We are traveling in the off season so we really don't have a full perspective of how busy Siem Reap can be. It was much quieter than Phnom Penh with many markets, restaurants and other money grabbers.
For a couple of dollars, these little fish will nibble off your dead skin and give you a foot massage. You sit at the front of the store and relax and watch the world travel by while the fish do their thing. Pub Street is a major section of downtown Siem Reap with many bars and restaurants. We ate dinner along this street a few times. Cambodian (Khmer) food is really cheap. Family dinners cost less than $20 and have huge servings. We've tried curries, stir fries, fried rice, fried noodles, fried ice cream, sticky rice and a Khmer favourite called Ahmok Fish (curried fish and vegetables on rice). My meal last night was Curry Chicken. It cost $3.
One night we supported a local business and attend the Phare dinner and Circus. The amazing artists compled all of these fantastic stunts and tricks. See my Instagram account for video since it's hard to explain with words. At the end of the night, some of the performers (artists) posed for a picture with us! All of the profits from this evening go to supporting a school that takes disadvantaged kids off the street and provides them with schooling opportunities. The plot of the performance was about two brothers running a bar in Siem Reap. It was funny and entertaining. The live music was really cool too.
We realized that renting a Tuk Tuk for the day was the best way to see the temples in and around Angkor. For $15, you get your own personal driver who takes you to whichever temples you're interested in seeing. We bought a 3 day pass to see the temples and really just touched the surface of what they had to offer. Luckily, kids under the age of 12 are free to see the temples (Jonah turns 12 in 10 days). Each time we ventured in the Angkor area we were met with amazing views, some crowds (nothing compared to the high tourist season), and sweltering heat.
The picture below is from Ta Prohm, the Tomb Raider temple. All throughout the temple, trees have grown up over the walls and laid their roots. Each temple had a theme. This temple had many of these trees linking ancient architecture with nature.
We took Lynn out to the Footprints Cafe for lunch on Mother's Day. It serves amazing food and all profits from the Café are donated to local Siem Reap projects that support local families and businesses.
Another afternoon and evening was spent touring a fishing and rice villlage built on stilts. The water level changes over 10 meters between the rainy and dry season. We're traveling during the dry season so the water levels were at their lowest. This village was very different than anything we've ever seen. Traveling to the village we stopped on the side of the road to taste Bamboo Sticky Rice, a local treat. It was delicious. The rice is cooked on an open fire stuffed inside a bamboo shaft. You peel back the bamboo like a banana to eat the cooked rice and bean.
While in Kompang Khleang (the stilt village) we toured the local primary school, walked through the village and took a touring boat out to Tonle Sap Lake to see the sunset and witness the floating houses on the lake. It was a once in a life-time opportunity to see how these people live along a river that changes so much throughout a year. During the rainy season, the village becomes a "floating village" with no access by roads.
This was our favourite temple. The Bayon Temple has over 200 smiling faces throughout. The smiling face is the image of the King during the period of construction. We walked all throughout and around this temple. This temple was located within a larger area called Angkor Thom.
With a 4:15 AM wake up, a 4:30 Tuk Tuk ride and entrance into Angkor Wat at 5 AM, we were able to watch sun rise over Angkor Wat. It was a beautiful sunrise. Afterward, we took a tour of less popular temples since it was our third day of site seeing.
Siem Reap was amazing. Our hotel was quiet and near some amazing little restaurants and within walking distance to downtown. It had a clean pool with lots of sun in the mornings. The service was amazing and morning breakfast was yummy. Fresh mangos were delicious.
Next stop, Kep, a coastal town in the south of Cambodia near the Vietnam border.
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