Siem Reap -part one

---

DAY 6



We were up at sunrise this morning to have breakfast and wait for the bus. It had been great to spend the day with the elephants but 2 nights roughing it was enough. It was not so much our rustic accommodations, it was that they were on the side of a hill with decks and steps that were particularly hard to negotiate at night in poor light. And were difficult with the suitcases too.

The bus picked us up from the lodge and took us into town to pick up the rest of the passengers. Storing the luggage in a 13 seater minivan was a big issue. Suitcases (ours) and backpacks (everybody else) were stowed under seats and in the aisles. We were full with 2 people sitting with the driver. We were allocated seats in the last row and the ride was awful. We felt every bump in the road for the next 8 and a half hours. I never felt unsafe, we drove fast and did spend significant amount of time on the wrong side of the road but he was a safe driver all the same. Justin could sleep but his feet were on the wheel arch thing. And I rested my head on the seat in front but it was an extremely uncomfortable journey. We stopped for lunch by the side of the road but could not bring myself to eat anything but boiled rice. Justin ate some chicken dish with rice and he’s still alive! We had a couple of toilet breaks along the way and finally arrived in Siem Reap around 4.30pm.

The hotel we are staying at sent a tuk tuk, well 2 actually, one for our luggage and one for us. They were late arriving and the other tuk tuk drivers were trying to get us to go with them. But ours arrived soon after and we got in. We were given cool towels to refresh and some cold water. This was a sign of what was to come.

This hotel is beautiful. We were greeted by the manager on arrival and given sparkling wine and a run through of hotel set up. It’s not big, 36 rooms but has two swimming pools. Our room has its own private plunge pool. There are water bottles that are refillable at hotel and places around town. The money from the 10% service charge each month is divided amongst the staff, so no need to tip anyone. The service is outstanding. We are greeted by our first names by everyone and welcomed back to the hotel each time with a cool towel and cool drink. Welcome home they say.

Our room on the ground floor was spectacular. But the pool, which was undercover was quite cold. When Justin mentioned this the next day, the front desk manager arranged for him to inspect another room with an outdoor pool and the organised for our stuff to be moved. This new pool is warmer to use.

But it doesn’t stop there. When they asked Justin how he slept after the first night, he said the pillow was a bit soft, could he have another firmer one? No problem sir. The front desk manager sent someone out to buy two firm pillows that were on the bed later in the day.

We had happy hour and then dinner in the hotel. Two courses plus wine each for $55 including the staff. When I lay down to go to sleep, I could still feel the vibrations from the bus.

DAY 7

This morning I was up early to go to a cooking class out of the city into the countryside. Justin awoke with a headache following his long bus ride and soft pillows. I went to breakfast alone and this caused some commotion amongst the staff. Could they bring him some ginger tea and other remedies. They were very concerned he wasn’t well. Breakfast was a buffet as well as a la carte component. I had eggs Benedict and pastries, the perfect combination for me. When Justin went down for breakfast later, they put things on his forehead to help him feel better.

The cooking school’s mini bus had a flat tire and was late picking me up. No problem. When they did, I realised I was the only one, so it was a very personalised tour. My guide was a lovely young man. He takes the cooking tours during the day and studies English literature at night. He would like to work with a non government agency, encouraging Cambodian youth to study and find work in Cambodia instead of travelling to Thailand for work. I hope that happens for him one day. The cooking school supports an orphanage with 78 children and I chose this class for this reason.
I am sad that I have forgotten his name. Lets call him Sam.

First stop was a local market. We toured the fruit / vegetables/ herbs stalls and Sam explained what things were and how they were used. He had very good English and I found him easy to understand. We didn’t buy any ingredients from here as they had been previously purchased.

After another short ride we arrived at the orphanage property. The younger children were at school but two teenage girls were looking after two babies and helping the old woman cook. She was referred to as the Masterchef. We were making a three course lunch and any left over food would be given to a poor local family. All cooking is done on an open fire. They have special tables set up a outside to do this. First we made the dessert so it had time too steam. We hollowed out a small pumpkin and filled it with a coconut custard and placed it in banana leaves in the steamer for one hour. Duck eggs are commonly used in Cambodia. They are cheaper then chicken eggs and this untrained palate cannot tell the difference.

Next we made the starter deep fried spring rolls with vegetable filling. Taro and parsnips were used for the vegetables and were shredded with a nifty gadget like a vegetable peeler. Together with seasoning and a duck egg they were combined and rolled in rice paper, then deep fried. This dish I could definitely reproduce at home.

Our main course was chicken amok. This is one of the national dishes of Cambodia. It is chicken in a sauce of lemongrass, ginger and garlic as well as the shredded amok leaf which is like spinach. We pounded the ingredients with a mortar and pestle into a paste and cooked with chicken in wok. Then added coconut milk and duck egg to mixture and put in steamer to cook further. We made little boxes out of banana leaves and served the amok in them. It was such fun and all the time my young host was telling me about his life and the cooking and encouraging me with kind words. Another special time.

When I returned to Jaya House, the manager came over to tell me that Justin was better and we were moving to the other room. In the afternoon, I went for a Khmer massage which is like a dry massage with some gentle stretching. You wear little pyjama clothes and it’s done on a low mattress. I am quite addicted to these wonderful treatments and have had one almost every day in Cambodia. At $11 for 90minutes who wouldn’t. While I was gone one of the hotel staff members took Justin to his barber and he had a haircut $2. So you know how happy he was about that.

We left the hotel again later in the day and took a tuk tuk to buy our temple passes ready for tomorrow. If you buy them after 4:30pm you can use them that night for sunset. The tuk tuk driver took us to Pre Rup. This is one of the temples in the Angkor complex. It was small but quite spectacular. There were already a lot of people there. I don’t know what I expected but there were these huge stone steps to climb and you sat at the top of the temple to watch the sunset. Now I was faced with a dilemma of sorts. I am so scared of heights, there is nothing to hold onto except the step in front and I lack some confidence in my balance. But I was here and everyone else was scampering up, Justin included. I got about 1/3 of the way up and thought, that’s it, far enough. I sat down on the steps and called to Justin. He came back and we hung out together watching the sunset. But soon the sun was behind the clouds and that was it. We walked around the base of the temple, marveling at the structure. How the stones were cut and moved and how it was constructed. We hadn’t researched this temple but later found out this is the oldest temple built in 962. It is thought funerals took place here.

Tonight we went to the oldest hotel in Siem Reap, Raffles, to have dinner and watch some traditional Cambodian Apsara dancing.

---

Photos

Its as far as I would go
See how steep those steps were