Siem Reap

This past weekend we went to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat.  It is a journey to get there from Phnom Penh.  We took a bus that probably holds 25 but with bags and 21 people it was a really tight fit.  Siem Reap is about 200 miles from Phnom Penh but it took 7 hours to get there. It is slow going on their 'highway'.  The road has been kept up and is in surprisingly good condition but there are lots of trucks and motorbikes in the way.  The bus driver LAID on his horn every time he was behind something he wanted out of his way.  We thought one nice little honk was sufficient but that was not good enough for our bus driver - he wanted to get us there.  And thank goodness we finally made it. 

Between 1907 and 1960 Siem Reap was a hot spot for travelers.  But during the war and Khmer Rouge (more on that later) it pretty much shut down.  In the mid 1990's it started to reinvent itself into what it is today.  Angkor Wat is what draws tourists but it actually has a really western feel to it.  On Pub Street American music is blaring and it feels like a cross between Bourbon Street in New Orleans and the Party Zone in Cancun.

We stayed in what felt to us like a luxurious hotel.  It is exciting to have a toilet you can flush toilet paper down.   It actually was a really nice place with a pool and a place for breakfast (and coffee!) upstairs on the roof.  

Behind the hotel was a crocodile farm.  Crocodile is a popular animal to eat in Siem Reap.  We went over just in time for a feeding.  We had the option to buy an entire crocodile for dinner - for $150.  It feeds about 10 people.   Unfortunately we didn't get a group together in time to do it.  That would have been an interesting meal. 

 

Next stop - Angkor Wat!