We made it to Cambodia
It’s 3pm in Siem Reap which means ir’s 3am in Canada.
Despite a late start from Toronto due to the need to de-ice the plane we actually managed to arrive in Hong Kong on time. Although I was expecting better from Cathay Pacific the meal service sucked. While offering a choice of 4 meals, all that was left by the time they reached us was a half assed attempt at pasta served with squash.
The arrival process in HK was fairly smooth but the kicker was the distance between the arrival and departure gates. I’m guessing it was close to 1.5km, broken up by the odd section of moving floor. Nothing like a mad dash between gates after being relatively sleepless for the better part of a day. After a flight lasting just over 2 hours we landed in Siem Reap, got our eVisas approved, grabbed our luggage and waited for our ride to the hotel, and waited and waited and waited.
I guess somebody forgot about us so after a couple of frantic emails they sent a TukTuk driver to collect us. I’m pretty sure these motorized death traps got there name from the way most passengers tuck there heads in their asses when they figure their life is flashing before them. For those unfamiliar with the traffic laws in Cambodia, you only need to remember one rule, and that’s “ There are no rules!”
Arriving too early to check in, we dropped our bags and headed out to explore the town, starting first with a look at the grounds of the Wat Damnak Buddhist temple, a rather interesting mosh mosh of buildings and tombs in a variety of styles.
Following that we crossed the Siem Reap river and entered the main tourist area where we settled on lunch at Khmer Kitchen, clearly a magnet for the tourist crowds. $13US got us 2 mains, noodles, shrimp and veg. for me and a chicken curry for Susanna. A decent local beer helped take the edge off the slowly building afternoon heat for me, while Susanna inhaled a pineapple based fruit drink in no short order.
Following lunch we checked out the local sights- Pub Strret, the Old Market and another market selling mostly crafts, or should I say crap?
Declining several offers from Tuk tuk drivers we opted for living an extra day or two and so we braved the 38 degree “chill” and hoofed it back to the hotel,
Or room is on the 3rd floor, no elevator- so we considered it practice for touring the temples over the next few days. Our main complaint is a defective shower which sprays water everywhere but your body, and the ominous bucket beside the WC, which serves to collect used TP since the sewage systems are not always up to Western standards!
Having checked in, showered and unpacked we are now awaiting the arrival of Lim, our tour guide for our time in Siem Reap.
Despite a late start from Toronto due to the need to de-ice the plane we actually managed to arrive in Hong Kong on time. Although I was expecting better from Cathay Pacific the meal service sucked. While offering a choice of 4 meals, all that was left by the time they reached us was a half assed attempt at pasta served with squash.
The arrival process in HK was fairly smooth but the kicker was the distance between the arrival and departure gates. I’m guessing it was close to 1.5km, broken up by the odd section of moving floor. Nothing like a mad dash between gates after being relatively sleepless for the better part of a day. After a flight lasting just over 2 hours we landed in Siem Reap, got our eVisas approved, grabbed our luggage and waited for our ride to the hotel, and waited and waited and waited.
I guess somebody forgot about us so after a couple of frantic emails they sent a TukTuk driver to collect us. I’m pretty sure these motorized death traps got there name from the way most passengers tuck there heads in their asses when they figure their life is flashing before them. For those unfamiliar with the traffic laws in Cambodia, you only need to remember one rule, and that’s “ There are no rules!”
Arriving too early to check in, we dropped our bags and headed out to explore the town, starting first with a look at the grounds of the Wat Damnak Buddhist temple, a rather interesting mosh mosh of buildings and tombs in a variety of styles.
Following that we crossed the Siem Reap river and entered the main tourist area where we settled on lunch at Khmer Kitchen, clearly a magnet for the tourist crowds. $13US got us 2 mains, noodles, shrimp and veg. for me and a chicken curry for Susanna. A decent local beer helped take the edge off the slowly building afternoon heat for me, while Susanna inhaled a pineapple based fruit drink in no short order.
Following lunch we checked out the local sights- Pub Strret, the Old Market and another market selling mostly crafts, or should I say crap?
Declining several offers from Tuk tuk drivers we opted for living an extra day or two and so we braved the 38 degree “chill” and hoofed it back to the hotel,
Or room is on the 3rd floor, no elevator- so we considered it practice for touring the temples over the next few days. Our main complaint is a defective shower which sprays water everywhere but your body, and the ominous bucket beside the WC, which serves to collect used TP since the sewage systems are not always up to Western standards!
Having checked in, showered and unpacked we are now awaiting the arrival of Lim, our tour guide for our time in Siem Reap.
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