Siem Reap

At 9am we hit the road travelling to Siem Reap, around a 4 hour bus journey. Sadly we couldn't go by river due to it being the dry season and the river being too low.

Nevertheless, along the way we stopped at a silk factory where we were toured round and shown how the silk is made. From the leaves fed on by the worms to the finished product, the process was fascinating and the time and effort that goes into the making of the silk certainly justifies the price of the products sold. In the same location they also had homemade ice cream. I had a scoop of passion fruit and mango, both to die for.

Next stop was our hotel, which we will be staying at for 3 nights. It's absolutely beautiful and has two swimming pools, such luxury! We pretty much headed straight out to treat ourselves with a cocktail at the Raffles Hotel which was magnificent and just the toilets put our hotel to shame. Needless to say I felt quite out of place in my baggy shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. After our drinks we headed back to the hotel, enjoying a swim and another few drinks by the pool. I got chatting to the hotel owner who told me all about his family (the hotel is named after his 3 boys) and how he had worked for the UN discovering uncovered mines post war.

In the evening we headed out for dinner through the night market. The buzz of Siem Reap was amazing and so much shopping I could stay there forever. During dinner a performance of traditional Cambodian dancing was put on by orphans. The costumes and delight on the children's faces made it all the more special. However, after dinner I experienced the not so nice part of Asia, runny bowels, so decided it was time for me to head back to the hotel and get an early night.Read more