The next chapter...Our Arabian Adventure: Holiday in Cambodia Part 1

Holiday in Cambodia

Before I begin talking about Siem Reap, and the amazing city it is, I want to pause and think about what our life was like a year ago, and just how much has changed…

Last year we were just beginning our life in Shanghai. I was still afraid of my own shadow and was preaching to all that “WE WILL NOT BE STAYING THREE YEARS, and that will not change!” I also remember telling people that I don’t really love to travel. I enjoyed it, but liked to be home more. Last October we were heading to Beijing for our first holiday. It was an amazing city and a great adventure with fun friends. But when we returned, I still didn’t understand why everyone loved to travel so much. I still had thoughts that two years of living here and traveling around would be plenty!

As the year progressed, my feelings began to change. I began to grow a love for traveling, and started becoming more interested in other parts of Asia. Traveling to Bangkok, Boracay, and Bali certainly helped me see things in a new light! Now, as I sit here in my hotel room in Cambodia, ready to go explore more, I realize what a different person I have become over the last year. In general, I have a whole new outlook on life. We have been given an opportunity to travel and learn about the world, and many will never get this chance. I don’t want to miss out on anything or take anything for granted. I love learning about other cultures and countries. I get excited to travel and feel lucky that we live in Shanghai. I feel so blessed to have the life I have been given. Here I am, already in love with Siem Reap after one day and I can’t wait to see more of it. I also can’t stop thinking about where else I want to go! “The old Christy” would never have gone to Cambodia, let alone say those words. My how I have grown in a year. Oh, and those of you wondering, I am eating my own words as we plan to stay at least three years in Shanghai.

So, now back to my blog on Cambodia… It took a while to get here, our plane left Shanghai late, we had a 4 hour lay over in Guangzhou (great people watching there BTW), got stuck on the plane on the runway for an hour and then finally left and got to Siem Reap around 7. This was our first time flying with China Southern and we were pleasantly surprised. The food was pretty good and the seats had plenty of legroom. When we arrived we had someone from our hotel waiting for us to take us to The Shining Angkor Boutique Hotel. The hotel is beautiful with amazing woodcarvings everywhere, not many guests, it’s in a quiet area, and has a VERY friendly staff. It is also just down the road from town. A quick $2 Tuk Tuk ride will get you to all the restaurants, bars, and markets. And everything is very cheap!

Travis and I in our first Tuk Tuk ride into town on Sunday.

Sunday, Day 1, we woke up and had our breakfast. Then we relaxed at the pool for a bit. Later, Travis, Greg, and I went to explore town. We began to walk, but as it is very hot and humid, that didn’t last long! We ended up getting in a tuk tuk and our driver took us to town and showed us where some things were located. We found some restaurants that were recommended, the Pub Street (Greg and Travis were very excited about this one!), the day market (complete with people selling fish and other food that smells great in 90 degree heat), beer for 50 cents, and some lovely people. After doing a little shopping and eating a little, we headed back to the hotel in our Batman themed tuk tuk!

Travis and Greg finding the Red Piano on Pub Street.

This was inside the Day Market that we found. Everything is extremely cheap.

Our awesome Batman Tuk Tuk!

We headed back downtown at night. Our first stop was the night markets. We got there a little early, so we decided to go to “The Island Bar” in the middle of the market to get a drink. It was a super cute. We then headed out to the markets to see what kind of deals we could get. I scored a $5 dress/shirt that I really liked. However, with the weather being so hot and humid, there were many annoying bugs. They weren’t biting, but were pests, so we walked on to the Pub Street. We picked a restaurant and had a great meal. There were 5 of us and our bill was $35! You really can’t beat that! Afterwards, we walked around a little and headed back to the hotel. It was a great first, full day!

Day 2

A little rain won’t bother us if we go to the temples today, right? Wrong! Well, at least at the first temple it did! Today was Greg’s birthday, so we decided to let him make all the decisions for the day, or rather, he decided it was his birthday and he got to do whatever he wanted to do and we would have to follow along. J We slept soundly during a lovely rainstorm. When we awoke, it was nearly over with, so we thought. It was just sprinkling and the temperature was great. Greg still wanted to go to the temples and we decided it might be a good idea to head out for day 1 of Angkor Wat. We had hoped that because of the rain there would be less tourists. We set out in our tuk tuks from the hotel. It was really close and very convenient with the tuk tuks. They took us around to all of the temples. I had no idea just how big Angkor would be! It was many, many square kilometers! We started the tour with the three main temples: Angkor Thom- Banyon, Ta Prohm (the one used in the movie Tomb Raider), and we saw just the outside of Angkor Wat (which has green scaffolding all over it, BIG disappointment).

Banyon was the biggest challenge. It was pouring rain by the time we got to it and our ponchos and umbrella were not helping much. We got separated from the Watt’s during our battle with taking the camera out without getting wet and then eventually got lost trying to find our way out. That gives you an idea of how big these temples are! After Banyon, we went to Ta Prohm. This was our favorite. The rain had also slowed up and made the trekking much more enjoyable. The pictures won’t do it justice, but it was unbelievable. You can see for yourself. By the time we got to Angkor Wat, we were tired. We knew we had 2 more days to come back, so we decided to take a quick look and come back at another time.

That night we headed back into town for Greg’s birthday dinner. He chose Red Piano, which was recommended to us by many previous travelers. It was great food, great fun, and had a fantastic view of the town below (we sat on the 2^nd floor). This was also the restaurant that Angelina Jolie loved to go to when she was in Cambodia. They named a drink after her- the Tomb Raider Cocktail. Of course I had to try it. It was good, reminded me of Squirt Soda.

It ended up being a great day, despite the rain. I can’t wait to go back again, especially to see the sunrise behind Angkor Wat!