Siem Reap

March 26, 2010

Woke up to my empty dorm. Sweet and quite. A good night sleep did me well and I got out of the room in hopes of getting out to Angkor Wat. Until I found out it would cost me close to $50, I knew nothing about it, and it was already about 10:30.

So instead I set out to explore Siem Reap, get a guide book, and do a little research on this Angkor Wat place.

The hostel breakfast looked gross and was somewhat expensive ($3), so I set off for greener pastures. I walked into the main section of town, skipping through the traffic. Crossing the street is pretty crazy. I learned the best strategy (from a tuk-tuk driver laughing hysterically at me) is to just be brave, and bravery it does take.

I found a French restaurant which seemed a bit posh, but upon further looking, it was only $3. I checked out an omelet and coffee, and was blown away by my beautiful americano, eggs that taste like eggs, and a fresh baguette. Basically the best western breakfast I've had in a long time.

After sipping my coffee on the patio, I made way across the street to a little market in search of a guide book, and found tons of vendors literally sitting in fish. Most of them were alive to begin with, but upon ordering the women would kill, scale, gut, and butcher them, leaving an amazing aroma. It was fun.

After much searching and bargaining I found a book for about $3, and made off to find a place to read a bit about Angkor and Siem Reap. Literally two sips into my beer, Adrien (my Scottish train friend) came and sat down with me. He told me he wasn't able to find our meeting spot the previous night, and it turned out we ate dinner about 100 feet from each other.

We chatted for a bit (both feeling overwhelmed by Angkor a little) and decided to head to the Angkor museum.

The museum is a beautiful modern building, and was extremely informative about ancient Khmer culture, Hinduism, and Buddhism. We left knowing what we were in for and grabbed some noodles.

While eating we were confronted by the usual influx of child beggars. We both have mixed feelings about this (as anyone who has seen Slumdog Millionaire can attest to), especially since it is possible that many of these children, who are often mutilated in some way, could be after effects of the Khmer Rouge. The kids are always very cute and witty, some can name off tons of facts from whatever country you tell them you're from. We opted to buy some of them some noodles and mango. It was fun and a bit gratifying, knowing our money is going to the kids stomach rather than god know's where.

We split up after that for some down time, and met up again at Pub Street, which is exactly that. We found a pretty cool bar and had a couple drinks. It was fun, I got a free t-shirt from the Angkor What bar, and Adrien and I planned to meet up the next morning to explore the temples.