The Happy Scamper

Siem Reap Hangover

I was trying to soak it all in.

It was to be my last stroll through Pub Street and I just wanted to make sure I remembered every little detail that I loved so much about this place. See originally, I pictured Siem Reap to be a sleepy little town that just happened to exist under the shadows of its most famous landmark, Angkor Wat. Obviously I’ve changed my mind since.

In fact nothing in my past research ever prepared me for the feelings I would eventually have about Siem Reap. I’m a city girl, after all. Logically, that should mean that I gravitate towards the most bustling cities that smell most of success. But I imagine that Siem Reap surprises a lot of people that way.

Take your necessary day trip to Ankor Wat, for example. You will be advised to avoid the throngs of tourists by getting up extra early for an unspoiled experience of the biggest religious structure in the world. But what they don’t tell you is that pretty much everyone else has got the same idea. Siem Reap welcomes about a million tourists every year and you are sure to bump into a lot of them when you are about to go tomb raiding.

The civilization that gifted us all with Angkor Wat may be dead, but Siem Reap is teeming with new life. If you ever wonder how to get your own dramatic Angkor Wat photos in these conditions, the answer is to tap the person ahead of you. It’s widely recognized as the signal to dutifully get out of someone’s shot. You’re certainly going to be doing the same thing for someone else at some point in the day.

I would understand if people were exasperated. But strangely enough, in this little corner of the world, people don’t seem too bothered. Perhaps there’s something about this place that turns us into more relaxed versions of ourselves. Where we view little children who try to sell 1-dolla anything as really charming instead of potentially annoying. Or take comments from your driver/tour guide to check out a huge billboard of their King’s face in the middle of town because “he is still single!” as funny instead of just a little bit strange. As if there was ever a chance of that actually happening!

I’m not the only one who’s been charmed by this city. People from all over the world have decided to abandon their old life to set up shop here. All for different reasons, I’m sure. But I’m guessing it’s all centered around the theme of possibilities. People have called it Siem Reap’s cultural reawakening. And maybe there really is something in these big old temples that’s calling us to be a part of it. I could’ve sworn that I heard it!

The tuktuk driver might be taking me away from Siem Reap for now, but I already know I'll do everything I can to eventually make it back.