This first part of our stay in Phnom Penh is just for one day, we are then going to Siem Reap to see the temples and then back to Phnom Penh again for the boat festival.
When we arrived at the bus station in Phnom Penh it felt busy and confusing as do most places when you arrive for the first time. We settled on one chap and told him where we wanted to go. He looked rather puzzled and asked if we had a reservation as he knew a really good hotel we could go to. We said we were sure, so off we went. When we arrived he said we should go in and look first and he would wait for us in case we changed our mind. As I had booked this place I was feeling a bit nervous at the Tuc Tuc driver's behaviour, though discounted it as we thought he was touting for business elsewhere. We went to the reception and met Long, with whom I had been in email contact, and he was absolutely charming. We then met other staff and were shown to our room which was just lovely with an enormous bathroom. We were delighted with everything.
We knew that the hotel was owned by a gay couple and it became clear that most of the residents had chosen this hotel for exactly that reason. On reflection, we deduced that the Tuc Tuc driver knew this and thought that perhaps we were unaware.
The hotel is in a great central location, is very comfortably furnished and has some homely touches like a choice of reading materials, books and magazines, and feels more like staying in a friend's house. The pool is surrounded by lush green vegetation and just like a little jungle. It is really lovely and we will be staying there again once we return from Siem Reap.
The following morning it was up early to be collected from the hotel to get to the bus station to start our six hour drive to Siem Reap
We had elected to go by Mekong Express luxury coach ($11!) and were not disappointed. Whilst long, the drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was comfortable and the time just whizzed past as the scenery is so interesting. There were paddy fields ready for harvesting and some in the process of being harvested. Nearly all this work is done by hand, many of the fields were busy with people bringing in the crop. There were water buffalo soaking in pools, cows grazing at the roadside, children waving at the bus and motor bikes , with anything between one and five people on board and very often with a load of some sort or other too. It is supposed to be the end of the wet season (I don't believe this), the water was high and along the road there were quite a few pools with fish and ducks. There was also a profusion of water lilies in white, dark pink and pale pink. It was truly beautiful - a super journey.
On arrival in Siem Reap we looked around, a sea of faces again, many of whom were Tuc Tuc drivers trying to get us to hire them. John was cornered by one of them who agreed to take us to our hotel for $2. Everything here is in US dollars. This driver's name is Hat and he quickly made an effort to befriend us. I suppose we were a bit wary as it's so easy to get taken for a ride in more senses than one, and we'd had a couple of experiences of rip off scams. As it turned out, this chap is an absolute treasure. He took us to our hotel and was then keen to get us to engage him for the following day for a trip to the temples, this is what we did, more about that in the next blog.
The hotel in Siem Reap is a real find. We booked on the internet after checking it out on 'trip advisor', a useful web site for reviewing hotels. It had a good write up from past guests and we can see why. It is ridiculously cheap, we have a great room with lots of space and a lovely little balcony overlooking the garden. The garden is quite exotic with tropical fruit plants and shrubs, including beautiful orchids in flower. There is even a secluded pool. The restaurant serves excellent food all reasonably priced and the staff are just so helpful. We are very comfortable here. The following day it is our first experience of temples and what and experience!!
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