Temple city

Trip Start Oct 31, 2007
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Trip End Jan 07, 2008


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Flag of Cambodia  ,
Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Siem Reap is a nice town. After ten hours of bus ride through Cambodia (via the capital Pnom Penh), we checked in at an Irish pub/guesthouse owned by a very hospitable Frenchman: The rooms are clean. There is a lot to drink downstairs. There is live music every two days. Ergo: we are happy! Siem Reap is the fastest growing city in Cambodia, and yep, you can see that.
Everyone is doing business, has a job or two or three.
The tuk-tuk taxi drivers are a real pain here - so aggressive. They jump at you right away to ask if you need a tuk-tuk, when you have just taken out your wallet to pay in the restaurant, they jump at you to ask you the same when you are on your way into a store or just happen to pass by. They jump at you when you are still standing in your guesthouse deciding which way to WALK. Same same and not different for some restaurants outside the popular tourist/backpacker hangout Bar Street. They post girls or boys at their doors who jump right into your face with a huge menu card (and they all offer the same food): "Sir, you want to eat?" "Madame, you want some food?" Every two meters.
Speaking of food: Cambodian food is ok, not bad, but not comparable in my personal opinion to the quality of Thai food. Same same for Khmer massages. Not comparable to Thai massage, but ok (and as cheap).
All in all, Siem Reap is a good town to hang out and relax. And of course to visit the world heritage sites of Angkor.
The temples of Angkor are about 11 km away from Siem Reap and definitely breath-taking. Although I preferred Bayon temple with its huge faces in stone and Angkor Thom (where they made the Tomb Raider movie) to Angkor Wat, probably because we were allowed to climb around in the first two temples but not in Angkor Wat.
One of the most important Cambodian festivals - Bon Oum Touk water festival - happened to be on the same weekend we visited Siem Reap: this is the time of the year when the fishermen and villages celebrate the start of the fishing season. Or something like that. Villages send out boats for a 3-days race (in Siem Reap only 2 days), the boats are long and spectacularly decorated or painted. This event attracts thousands of Khmers who come to to see the boat race and tp party. The atmos[here is just as exciting as it can get within the crowds, with street stalls, food and fireworks at night.
After four nights in Siem Reap, we decided to take the plane to Hanoi, since our Viet Nam visa started last Sunday.
Check out our photos on flickr or send me a link to be added to the photo friends list.
www.flickr.com/photos/missliberty11
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