I woke up this morning ready for breakfast after not having dinner last night! After getting ready and packing, some last minute items I headed downstairs. Breakfast was the same as usual, but I was still very excited about the fresh pineapple and croissants I have been enjoying every morning.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport for our flight to Siem Reap. I was sad to be leaving Vietnam, and couldn’t believe that the time had flown by so quickly. As the plane took off for Cambodia I was struck with the realization that I probably would never set foot on Vietnamese soil again and I became aware of how much I was going to miss the country.
We landed in Cambodia to hear that it was a hot 28 degrees Celsius! I thought the past few days had been hot, but I was in for a surprise! Stepping off of the airplane in Cambodia reminded me a lot of stepping off of the plane when we visited the Dominican Republic. Everything from the appearance of the airport to the air temperature to the people made me feel like I was not that far away from home! We exited the airplane and walked into the airport where we applied for our Cambodian visas and then were processed through the passport checkpoint. The man that was verifying my visa and passport began talking to me in broken English, later telling me that I was ‘very beautiful’. After the few negative comments I received in Vietnam, I knew I was going to like Cambodia and the positivity of the people. Below is a map of Cambodia and where Siem Reap is located.
We left the airport with our new guide, LeKim for lunch. Cambodian people appear to be a mix between Asian and Indian. They have a very dark skin tone, but many Asian features, mixed with a few Indian. It was neat to see how a region’s appearance changed within an hour flight! Arriving at lunch and seeing the menu, I knew the food was going to be a little different than Vietnam. There were more western options, thank goodness, and the Cambodian or Khmer options were slightly different than Vietnam. It seemed that food was a tiny bit more expensive, but I wasn’t sure. I became aware at lunch that I didn’t know much about the currency and its relationship to the US dollar, or the language of Cambodians. It only made me more excited to experience another culture.
After lunch, we drove to our hotel for check in. We checked in to the Tara Angkor hotel, a very nice 4 star hotel in Siem Reap. I was so excited to find out that there was a pool, which we would have an opportunity to visit during our stay. After quickly settling in, we headed back down to the lobby for our first adventure in Cambodia.
We drove to Ta Prom which is one of the many smaller temples that surrounds the famous Angkor Wat. As we exited, the bus five or six children approached us trying to sell us various jewelry, postcards and books. They would say, “Madam, only one dollar, you buy from me, only one dollar.” It was heartbreaking to see these children begging like that. Once we got inside the gates, the children could not follow us anymore. We knew they would be waiting when we exited though. Ta prom was absolutely beautiful. It was built in the 12 century but then disappeared for almost 400 years. During that time, the temple became overgrown with trees, which only added to the beauty of the temple. It was rediscovered in the 1700’s. It was hard understanding how something so magnificent was lost for 400 years, but as I later realized the jungle had taken over it so much that; it was almost impossible to see that it really existed. Trees were growing out of al parts of the structures, some causing them to fall apart. I was able to take some great photographs and I enjoyed visiting the temple a lot. Again, as we exited, the children were waiting trying to sell us the same goods again. A guy in our group had told a girl that he would ‘buy something from her if she was lucky’. She remembered him and hassled him. He didn’t think that she would remember him!
We next visited Shra Srong an empieral reflection pool. We sat on the hill and watched the sun set, while talking to a dozen children trying to sell us the same various goods as earlier. It was heartbreaking to see their faces, and hear what they had to say. I loved watching the sunset and was able to get some fantastic pictures as well.
Next, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner downtown. A group of students and both professors went to a restaurant called ‘The Red Piano’ located on ‘Pub Street’ in the heart of Siem Reap. In order to get in to town we had to take a Tuk Tuk. A Tuk Tuk is a basically a motorbike or moped with a carriage attached to the back. The carriage is lined with cushioned seats and can hold up to 4 people. We were able to get a ride into town for only $2.00. The Tuk Tuks are like taxis in Siem Reap. It was so fun to ride in one for the first time. After arriving at the Red Piano a short time later, I looked over the menu and ordered one of the specials. It was a pasta ratatouille and it was delicious! The restaurant was open air and it was so neat to hear all the different music coming from different bars and restaurants. After dinner, we decided to explore the town a little bit. With one of our professors, we headed to the ‘X Bar’. The Wofford baseball coach’s brother owns the ‘X Bar’. Who would have known that in the middle of Cambodia, someone else would have heard of Wofford College! Upon visiting the bar we found out that the partner of the bar and the coach’s brother were in a legal dispute over the bar. We didn’t get to see the man we came to visit, but it was neat getting to see around an empty rooftop bar. We were invited back later, when the party got started, but we opted out and left almost as quickly as we had entered. Walking around town every several of feet would be a place to get a ‘Dr. Fish’ massage. This required one to put their feet in a pool of hundreds of fish, who would then nibble at the dead skin around your feet. I decided right then and there I was not going to do it, while other people in my group mentioned that they would be interested to try it out during our stay in Siem Reap. We looked around the Night Market to get a feel for what souvenirs we could purchase. After that, we grabbed a bite of ice cream at The Blue Pumpkin. I had vanilla with brownie chunks, it was so delicious! We caught a Tuk Tuk and headed back to the hotel after that. I was asleep in bed a short time later, tired after all the adventures of the day.
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