that would be held next door. It was
expected to last for a couple days at least.
We ventured out on the streets to find a bite to eat just as
it began to rain. Our friend had told us of a delicious French restaurant, and
we tracked it down not a ten minute walk away using Google Maps, “Paris
Saigon”. There we enjoyed the most amazing French onion soup and a light,
flavorful pasta carbonara dish, as well as some absinthe, which was sold
legally in the country. We met the owner who had been a French architect in
Vietnam for a while where he met his wife, and when he retired, they moved to
Siem Reap to open their restaurant. Half the menu offered French delicacies,
and the other half Vietnamese classics.
In the evening, a power outage rolled through and the hotel
lost power, making the rooms sticky with heat. We headed out to Pub Street, the
major tourist road in Siem Reap. Decked out in neon lights and tons of
English-speaking services from restaurants to massages, Pub Street was lively
and brimming with tons of foreigners, as well as an equal number of tuk-tuk
drivers looking to offer rides. The massage parlors were also very actively
recruiting foreigners to enjoy the bargain massages or to try the fish skin
treatment, where you dip your feet into a tank where a school of tiny fish can
eat off all the dead skin.
We ate at the Red Piano on the second floor, which provided
a great view to people watch. We ordered to delicious Cambodian curries there,
and I gave into try the Angelina Jolie cocktail that was featured. Every 10th
one they give away free, and I was pretty surprised when we heard the staff
cheer and present one for free to our table.
When roaming Pub Street, have your game face on and make
your heart stone, because you will be bombarded left and right to come shop or
to take a tuk-tuk ride somewhere. The best way to be sensitive to their time
(and your own!) is to blatantly ignore them, or give a firm “No, thanks” and
keep walking. Don’t engage any more than that or you will earn yourself a relentless
shadow. The competition is fierce for business and the vendors need to be
persistent or they will lose their sale to the other guy. In our hotel room,
there was a pamphlet explicitly warning against giving kids who are begging
money, as it encourages them to keep begging instead of attending school. It is
difficult, all the same, and you will realize everything you have taken for
granted.
My favorite shock value stall was the one offering fried
snakes, frogs, scorpions, maggots, and large plump black spiders, all neatly
speared on a stick for sale. We asked the vendor which one was the best, and he
said the frog. We should have listened to him. We bought a scorpion since I
just couldn’t bring myself to try the spider (deathly afraid of those things)
and it tasted like leathery dry charcoal with the consistency of licorice. Not
much meat on the bone at all. Should have gone with the frog. (If you do ignore these warnings and try the scorpion, make sure to take the stinger off!)
When we were ready to head back, we literally just had to
turn around to have three tuk-tuk drivers vying for our business. As a rule of
thumb, Mr. Kay had told us, $3 USD will get you anywhere in Siem Reap general
area by tuk tuk, and the driver we found accepted this as well.
The Khmer wedding was in full swing when we got back.
Portraits of the bride and groom were set up at the entrance, and we could see
a lavish ballroom with plenty of dinner guests inside. We headed in, needing to
wake up early the next morning for Angkor Wat.
The power had come back as well. In our room, conditions
were similar to our hotel in Bangkok: all toilet paper goes in the waste
basket, and stay stocked on bottled water. There was a grocery around the
corner as well to find great prices on beer and other amenities. The TV worked
well as did the air conditioning, and the bed was supremely comfortable. We
fell asleep in our room that night listening to the rise and swell of chanting
next door, startled back awake every now and again at the crash of a cymbal.
Upcoming Post: Angkor Wat
Disclaimer: The above content is depicted as fiction, not
fact.
