Siem Reap

It was a short flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I hired a moto driver to take me from the airport to the "downtown" core of Siem Reap, a trip which cost me 4000 riel, or $1 US. Along the way, I learned my driver's name was Dara, and that he could take me to the guest house of his friend. I had a couple of guest houses in mind, so I said I would check out the place, and would then be taking leave of him and checking out other places on foot. After a few minutes, we arrived at The New King Guest House. I checked it out, and then wriggled out of there despite crestfallen pleas and persistent attempts to get me to stay. However, the town was busy, as many other tourists were here to check out the main attraction over Christmas Break - the Temples of Angkor. After scouting around, I decided that Dara and company were correct after all, the town was teeming, and I had better book a place before there were none left.

Dara also mentioned that he did day tours and trips to the temples, which lay about 7 km north of where I was staying. I thought about it, and decided that one day wouldn't hurt, and it would only cost me 10 bucks to have my own driver/guide for the day. Two more dollars, and I had a driver that was picking me up at 5:45 the next morning so I could watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat.

Now that lodging and temple mission were organised, I went out to explore the town. My first impressions were the ever-present roar of motorcycles (more chaotically driven than what I'd experienced in Thailand) and the dust.... on the roads, on my shoes, and in the air, creating a cloudy dreamlike atmosphere when combined with the setting sun.

Siem Reap is actually pretty small. A triangular area of a few blocks containing a market, restaurants, and a strip of bars located on the convienently-named Bar Street. A strip of posher hotels lining the route out of town to Angkor. Small town dwellings. Oh, and dust.

Yesterday I wrote the wrong ending for this day, already my memories begin to fade.... Now that I've took a looks at the journal, I realized that I watched a traditional apsara dance show at Temple Bar, and jamming with some guy named Tiger at In Touch. Cool...