Last day Siem Reap

Yesterday we used the last day of our three day temple pass and got our tuk tuk to take us out to Banteay Srey, about 38 kilometres away.  We found the trip as interesting as the temple as we passed a number of villages and rice paddie fields.  The temple, although not huge like some of the others we have seen, was quite beautiful with much intricate carving.  It is also quite different as it is a pinkish colour. However, Jim thought it was a bit over the top when the tourist police tried to sell him police patches.

On the way we stopped at the Land Mine Museum, and on the way back the War Museum.  It is surprising to discover that war only stopped in this country fourteen years ago, but very sad to hear of the genocide and cruelty the people endured for many years.  There are still many villagers in outlying areas being killed or maimed every month from unexploded devices.

After the obligatory swim on returning back to the hotel, it was time for Jim to have a haircut.  There was a barber shop only a few doors down, so we headed there.  Jim certainly provided afternoon entertainment for them.  As his hair gets longer, the natural curl appears.  This is something they aren't used to here, and you could see the look of consternation on his face as he tried to work out how to tackle it.  Also adding to his dilemma was his three compatriots were quite engrossed in watching what he was doing.  Added to this was the fact they spoke no English to match our lack of Cambodian.  But we got there.  I think he spent nearly half an hour cutting in the end.  Just before he finished the cut, the heavens opened up with a massive thunderstorm.  This was the first time we had gone out without raincoat or umbrella, which of course is always the way.  So we ended up stuck there making interesting conversation until it eased enough for us go get back to the hotel.

In the evening we got a tuk tuk to take us to a restaurant Lauren had suggested on the other side of the river.  It is run by an Australian and is not for profit.  He was actually visiting his mother in Australia, but his charming Cambodian wife talked to us for quite a while.  After dinner we walked back, spending time looking through the night market.  We wonder how they can make a living, as everyone seems to be selling the identical thing to their neighbour.  You want scarf, you want bag, you want shirt is a continual cry.

The only downside of the evening was during dinner Jim's tooth broke.  This tooth had been a problem when we first got to Melbourne and had to be refilled and then only a week before we flew out, it broke again, and was redone.  It is obviously not long for this world as the dentist said if it went again, it would probably need to be pulled.  The hardest part now is finding a dentist.  We think it might be better to wait until Phnom Pehn in a week's time as there is an international dental health place there.

Today, our last day, we opted to just spend in Siem Reap. We walked back to the area where we had dinner passing Central Market and then through the Old Market, a stop at the Blue Pumpkin for one of their ice creams, then nearby the hotel, a fish foot spa.  We had experienced this in Kuala Lumpur a few years ago, and that was certainly a flasher and perhaps more hygienic experience than this one, but for $3 each which included a can of coke and free wifi, you can't complain too much.

It was then back to the hotel for our afternoon swim, and now Jim is having our complimentary massage.  It's a Khymer, which can be a little brutal and they do try and twist limbs where you think they shouldn't go, but he had one two days ago and thought it really helped.

Interesting sign in our hotel room

Tomorrow morning we have our bus tickets for the trip to Battembang, where we will meet up with Lauren and Lee.  We are looking forward to seeing them again.

It will be interesting to see what the bus trip is like.  Three and a half hours.  Traffic over here is very interesting to say the least.  We can't really work out any road rules, even red lights seem to mean nothing.  It seems when you merge into another road, you make sure you don't look if anything is coming.  A toot seems to mean -- I am here, and I have right of way.  But despite the chaos, we haven't seen any road rage, which brings us to believe maybe only road rules make people angry.

Temples, Temples and More Temples

Even though you read how vast the temples are, it comes as a surprise how many and how big an area it covers.

We left the hotel around 7.30, which was a good thing as it meant we missed the major crowds at Angkor Wat.  That was the first of many we saw, including what has to be the most spectacular, Ta Prohm, made famous by Angelina Jolie with Tomb Raiders.  There were just so many and so much variation - some that had steps up to five levels, others that are on one level but so big.  The tour we did yesterday is what our hotel calls the small tour.  You can include the big tour for a little extra.  We decided to call it a day around 2.30 and do the remaining "big tour" today.  That took us through until lunch time, which we felt was enough for a day.  But again, we found they were so different from the ones we saw yesterday.  

We have paid for a three day pass, so tomorrow we are going to Banteay Srey which is nearly 40 kilometres away.  We quite like going by tuk tuk.  We have a lovely young driver, and you can see so much more from them.  We also found you get a lovely cooling breeze.  

Weatherwise, we have been quite lucky.  No rain yesterday, but cloudy which kept the temperatures down.  Then it absolutely poured down over night, but had stopped by the time we left this morning.  One downpour while we were out, but wonderful timing as it started as we left one temple and had stopped before we reached the next one

Yesterday and today after returning, we headed into the city centre.  Looked around Pub Street and found the cheap beer and cocktails, and today we explored the Old Market.  So many people trying hard to sell you the same things.  We walked through the food section.  We really hope that the restaurants don't buy from the market.  It was very hot and humid in there, and there were great chunks of meat sitting on bamboo mats with flies crawling all over them.

Cambodia seems to be a country of contradictions.  At every temple there are young children who should be at school, trying to sell you $1 postcards.  We can't workout how we have had to pay $40 but they are all in there.  You still see people working in the rice paddies, and we can hire a tuk tuk driver all day for $15.  But every hotel and restaurant has free wifi and it seems like every second shops sells mobile phones.  Every business seems to have a web address and/or Facebook page.  So much modern age mixed with ancient.

Siem Reap

We left Singapore this afternoon after a lovely couple of days at The Quincy.  Checkout time is midday, and even after we had checked out they offered us lunch before we left.  We declined as we were still full from breakfast.  Yesterday afternoon we tried out their pool on the 12th floor and the steam room before heading down for another happy two hours and a lovely dinner.  This morning we walked back into the main shopping area and were amazed at the huge crowds on a Sunday morning.  Our taxi driver told us Singapore being a small island, has very little for the locals to do - so they go shopping!

Looking from the bedroom through to the bathroom

The Quincy and its 12th floor pool

Changi airport rightly deserves its place as one of the world's best airports.  Not a wait anywhere and it is so clean and tidy.  We were checked in and through in record time.  Again our flight was right on time.  

Flying into Siem Reap was interesting, as everywhere seemed to be covered in water.  Maybe that has something to do with the torrential downpour we copped as soon as we left the airport.  Our tuk tuk driver was very considerate, stopping and dropping down the sides so that we didn't get wet, while meanwhile he sits out the front getting drenched.  A very different world here, especially as far as road safety goes.  No one bothers to look when they come out of a side street, and everyone just toots to let the other driver/rider know they are there.  I saw a baby standing on the passenger seat of a truck, banging his arms on the side window as the truck stalled and lurched up the street.  

Our hotel room is very nice for the princely sum of $25 a night including breakfast.  As we weren't orientated yet, we opted to have dinner here, which was very nice but Lauren was horrified to hear that Jim had to pay $2 each for a beer and a can of coke.  But when we went to pay he said they have a promotion on for the low season and we get 20 % discount, so total was only $12.  We went for a walk after dinner and found a number of bars just opposite and a restaurant where we stopped to look at their menu for a future night.  It was very extensive, including a whole page of frog done various ways.  We will probably skip that page.  

Tomorrow we start to explore the temples.  Could be a long day as we start around 7 and they were saying we come back at 6.  Hope we don't get templed out on our first day. 

Singapore

Our first day of travel went very smoothly and I hope all future ones are the same.  The taxi arrived spot on time, the plane left and landed on time and the hotel driver was at the airport waiting for us.

Quite a shock to step out of the plane after leaving Melbourne's winter.  Hot and humid here.  Our driver was lovely, and instead of going directly via the freeway, took us the scenic route so that we got to see quite a bit of the city and could pick out the changes since we were here three years ago.

We are staying two nights at the Quincy.  The rooms aren't huge, but are quite luxurious.  Everything in them you could possibly want, and very modern.  Mind, you do have to look hard for everyday items because they can be a bit more modern than you are expecting.  Took a bit of a search to work out how to close the curtains.  They are electric and I finally found switches near the bed.

However, we aren't too sure about the clear window to the bathroom. Even after 38 years, there are some areas you prefer private.  But further searching revealed a curtain that could be pulled down.

I've tried to post a photo, but I think the hotel server is not letting me, so I'll save that for another day.

This is Jim's sort of hotel - everything is included in the price.  Not just the internet, but all the meals, and even the contents of the mini bar.  Not to mention the happy two hours from 6 - 8 when all the drinks are free.  That includes beer, wine, cocktails and spirits.  At 8.02 last night they were trying to convince Jim to have scotch etc before they closed the bar.  He resisted.  We also got limousine pickup from the airport, and there is even two pieces of laundry free a day.  There is a promotion on at the moment, and we got $80 of shopping vouchers for one of the centres.

After dinner we headed down to Orchard Road, the shopping hub of Singapore.  Late at night and people everywhere.

After breakfast this morning we thought we would see if we could spend our $80.  We didn't get away as early as we thought, but got there to discover that most shops don't open until 11 am.  I guess that is because they seem to be open most of the night.

We aren't going to do much else today.  We saw pretty much all the sights last time, so some chill out time before heading to Cambodia tomorrow.

Getting Ready

Here's hoping that I can keep this updated so everyone can see what we are up to.