I'm starting to get used to the beautiful mornings here. Although there is a short window between the cooler weather in the morning and the HOT weather for the rest of the day. We had an early start that morning due to our 5 hour drive to our next destination, Siem Reap. Our driver was waiting for us promptly at 7:30am and we were off, traveling once again.
The mornings in Phnom Penh seem to be quite busy. Kids riding bikes or walking to school, parents taking their kids to school, and many people just starting their days. I can't imagine that many people here start their days late...gotta make a living and feed the family. I was still kind of tired and was hoping that I would be able to sleep most of the ride. But I soon discovered that the organized chaos of driving around Phnom Penh is repeated on the national highway to Siem Reap. Our driver was very aware of his surroundings, evading kids, animals, other vehicles, passing slower vehicles on the the left side of the road while big trucks were quickly approaching...I guess one could look at driving here as an art form. The drivers use their signal lights and horns as a way of communication. Not in a bad way, but to inform other drivers of their intentions and I guess to say "I'm passing you whether you like it or not". Even though the drivers seem to know what they are doing, I am truly surprised that there aren't more accidents here as everyone is in a rush to get from point A to point B. We had one close encounter during the drive. Our driver barely evaded a motorcycle when they cut us off. My heart was pounding because I didn't want to add an accident to my experiences in Cambodia.
It was nice seeing some of the country side and towns between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Many of the stores and shops were directly on the side of the road for easy access to people passing by. Many people also lived along the road. There were a few beautiful temples scattered between the shacks and shops of the people. Its amazing to see the temples decked out in vibrant colors like gold, reds, and oranges. Then you see the shacks made of wood that are many shades of grey.
Our driver did well though. He got us to Siem Reap quickly, in about 5 hours, and safely. I use the word safely broadly because I was happy we got here in one piece LOL. He dropped us off directly at our hotel then we were immediately greeted with cold towels, a snack, and a cold drink. AHH! I needed that. Our hotel, the Golden Temple Hotel, was our one splurge of the trip and it was worth it. We were personally walked through the check in process and given an overview of the available tours and packages the hotel offered. Our stay at the Golden Temple also included complementary breakfast every morning, better than the Manor House breakfast, a free lunch or dinner, a free 1 hour massage, and free snacks while touring the temples. Like I said...well worth it. The staff was very friendly and everyone always greeted us with a smile.
After we settled into our room, which was quite nice, we ventured off for lunch and seeing the city. Siem Reap moves a lot slower than Phnom Penh. There is not as many vehicles on the road and less people. This was a nice break from the organized chaos of Phnom Penh. Our first stop was at the market. I liked this market more than the markets in Phnom Penh. The market here is more spread out, but not by much LOL, and it felt less cramped while walking through and looking at items. After a little shopping our stomachs started to yell at us, since we hadn't eaten more than a snack since breakfast, so we decided it was time for lunch.
We had a taste for Indian food so we found the closest place and took a seat. It was another tasty meal at a cost of less than $15 for both of us. Very nice! We then ventured off to see more of the local surroundings. There's many stores, bars, and restaurants close to our hotel with many located on the main street, Pub street. There is also a night market here that we planned on checking out that evening after our free massage and dinner.
We both were getting hot so we decided to head back to the hotel and cool off in the pool before our massages. The pool was nice and relaxing and I was sure the massage would be even more relaxing.
As expected the massages were nice, although I would have liked to have my own room. Jeff, me, and another lady received massages at the same time in one room. The massage in Phnom Penh was better. But, it was still a nice massage. We weren't hungry yet so we decided to head up to the room and relax before dinner.
Well....we missed dinner LOL. Both of us fell asleep and I didn't wake up until almost midnight. Oh well...back to sleep. It was a great first day in Siem Reap and we would be visiting the temples the next day.
Fred
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