Siem Reap, Cambodia

Shew, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  As many of you know, my mom and one of her friends came to Cambodia to visit me in late October.  My mom stayed a total of 2 1/2 weeks in Cambodia, spending one week here, one week in Thailand traveling with me, then returning to Phnom Penh for a few days before heading back to Kentucky.  It was a much needed visit, and we had a blast. 

The first few days Wanda and Rhonda were in Cambodia, they spent their time exploring Phnom Penh while I worked.  They did all kinds of stuff, visiting the Killing Fields, Toul Sleng, Silk Island, and even did a Khmer cooking class.  They were busy, busy!  

On Thursday, October 30, we left for Siem Reap which is located in the Northern part of Cambodia.  It is almost the most popular tourist town in Cambodia as it is the location for Angkor Wat, the famous temples that were built around 1150 A.D.  Pictures of Angkor Wat are plastered everywhere in Cambodia, and when you run a quick Google search on Cambodia, it is generally the first 100 things that pop up.  I had never seen the temples in person before so I was anxious to explore them. Anyways, we hopped on a plane at around 10 am and arrived in Siem Reap 45 minutes later.  We got picked up by our hotel, Angkor Rural Boutique Hotel, and headed there to settle in.  This hotel was beautiful.  I had searched and searched for a hotel before my mom arrived because I wanted it to be the perfect one.  I found this eco-tourism hotel on TripAdviser, and after they offered me a great discount, I booked it.  It's out of downtown Siem Reap, tucked back among rice fields in a small village.  The owner employs local villagers to work at the hotel and teaches them English.  She has big plans for the community!  We arrived at the hotel, unpacked a bit, then ordered lunch.  We had a fantastic Khmer lunch by the pool overlooking the rice fields. 

Here are some pictures of our hotel. 

There was a day bed on the porch.  It provided the best place for afternoon naps and hours of reading.

The pool and restaurant in the background.

Chicken, beef, and rice for lunch.  Yum.

Checking out the accommodations.

The rice fields.

One of the best parts was the complimentary ox ride through the village.  The owner employs a local farmer to take tourists on a fun little ride around the village.  It has just rained, and the roads through the village were not in the best condition, so it made for an extremely hilarious and bumpy ride...but it was tons of fun.  We got to see all the homes tucked back under the palm trees.  We past children who would yell, "Hello Madame!" and chase after us.  It was really fun and a great way to get outside of the touristy town of Siem Reap and enjoy the country-side. 

Loading up for the ride!

Scenes from the village.

Rice, so much rice!

Our cute little driver.

We finished up our first day in Siem Reap at a great Khmer restaurant called Chanrey Tree.  It was delicious, and I was especially excited because they had the traditional grilled squid with Kampot (local) pepper dish which I had wanted my mom to try.  It's literally the most delicious thing.  Ever.  In the history of all the world. We walked around the Night Market and did a little shopping as well.  We headed back to the hotel early to read and get some sleep in preparation for the next day of sightseeing.

On Friday, October 31, we headed to Angkor Wat bright and early.  Angkor Wat is the most famous temple, but it also a archeological site that tons of temples make up.  There are lots and lots and LOTS of temples.  Therefore, you have to be strategic when visiting Angkor Wat especially if you only have one day.  We opted for the larger circuit which took us to the three most famous temples: Angkor Wat, Bayon Temples, and Ta Prohm (known for the trees that have overtaken the temples, as well as the film location for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed).  We started early in the morning and by around 3 pm we were done, not so much because we were done roaming around, but because we were so hot and exhausted.  We felt like we had seen the best parts of Angkor Wat and headed back to our hotel hot and ready to sit by the pool. 

Here are some of the pictures from the day.

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

The details were just beautiful. 

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Selfie in the Temple.

Angkor Wat

On Friday night, we headed to Siem Reap for dinner and a little shopping.  We found a great little Italian place called Il Forno (great recommendation from some friends back in Phnom Penh).  We enjoyed some pasta, wine (only me), cheese, and chatted about the day.  We finished up with some last-minute shopping and souvenirs.

Pub Street--aka Tourist Central in downtown Siem Reap.

Saturday night was spend hanging out at the hotel, sleeping, packing, and enjoying some more shopping and eating in Siem Reap.  I watched a movie on HBO which was exciting since I don't have great TV back in PP.  I was also just extremely excited to lay around and do nothing.  Overall, our trip to Siem Reap was awesome.  It's so different from PP; I appreciate the trees and greenery since there is basically no nature in the big, dusty city of Phnom Penh.  Rhonda left on a flight at around midnight, and my mom and I packed our things as we were heading to Chang Mai, Thailand, the next day for week two of our adventure!