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Published: April 11th 2008
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Our transit days between countries seem to have a relaxed and easy-going rhythm, and yet they leave us feeling tired and in need of a nap. Today we left Siem Reap for Bangkok, and we spent our morning having breakfast, puttering around the hotel room and packing, checking email, and reading. By 10:00 we were off on our tuktuk to the airport, where we sat with lots of time to kill in air-conditioned comfort. Siem Reap has a lovely new airport with all the usual amenities (duty-free shops, ATMs, cafes and a Dairy Queen!) but hardly any people in the departure lounge. We sprawled in our seats, had a delicious cappuccino and restocked our supply of alcohol in the duty-free shop. (We’ve come to love lemonade and vodka on a hot day. And since every day is a hot day, a lot of vodka is required.)
Prices are interesting.
• Our stay at the Villa Siem Reap for four nights, including all breakfasts, three dinners with drinks, one picnic lunch, a driver and car and guide for a day, and every bit of laundry we needed washed came to $360.
• A bottle of Absolut vodka sells for $21 in every airport
Leavin' on a tuktuk, son't know when we'll be back again
See that ridiculous grin on my face? It never goes away. It makes for interesting tan lines on my face... we’ve been in from JFK to Bangkok to Siem Reap. • Cigarettes in Cambodia cost from $8-16/carton.
• A tuktuk ride to the airport costs $3 or you can hire a tuktuk driver for the whole day for $12 and he will take you everywhere you want to go, wait while you do what you want to do, and be ready to go again when you are. • A pack of Trident gum in the drugstore cost 70 cents, but deodorant costs $4.50.
• A Diet Coke with ice at the Blue Pumpkin Lounge cost $1.50 and came with free lightening-fast wifi. A can of diet coke in the supermarket costs 40 cents.
• A one-hour massage cost $6.
• A gallon of gas costs just under $6.
• A cotton scarf in the market costs $1, but everything is negotiable, and we bought ten for $7. A reversible lined silk kimono-style bathrobe was $35 until I seemed to lose interest, and then it cost $25, And I eventually bought it for $21.
• A small package of “Burnedmeat flavour biscuits” cost 23 cents.
• A temple pass for three days costs $40.
And an early morning spent wandering temple ruins with no other tourists in sight: priceless.
On the other hand, people can come to Siem Reap and stay in huge resort-style hotels along the airport road and pay $100-300+ per night to stay in a Western-style high rise with a pool, but that doesn’t appeal to me much.
Customer service exists here like we rarely see at home. People in shops and restaurants and at the airport greet you with a smile, rush to find you a seat or help with your bags or bring you a baggage cart. Table service at restaurants can be a little slow, but is unfailing polite, and who’s in a rush anyway? Everywhere, people ask where you’re from and thank you for coming and wish you happy travels. I’ve never felt so welcome in any other countries as I have in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and I feel so incredibly privileged to be here.
Arriving in Bangkok after a 50-minute flight (during which we were served sandwiches, cookies, and drinks), we took a 50-minute taxi ride to our hotel. Bangkok traffic is constant gridlock - once you leave the expressway and hit the streets, everything slows to a crawl, if not a standstill. Our hotel, the Phranakorn-Nornlen,
Street food in Bangkok
Couldn't tell you what most of it is... is situated in a tiny alley off a little street in an un-touristy part of the city, and even with the map and directions written in Thai provided by the hotel’s website, the taxi driver seemed doubtful he would find it, but he did.
This is definitely the funkiest hotel I’ve ever seen, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. I’m not even sure how to describe it, but the décor is a combination of 70’s wallpaper and beautiful simple bird and flower designs hand-painted on the wall. The windows and mirrors are framed in scrap wood of different colors. The curtains don’t match. The bathrooms have a modern toilet, a sink created out of a large pottery bowl, and a brass rainwater shower head - which just pours water all over the bathroom, because there is no tub or shower stall or shower curtain. (This isn’t that unusual in Asia, and it works just fine - the floors are tile, with a drain in one corner, and the walls are rough stone.) The doors of the rooms have numbers in Thai only, so finding our rooms can be a challenge. Each room has a
little balcony, overlooking the roofs of the nearby houses. The hotel is dedicated to recycling building materials and found objects, and serves only organic vegetarian food. They have a large leafy garden courtyard and a juice bar.
From what we saw of the street outside, it is a narrow alley with food stalls and a variety of local businesses. No fancy restaurants here, but it’s only a few minutes walk to the river where we can get the water taxi to go elsewhere in town if we choose.
After showering and settling into our rooms, we took a walk down to the river, stopping to admire a flower market and take photos of food stalls. I eventually got brave enough (and hungry enough) to buy some food from a street vendor - little bits of chicken on a wooden skewer. It was delicious, and there were no ill effects.
The hotel staff has been wonderful, helping me with everything from a cake and flowers for mom’s birthday tomorrow to arranging some transportation I need later this evening to take care of a special errand related to the upcoming surprise. Though we haven’t done much of
anything today, we’re hot and tired, though the cold mom seemed to be coming down with in Siem Reap seems to be improving by the hour. Either the Cold-Eez lozenges I had in my stash worked to head off a real cold, or possibly, she’s just allergic to Cambodia!
She’s off to bed early (8:30), I’m off on my errand soon, and tomorrow, our mutual goal is go anywhere in Bangkok that has good air conditioning.
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sky guy
skyler mojica
word of the day - jealous!
jessica! what an amazing blog for what sounds like an amazing trip. although i am envious and a bit jealous, your blog has me feeling like im there with you all and enjoying it just as much as you are. and i thought it was getting hot in san diego! tell nin i said hi, and by now im sure jazzy and the boys have arrived! i cant wait to hear more about the trip and maybe we can get in touch by phone at some point. love ya all and miss you like crazy!