I wander around trying to find something for breakfast. I have two choices: Krispy Kreme donuts or a sandwich/coffee place. Those are the only choices period! Well if I want to exit the building, I can go to Burger King and Dairy Queen. No thanks! I pay an outrageous price for a ham/cheese sandwich and a coffee. Again, that bloody US $$ and, of course, the typical premium prices found in airports around the world.
I dawdle trying to waste time until the check-in counter might be open. I eventually make my way to the Bassaka Airlines counter and I am third in line. I chat up the couple in front of me when I see her holding a Canadian passport in her hand. They are a husband and wife from Montreal who are three months into a six month vacation. She has taken a sabbatical. Perhaps he is retired. I actually thought they were father/daughter until, on the plane, he mentioned to someone that he was waiting for his wife to find her seat. They've done India, Burma, with a rest stop in Thailand, have just completed Vietnam and are now on to Cambodia, Laos and finishing up in Japan. They were each traveling with just a backpack. We make small talk. They say this is the cheapest airline ticket they have ever purchased. We compare notes and we have paid the identical price: $24 US from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap on Bassaka Airlines. It's only a 30-minute flight and sure the heck beats a 6-8 hour bus trip.
We arrive in Siem Reap right on time. Surprised to see the passengers from the flight that left Phnom Penh 30 minutes before me standing at the ONLY luggage carousel still awaiting their luggage. This doesn't look good for me. Within about 10 minutes their luggage starts to show up. They're still collecting their luggage when I see my luggage on the conveyor belt. Eureka! No delays for me. Makes me wonder if their luggage was put on my airplane.
All the tuktuk and taxi drivers are all waiting outside the airport building.
I had arranged for the services of BunLong three months earlier. He came from a word-of-mouth referral on Trip Advisor. I told him my interests: temples, and he set out an itinerary for my approval. His pricing structure was based on distance and whether we were using his tuktuk or his air conditioned car.
I am looking for my name on a sign and don't see anyone waiting for me. I walk through the crowd and then start to walk around the crowd looking for BunLong. There he is!
We walk to his TukTuk where he gives me a bottle of ice water and an icy cold wash cloth scented with lemongrass. Ahhh, both are the perfect way to get over the shock of just how hot it is in Siem Reap. It's at least 30 C. and will get hotter as the afternoon approaches.
I didn't buy a SIM card for Cambodia so am reliant on wifi which I found out is really very intermittent service, unlike Vietnam.
We have about a 12-15 minute trip to my hotel. As is usual, I thoroughly enjoy soaking up the scenery along the route past farm fields and residential homes.
BunLong drops me at my hotel and we agree that he will return at 2:30 PM to pick me up and we will drive around town and to the outlying areas.
I get settled in my third floor room - more stairs! I have a view of the street with an active construction site next door.
A decent room. I enjoy the large window with a decent view. A/C is a must here in Siem Reap and I get the hotel owner, I think his name was Ian, to show me how the A/C works. He looks at me like I'm stupid and replies "just like any a/c unit works". I tell him I don't own A/C and any air conditioner I've seen in a hotel doesn't come with a remote control. His attitude rubs me the wrong way as do all the signs in the room telling me to shut off the A/C unit and the wall-mounted fan, and all the rules and regulations mounted to the door and the note taped to the bathroom wall telling me not to flush ANYTHING down the toilet. I know SE Asian toilets are not like our toilets and plumbing in North America and I know not to flush toilet paper or anything else except for bodily waste down the toilet. I understand that despite the signage there are people who will still insist on flushing toilet paper down the toilet so I can forgive him that sign but all the other signs leave me with a poor impression.
The TV doesn't work, Not that I care, I just happen to see it noted it on a whiteboard at the reception desk that the TV in my room wasn't working. It looked as if Ian would have to buy six TVs to fix all the old big-box archaic TVs in the rooms. The bedside lamp in my room didn't work either. I think Ian needs to sock some money into this place. Ian has only owned this hotel for one year. I believe he was an Aussie. Despite those shortcomings (not his being an Aussie), I still liked this place. The room was clean and well set up and I generally got a good vibe about this place. It definitely was a very relaxed atmosphere about it. It had a lovely pool in the back yard. One good tip I did get from Trip Advisor about Siem Reap was to book a hotel with a swimming pool as it gets so very hot here.
The wifi doesn't work in my room and never did throughout my entire stay. By the end of my stay in Cambodia I have come to accept that wifi service is definitely sketchy. I didn't buy a SIM for Cambodia as I was only in the country 5 days total. and could muddle through with wifi when it worked.
Without any warning whatsoever, a massive windstorm blows in. Metal is clanging, dust and garbage is flying everywhere. Within less than two minutes it's like a monsoon outside. Rain is coming down in buckets. I watch out the window and the gas station across the road is filling up with motorcycles taking cover under the awning. I watch the gas station attendants unsuccessfully try to cover up the gas pumps with huge sheets of plastic but the plastic is ripped off as soon as they move on to cover another gas pump. I've never witnessed such a ferocious storm come in that quickly and aggressively. Siem Reap wind & rain storm
The storm lasts only about 30 minutes. I decide to walk into town to get some lunch. Ian gives me a map and it looks as if town is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. There are stores and restaurants and hotels the entire way into town so the time passes quickly looking at everything and minding yourself walking inches away from the passing motorcycles and cars. Walking in Siem Reap traffic
I find a place that is packed with people so I presume it must be good. It's called SisterSrey and is run by a couple of Aussie sisters. The food is healthy and delicious. Honestly, the best salad I have eaten in forever - don't know when I have ever eaten such a delicious salad.
The area of Siem Reap I am staying in is an absolute dust bowl. Reddish coloured dirt and dust that is always floating in the air. You practically have to wear a dust mask just going for a walk. I welcomed the rainstorm to keep the dust down for a little bit.
BunLong arrives promptly at 2:30 PM and we head out in his tuktuk towards Tone Sap lake. It's a very interesting drive and there are homes and shops along the entire trip which took probably a good 30 minutes or so. We stop in one area to take some photos. BunLong says these people are extremely poor and that when it floods every year, the water can actually reach past the floors of the home so they move their homes to the side of the road we are standing on and they live on the side of the road until the water recedes. They have no bathrooms and no running water.
 |
| Lotus fields |
And this is what's going on in the huts: locals purchase some time to go and have a rest or a swing in the hammock. Lotus fields
Lots of interesting sights out here in the country.
 |
| Relaxing |
 |
| He is selling mattresses. |
On the way back into town, BunLong suggests we stop off at a school wherein disabled persons apprentice in a trade: sandstone carving, wood carving, silversmithing or lacquer ware. It was very interesting to see the process. I got to see the students' work and then the teacher would mark up their work with his pencil, all the areas that needed improvement to get the face of the Buddha or diety looking exemplary.
 |
| The first concept penciled on wood |
 |
| Cutting it out of the wood |
 |
| Carving it into a three dimensional object |
 |
| The finished product ready for sale |
 |
| This teacher is a hard marker. The pencil marks signify there is something that needs to be corrected |
BunLong gives me a cold refreshing lemongrass towel when I get back to his tuktuk. I am filthy! Grateful I was wearing a face mask during this ride especially when I see how filthy the white towel is.
 |
| This was white before I wiped my face & arms with it. |
BunLong drops me off at my hotel and says he will return at 4:45 AM to pick me up.
I walk into town for dinner and decide to have Khmer curry. It was very tasty with a lot of root vegetables in it.
I walk into town for dinner and decide to have Khmer curry. It was very tasty with a lot of root vegetables in it.
 |
| Khmer curry |
 |
| I've never acquired a taste or beer which seems to be the most popular beverage in Cambodia. |
I wander around town a little bit, take a few photos of the lights shining on the river and then head back to my hotel. 4:45 comes early. Better set that alarm clock for sure!
No comments:
Post a Comment