Arriving in Siem Reap

I had a Saturday AM flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia... the flight is just one hour from Saigon... so I arrived at 9:30am with the entire day ahead.  :D

Maybe it's something I should have known... but I hadn't realized that Cambodia is a kingdom... OR that we would receive a meal on the one-hour flight!

Another teacher from the middle school was coming with me this past weekend - he was registered to run the 1/2 marathon (I did the 10K) - but he ended up not making it. He had forgotten his multiple entry visa at home... when he realized this, we both thought that he might have trouble getting back into the country Monday evening... but no, Customs wouldn't even let him OUT of the country! He would have had to get his visa and come back to buy a new plane ticket all together (having already checked in to ours)... and he ended up not spending the money. I was bummed for him BUT the weekend trip on my own was wonderful and, like when I first arrived in Saigon on my own, it is powerful to travel solo and know you're able to do it.

I arrived in the Siem Reap airport, paid the $20 entry fee, went through customs, and was greeted by this beautiful scene in the rafters:

Then, I walked outside and found a young man holding a sign with my name on it! ...Another first for me.  :)

I was happily surprised to see that he was a tuk tuk driver and that was my ride from the airport to the hotel (and for the rest of my weekend stay!) -- awesome.

 And we're off!

When I first arrived in Saigon and the taxi drove me into the city to the hotel, I was tired and a bit weary of my new home. ...Driving into Siem Reap, I loved what I saw and felt! My first trip to Cambodia gets two thumbs-up from me.

The hotel gets two thumbs-up as well.  :)  I stayed at the Parklane Hotel for $18 / night... thanks to a deal on agoda.com. Like agoda reviews said, the staff at this hotel were awesome! I was given a welcome drink, a map, and tour information upon arrival.

The room was very bare but clean, spacious, and bright [it had a window!!] - perfect!

After checking in, I went for a walk down the road and took some fun shots:

HA! -- I got a kick out of seeing the "Sunshine Guesthouse" (below)...

:P

This bus passed me twice on the street... both times, the kids were laughing and shouting, "Hello!" out the windows to me.

Two blocks from the hotel is a main street... about a 5-minute walk down the main street is a market! The stalls are filled with clothing, jewelry, silk scarves and pillowcases, elephant candles (for good luck), and trinkets. The bargaining is incredible... they will tell you a t-shirt is $8 and end up selling it to you for $2.  Needless to say, I had a lot of fun in the market! (And may or may not have gone back the next day.)  :P

(Recognize this one from my Top 15 in the previous post?? This is a favorite of mine... at a mini temple on the street.)

I had lunch at a cute little cafe.

I was brought this complimentary appetizer... I thought the makings made for an odd combination but it was delicious: pickle, tomato, cucumber, and tuna.

I thought my coconut was HUGE!... but then realized that it was basically the same as those in HCMC... but the Vietnamese cut off the outside and carve it to be smaller and smooth.

I liked the pepper grinder.

Gorgeous hanging flowers.

These are replicas of the stone carvings lining the driveway up to the South Gate at Angkor Wat (there will be photos later)...

From lunch, I went to the Prince D'Angkor Hotel to check in for the run. This is the annual International 1/2 Marathon in Angkor Wat... I signed up for the 10K run (basically a marathon to me!). If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the starting point at Angkor Wat in the center... I went straight up from there, past Bayon Temple, along Elephant Terrace, and then turned right... to the turnaround (dark blue arrow). It was a great run with stunning views.

Phew! Glad I got a "beautiful number"... ending in lucky number 8.

I was done with check-in at 2:00pm and decided to take advantage of the rest of the afternoon by going to see some of the temples! I grabbed a tuk tuk driver and went to buy my temple pass. I bought a 7-day pass, as it is good for one month and I will be going back in two weeks with my parents and brother, Lenny (WHOOHOO!!).

The passes are checked every time you enter a new temple. If I am to lose my pass, I'm out of luck and would have to buy a new one (...mine now sits at home in my safe along with my passport, so I'm sure not to leave it behind when I return to Cambodia).

...Posts coming up will begin my sightseeing at the amazing ancient temples of Angkor Wat!