Tag Archives: Siem Reap

Chasing French

Cambodia,

Chicken Lok LakBeing on a budget does not mean depriving yourself of a luxury here and there. It’s fine to eat fried rice with chicken every night when you are traveling alone but when company you enjoy comes along why not splurge and enhance the travel experience through food. I had good friends in Siem Reap and that’s exactly what we intended to do.

Cambodia has a rich, albeit checkered, French colonial history. We assumed their would be an abundance of this cuisine available all throughout town.

Baguette stands were everywhere why not Fois Gras?

Our first exploration into the culinary delights of Siem Reap met with disaster in the form of gristle. The Indochine, a French restaurant recommended to us turned out to offer only French Fries as its claim to the motherland. Continue reading Chasing French →

Miniature Masseuses

Cambodia

Wat DanmarkMy final day in Siem Reap was to be one of relaxation and soaking up the city. In such short amount of time I had gotten to know Siem Reap well and was already sad that I would be leaving in twenty-four hours.

My daily staple of fresh fruit was, on this last day, about to be dethroned. Around the corner, a corner which I had not taken before, was a small unassuming outdoor cafe. On its menu was a Big breakfast.

This included two scrambled eggs, a baguette, hash browns, bacon, ham, coffee and you guessed it…fresh fruit with yoghurt. All for $4. A better deal than before. I was all over that.

Breakfast was followed by a morning of walking the Wats. These are temples and pagodas. Siem Reap central is home Continue reading Miniature Masseuses →

Temples of Angkor

Cambodia,

flattiresansslowboats.comI am going all out tomorrow with my temple exploration. I hired a tuk-tuk driver today named “Tea”, but I call him T for short, to take me around Angkor for a couple of days.

We sat for a few minutes this afternoon and went over the itinerary, making changes and perfecting it for maximum temple exposure. Plus we haggled price.

He is picking me up at 5am. Yep, that’s in the wee hours. Thank you jet lag! On a non-jet lag day that kind of early rise would be almost impossible. With jet lag, I am already up and about, showered and ready to face the day.

At 4:45am I looked out over the veranda into the pitch darkness. Silhouetted against the backdrop of the river was T; yawning and waving me down.

Sunrise over Angkor Wat was the purpose of the early departure.

With 3 day pass in hand I was dropped at the main gate to Angkor Wat, walked in complete darkness over the wet and slippery stone bridge. This spans the moat that surrounds the temple. It is a good 250 yards long if it isn’t more. Navigating the bridge in the darkness was challenging and if you went too close to the edge Continue reading Temples of Angkor →

Siem Reap

Cambodia

006It didn’t take me long after arriving in Siem Reap to realize that my original plan to stay two and half days was not going to be adequate.

Way too short a period!

Siem Reap is most famous as the launching pad for exploring the temples of Angkor Wat. I discovered that it has much more to offer. For one, and a big one at this point,  it is a perfect place to simply relax.

I am staying at the Shadow of Angkor. It has the colonial charm and friendliness that I love in this part of the world.

It is located right on the banks of the Siem Reap River. A gently flowing muddy brown waterway that cuts through the heart of town. Banyan trees line each side and its under their expansive branches Continue reading Siem Reap →