Day 13 - Siem and Reap

16:00
We’re up and out in decent time this morning. We’re in a tuk-tuk by 10:15 to take us to meet our bus, which leaves at 11:00. Bus is the same set-up as our bus from Poi Pet down to Battambang. You know - comfortable, air-conditioned, driven by a lunatic. An hour into the journey, it starts to poon it down - properly torrential rain. The driver at least slows down a little as a result. I spend most of the journey booking us some travel and hotels for the rest of our trip. We’re pretty much sorted now, with a good idea of where we’re going, where we’ll stay and what we’ll do. What feels like a quick 3 hours later, we arrive into Siem Reap, which is markedly bigger and more modern than Battambang. We both comment that it feels like what it is - a well worn stop on the tourist trail. Very excited to see the Angkor Wat complex, but not convinced I’m going to love the city of Siem Reap itself.

We jump in a tuk-tuk to our hotel. As we disembark, I hand the driver a $10 bill for a $3 ride. He doesn’t have enough change for me. I pop into the hotel, and ask if they can help. They cannot. I’m more than a little concerned that I have some larger bills ($50, $100) to try and get through while we’re here. I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll have a restaurant bill approaching $100. May have to pop into a bank, and see if they can break them down for me.

We check into our hotel, and are shown to the Honeymoon suites. They’re super-luxe, and costing us a tickle over £20 per night. We’ll head out around 18:00 for an early dinner, as we’ve a crazy early start tomorrow to catch the temple at sunrise. Our guide is picking us up at 04:15. Aye carumba.

21:00
Code brown! Code brown! Felix has succumbed to an upset stomach. Bizarrely, we were discussing just earlier today how well both of our constitutions had been coping on our trip thus far, and I told him that if he made it through an entire month in this part of the world without the brown rain, then he’d have done incredibly well. Only hours later…

As a result, I head out on my own, walking down to the riverside neighbourhood. It’s hot and sticky, and there aren’t really any pavements to speak of. I’m brushed by several moped riders during the 20 minute walk, and I arrive dripping with sweat. It’s a very pretty little neighbourhood though, and I count myself lucky to find a craft beer bar called Embargo overlooking the canal. It’s run/owned by a Hawaiian guy called Jared. All of the beers are brewed in Cambodia or Vietnam. I try an IPA made in Siem Reap, and am very impressed. Properly bitter, a little bit of funk, and a healthy 6.2% ABV. It’s also, at $6, comfortably the most expensive drink I’ve had since arriving into Chiang Mai two weeks ago. I ask Jared if he can break a $100 bill for me. He says he’ll try… I end up with about $40 and about 200,000 Riels in change. This seems like a reasonable trade.

Opposite me on the other side of the river, I can see nightlife waking up. I take a brief stroll through the market area, past some street food stalls, and via ‘Pub Street’ which does pretty much what it says on the tin. Flashing neon, drinks promotions, folks on the street flyering for their bars. It strikes me as a cross between Saigon and San Antonio. Moving on fairly swiftly, I find one of the restaurants I’ve tagged to visit. Along with an ice cold beer, I have some fresh summer rolls, and a beef Lok Lak. Both are delicious. I have another beer, and eavesdrop on what I’m pretty sure is a substantial heroin deal happening at a table near me. I could happily bar hop my way back to the hotel, but time is getting on, and I’m mindful of the early start tomorrow. I jump in a tuk-tuk, and hightail it back to Indochine. Felix is not much improved. I’m doubtful he’ll be in a fit state for our sunrise tour tomorrow. Happily, we’re here for a couple of days, so there’s time to catch up.Meer informatie