:We say goodbye to Thailand, and fly into a new country for both of us: Cambodia!! A quick one-hour flight from Bangkok, we touch down into a very hot day. We thought Thailand was hot....
Arriving at the airport, we discover that we need to fill out an entry visa application. I was told that we wouldn't need a visa to visit Cambodia, but maybe it's because we are arriving from Thailand?? No big deal, until we see the part about having to attach a passport-sized photo to the application. And we see other people who seem to have these photos. We had no idea, and so when we had photos made in Chiang Mai for our Thai massage certificates, we sent the extra photos home with some stuff we mailed. Oops! In a mild panic, we approach the visa counter to pay our fee and plead our case. The man asks for my photo. I say I don't have one. He says it will be an extra 2 dollars, and sends me over to wait for my visa. I get my visa. They never do take my photo.
We had arranged for our hotel to send a tuk-tuk to pick us up from the airport, and we drove into Siem Reap. It seemed just like Thailand, except that here they drive on the right side of the road, and seemingly much slower!! We didn't hit more than about 20mph. And the other drivers all seemed to be driving at a much less frenetic pace as well. We decide that Siem Reap might be a much more relaxed place to be.
The road on the final stretch to our hotel is unpaved and quite bumpy. Perhaps that is the reason behind the slower speeds. We pass a couple of jowly-necked cows browsing in the ditches, and a beauty parlor named Gangnam Style. Our hotel is pretty nice, (of course, we've just come from the hut experience; I'll be happy to have a attached toilet seat), and I am thrilled to remember that there is a swimming pool at our hotel!! We also have a stone bathtub on our balcony that I will have to try out! We have dinner on the rooftop restaurant, in which we notice the hugest gecko I have ever seen! Probably 10-11 inches long!
Next day is recon mission and checking out the town. We walk in to town, a hot and dusty 1+ km, to check out other ideas for eating and sightseeing. We pass a couple good options for dinner that night, and grab some coffee and breakfast at a little place near the river called Sister Srei. I have Green Eggs and Ham (!), which is eggs and bacon with pesto on toast. It is delicious, and the most western-style breakfast I've had in a while. It was much appreciated. We meet an American woman traveling alone and share some sweet potato wedges with her while she tells us about her travels. She recommends that we visit the nearby Angkor National Museum, to get more background on the temples, history, and art of the Angkor structures before we see the temples. We decide this is an excellent idea. We go straight to the museum, walking along the Siem Reap riverfront. There are large stunning photographs displayed along the way; all part of the upcoming international photography exhibition in town. We enjoy going through the museum and seeing the artifacts in air conditioning! One of the exhibits was the Room of 1,000 Buddhas. We decide that there are actually 1,000 of them.
Walking around the city, we occasionally see people who are missing hands or entire limbs, and we are reminded where we are and the hardships that this country has pretty recently survived. We also have read about forced begging and scams, which make me feel so conflicted. One of the scams apparently involves a woman with a child who will approach you asking not for money, but for milk for her child. You are to go with her to a market to get the milk. As soon as you are gone, she returns the milk for the cash. There is a lot of printed literature in the cafe we visited that describes this practice and encourages people not to give in this way.
The day wears on, and we walk and walk in the sun. I decide I need a sunhat, and we stop at one of the many stalls that sells such hats and we haggle and overpay anyway for a straw hat with a wide brim and a ripped butt-ugly ribbon around the brim. I am grateful to have it and avoid serious sunstroke. We also make arrangements for an early morning pickup to go visit Angkor Wat tomorrow. So excited!! This is bucket-list stuff.
