That Sunday morning at 7:30am, we left on the bus for the 5 hour ride to Siem Reap. Although we napped for most of the slightly bumpy ride, we also enjoyed checking out the country side, seeing swampy fields with Cambodian men and women working in them, as well as families lying in hammocks outside their homes. It was shocking to be driving through such a jungle environment in a 3rd world country. I enjoyed imagining how my life would be if I lived in one of these tree house type homes, surrounded by jungle, swamps and ponds and many palm trees and wild plant life/animals. Almost all of the homes were built on high stilts to avoid the flooding during the wet season (the summer). Our bus took a break midway for lunch at a local Cambodian restaurant. Keith and I ate veggies with rice and chicken. Yum!
Once we arrived to Siem Reap, we immediately noticed the difference in cities with Phnom Penh. This city was touristier and seemed to have more wealth from the main attraction, Angkor Wat. Conveniently, our driver from Phnom Penh had a close friend that also was a tuk-tuk driver and worked at a hotel as well. He picked us up where our bus dropped us off (which seemed to be in the middle of a poor neighborhood with stones and rocks all over the streets). Our new driver was super friendly and even knew more English. He brought us to the hotel that he worked at and right away we were happy with the selection. It had a fancy lobby with computers for the guests to use, it was right across the street from the pretty river that flowed through the city, was walking distance from all the restaurants, bars, markets, and entertainment, and had extremely helpful staff, plus the rooms were nice too. One staff member booked the Apsara dancing show for us that we went to later that night, he also gave us a map of the city and recommended some restaurants and markets for us to check out. Also, the staff let us keep our bags behind the front desk throughout the next day when we went to Angkor Wat (the next city over), even though we were already checked out of our room (most hotels did this for backpackers/ travelers which made it very nice to not have to drag our clothes everywhere).
Once we checked into our room, it was time to explore the city! We first walked around until we saw the first massage company and happily made our way in. Two women took care of us with a 1 hour full body massage and hot tea at the end…all for only $7! We couldn’t believe it! At home this would cost anywhere from $50-$150. They first started with a foot massage, then they asked us to change into these pj clothes, and then both Keith and I layed next to one another in this private room with curtains all around. It seemed like a couple’s massage…very cute that we got to lie next to each other. The two young women (maybe around our age?) gave us amazing massages! It was so relaxing and was a great experience! The slow and quiet Cambodian music in the background and the dim light added to the relaxation effect. I could get used to living this way…at least while we’re visiting all of SE Asia….more massages please!
After the massage, we continued to walk around the city and enjoyed looking at all the many things they were selling at the day market….clothing, hammocks, jewelry, bags, sculptures, crocodile skin wallets, belts, etc. We then went for an early dinner at the Butterfly Garden. I absolutely loved this place!! It was definitely my kind of style and again, a very relaxing environment. You walk into this huge outdoor butterfly garden which is surrounded by thin netting. There are beautiful flowers, ponds with fish, fountains and lovely butterflies flying around (but you have to be patient to see them). Some of the areas to sit at are comfy long couches. We sat in one of these and laid down, relaxing with a fruit smoothie and coconut drink until our food was served. Our food was also amazing!! We ate veggie spring rolls as an appetizer, then shared chicken curry with rice and a shrimp veggie lemon-flavored dish. I was in heaven the whole week with both Vietnamese and Cambodian food! So delicious!
After dinner, we continued to walk around the city and made our way to our Apsara dancing show at 7:30. The show was at a restaurant and it was filled with maybe around 200 tourists! Keith continued to enjoy food by grabbing a small dish at the buffet, while I talked to another traveler sitting next to us. She was visiting on a work trip and originally from South Africa, but now living in Australia. It was interesting hearing her experiences at Angkor Wat…she was there for 3 days, each day from sunrise to sunset! Wow! We both liked the Apsara dancing. It lasted for about 1 ½ hours and the dancers, both male and female, had pretty and fancy costumes, and made the dancing into what was similar to a musical. There were romantic and funny scenes and the dancing and music was very slow. They seemed to be dancing in slow motion. It was interesting and fun to watch.
After the show, Keith and I walked past a few huge and very expensive hotels, then saw a nice restaurant/bar to stop into. It was called The Crest, and was apparently voted the best restaurant in Cambodia. For this reason, we decided to see for ourselves. The restaurant (outdoors but with a fancy roof over our heads) had ponds and comfy cushions that you climbed up on and could lay or sit on with pillows and a small table, along with a silk cover above us. It was very romantic and maybe the picture can help explain if my explanation is unclear. We ordered chocolate ice-cream to share (their specialty), as well as a hazelnut mojito for me, and the drink of the year (won at a bartender contest in Cambodia) for Keith….it was a warm type of wine/hard liquor with a very very strong smell. He made a funny face each time he took a sip, because he couldn’t breeth in the strong smell; however, he couldn’t believe how amazingly smooth and delicious the drink was. I tried it too and agree. My mojito was just as delicious. The next bar was just as fun. We went to The Dead Fish tower. I think it was Keith’s all-time favorite bar. He even bought a shirt from there as a souvenir. We had heard about this bar when researching the area. It was known for it’s “live crocodiles”. Our server told us that originally the bar had 25 crocodiles, but since they are difficult and expensive to have, they now have 2. They were in an open little pond and we saw one in plain site (the other one was in another room). The scary thing was that there were about 4 or 5 levels….all thin, wooden floors that you had to be careful climbing up and there weren’t any railings on the different levels. Therefore, if you drank too much and took the stairs right by the crocodile pond, you could definitely call it a night! The chai teas here were amazing! We chilled for an hour or so, chatted with our server, and watched more Apsara dancing (they were on a tiny stage (literally a wooden plank) on the 2nd floor. Some of the tables were Asian style- on the floor with cushions for us to sit on (we chose these), while other tables were western-style. Great place! Would recommend it for anyone!
After this bar, we made our way to a Dr. Fish massage! For only $2.50 you get a refreshing Angkor beer, as well as get the chance to put your feet in a gigantic fish tank and sit and relax…while the little fish all nip at your feet to take off all the dead fish. I really enjoyed this experience! Not only were my feet extremely soft and smooth after the massage, but it felt good and tickled a little. We were able to stay as long as we wanted, so we chilled for a while and talked to a couple visiting from England. They had just come from Vietnam and offered some great advice to some of the cities we would soon be seeing. The final stop was to the Night Bazaar, which was a popular and huge night market. I bought a tank top to match a skirt I bought earlier that day, and then we made it back to our hotel to get some sleep before our busy day visiting all the temples at Angkor Wat.
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