#6. Cambodia...the Last Hurrah

Cambodia Day 1

So far, all of our travels and transits have gone off without a hitch. I'm knocking on wood as I type (literally). Things have really been too good to be true with checking into airports, getting through security, good flights, good transfers to hotels and to airports, etc.  Both the Beijing and Bangkok airports are nice. We particularly enjoyed lounging in Bangkok waiting for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia...even though my passport was somehow left behind for 30 seconds before a man spotted it and me before I headed down an escalator (what is up with us and our passports?!?).

Can someone carry us to the gate, too?

There was a slight scare when we arrived at our airplane

No one likes these small propeller planes

but once they got both of those props moving, boy did we take off!  We left Thailand, and in one short hour (felt like nothing having already flown 18.5 hours in the last week) we landed in Cambodia.  After we secured our Cambodian visas (which you can do in the airport for $20 US...don't forget to bring a passport photo!)

Cambodia travelers or criminals??

and picked up our bags, we were ready to see what Cambodia has to offer.  Our taxi ride from the airport gave us a glimpse of how very different this country was going to be.  It was every bit as busy as Bangkok (slightly smaller scale), but so much more rustic, which is kind of interesting if you ask me.

Motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and bicycles outnumber cars by 10:1

Our taxi driver, who told us to call him Rob, began to tell us a lot about the history and highlights of Cambodia.  Of course, he brought up Angelina Jolie in the process (it was about five minutes into the ride for those counting...I have no idea what she even did there but to film a movie or something).  We liked Rob enough that we decided to hire him ($30 for the day...Cambodia has their own currency but uses the US dollar primarily) to be our driver on Day 2 when we planned to see Angkor Wat.

If China has good service for tourists, and Thailand has great service for tourists, then Cambodia has AMAZING service for tourists (funny how things are reverse when you think of the standards of living). This was evident from the very beginning when we checked into our rest.

Where are we??

We weren't allowed to check in at a desk.  We had to lay on couches and be served some special juice with treats wrapped in banana leaf before we were personally shown around the resort grounds.

I can get used to this

For two guys that have actually packed a tent on vacation before, this place is a real treat with all of the bells (literally!)

Someone is always sitting here playing neat instruments...and they have elephants here too!

and whistles.  People are always opening the door for you, wishing you a good day, welcoming you back, and people are constantly cleaning the place to keep things spotless.  Wow!

Front entrance to resort...but notice man in middle using a 25 foot or so long contraption to clean the already spotless ceiling!

The staff here is fantastic and really genuine.  I also love the attention to detail that many Asian hotels maintain.

Yes, this vat of flowers floating on water is real!

After a little bit of pool time,

If this is future parents exile, then welcome to our banishment!

and laying on the bed-like things outside when the afternoon rain rolled in,

Ready to relax

The ridiculous, we're on vacation at a really nice place and you're not pose...sorry

we decided to wash up and head into town.  Our hotel is off of the 'National' Highway road that connects Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (the capital).  It's about a 25 or so minute walk to the 'happening' area in Siem Reap.  Along the way we saw many strips looking like this,

Our resort is kind of tucked in between areas like this

and many more motorcycles.

Vroom, vroom!

On the way into town we stopped by Wat Bo, a very active Buddhist temple,

Wat Bo

as we saw many smiling, happy monks walking around.

Buddhist monk at Wat Bo

The sun was just right at the time so the temple complex looked really neat...kind of like a bunch of chess pieces.

Checkmate!

We left the temple and crossed the dirty Siem Reap River,

Saw someone actually in the water trying to set up a fishing net

and headed to the main drag.  When we turned the corner, lo and behold, there was this sign.

It was actually $2 for 'as long as you want'

As the sign says, it's a once in a lifetime experience, so Chris and I took the plunge.  There were two tanks (one with small fish, and one with significantly larger fish).  We got placed in the large fish tank...go figure.  I lasted about 20 minutes,

One less item on my bucket list now

No fish left hungry

and Chris not very long at all.

Maybe three terrorizing minutes

After the aquatic pedicures we hit up Pub Street

Yep, that's what it's really called

 and found a place to lounge

Wine, wine, wine

 and have something to drink

My new favorite brew

and eat.

Spring rolls and traditional Khmer sour soup

Soon, it was time for Chris to go to work (he holds evening work hours that correspond to his work day back home...we are exactly 12 hours ahead in this part of the world).  So, we grabbed a tuk-tuk

Love the Cambodian flag

 and headed home to work/blog and rest up for Day 2:  The Temples of Angkor Wat.