Siem Reap Arrival & Initial Explorations

I arrived in a rainy Siem Reap late morning on Wednesday. As soon as I checked in to my accommodation, I headed out the door to explore Siem Reap. My first impression was that there were lots of Prius (Prii?) on the road. Siem Reap felt like your typical Southeast Asian tourist boomtown; you see lots of motorcycles, a mix of independent accommodations and hotel chains, a few small malls, Starbucks, and fancy coffee shops with English signage. I even saw a vet clinic with signage saying they can arrange the logistics to get lucky animals who have been adopted by foreigners to their new homes. But, these establishments were mostly empty, and it is clear that Cambodia's tourism industry hasn't recovered. Especially telling were a couple of empty large restaurants with huge parking lots - usually such establishments cater to large tour groups.

After walking around a bit, I chose the venue for my first Cambodian meal - a hole in the wall establishment with locals and no tourists. The proprietor barely spoke English, so I pointed at pictures and ended up with a watery curry. After eating, I wandered into a supermarket for some provisions. There, I saw Cambodia's dual currency system in full swing. In general, foreigners are expected to pay in USD. However, Cambodia does not seem to utilize US coins, so change is given in riels, at a slightly advantageous exchange rate to the vendor, I might add. But, since riels only come in multiples of one hundred, you can't fault the establishments for rounding down. Even the cash register was programmed to calculate the change in riels.

After some more wandering, I returned to my accommodation as the dark clouds looked threatening. True enough, it started to rain soon after. That night, I woke up several times to the sound of torrential downpours.Read more