The bus ride from Bangkok to Siem Reap was somewhat uneventful. The only hitch was when we got to the border. Unfortunately we didn’t read up in the guidebook and got suckered into paying more for the visas. My advice; get your visa ahead of time then you won’t have to worry about it there. Taylor and I were just stoked to be in Cambodia so we decided to just pay and move on…to a cab instead of a bus. We grabbed a cool Spanish couple and the 4 of us took off for Siem Reap. Once in the car we started chatting about Burning Man and diving. Marta had been to Burning Man before and her boyfriend Lusso just finished working on Kho Tao as a dive instructor. They were really cool and we immediately bonded as you do on the road. We went straight to the hostel Colby had recommended and all shared a large room. The cost was pricey (8$) each but we were just stoked to be there. Siem Reap Hostel was pretty set up too. They have an indoor pool, full bar/restaurant, wifi, pool table and various other games. We were all starving upon arrival and just decided to grub there. That was a great decision as their hostel burger was AMAZING. Homemade burger with bacon, grilled onions and a fried egg….oh my god it was good.
The next morning we decided to rent bikes and head out to the temples. It was a nice ride about 6km to Angkor Wat. Talk about amazing, this thing is incredible. We spent a few hours wandering around and checking the amazing-ness that it is before heading out to the next stop. We cruised through Angkor Thom on the way to Ta Phram. Brief history lesson; Cambodia has 3 time periods, pre-Angkor, Angkor and post-Angkor. During the Angkor period Angkor Thom was the capital. It is a huge area with a moat around most of it and cool passageways to enter. It is about 2km from Angkor Wat and then Ta Phram is another 4-5. Ta Phram is where they filmed Tomb Raider and it is super amazing as the forest is starting to reclaim the area. There are huge trees growing, and in most cases, holding the temple up. Taylor and I blazed a j there and totally felt zen-ed out! We had planned to stop at Bayon on the way home to catch the sunset but it went down to fast and we had to jet back in the dark. Taylor and I had a great pace and were deep in conversation the whole time. He is a great guy and we have been on the same page from the beginning. That night we all went out for Mexican food and that was surprisingly delicious too. Dinner was followed by a bucket each at Angkor What? Bar and then we cruised home. We bumped into some dudes that were on our bus and they told us about their guesthouse which was way way cheaper…it was actually the one my friend recommended so we decided to switch the following morning. We had also arranged for a tuk tuk to take us back to the temples as all of us had super sore booties after that long day.
The next day we did Bayon and a bunch of other temples in Angkor Thom. It was amazing and we were all picking our jaws off the ground. In my opinion Bayon is the coolest thing out there followed by Ta Phram followed by Angkor Wat. Those are the top 3 and the must dos. We caught the sunset on top of a hill to end the night. It was super crowded up there and we were all a little over it when we found ourselves in the middle of a large group of children. That made it fun as we were all laughing with them and taking pictures. The kids are all so friendly and nice…and all orphans we found out. Being that it was Friday night we decided to check the town. We made plans to catch the sunrise the following morning at Angkor Wat so were going to make it an early night….then we changed our minds. Taylor and I decided to pull an all-nighter and didn’t leave Temple Bar till 4:30 AM…walked back to the guesthouse and jumped in our tuk tuk at 5…that was all fun and games till about 8:30 when I hit the wall. Needless to say after the sunrise and 1 more temple way out of town we went back to bed.
Saturday night was the Halloween celebration and the streets were buzzing. We wanted to dress up and were trying to decide on what to do. Finally we went to the market and picked up some pajamas and a kimono. Topped the outfits off with funny hats and a fan. It was hilarious and we were having a blast laughing with everyone. The pictures are amazing. Taylor and I were on FUEGO!! That was another long and seriously fun night. It felt like we were friends with everyone at the club by the end of the night. I also brought out my black-out/censor glasses that I packed from home and everyone was taking pictures with them…HUGE HIT!!
Sunday was another super mellow day. We got massages and lounged around the rooftop restaurant at our guesthouse. Taylor and I had plans to get bus tickets for Phnom Phen for the following day and continue our journey while the Spaniards weren’t sure where they wanted to go yet. I convinced them to head to Laos and gave them my highlights. Later in the evening we are all playing pool and I hear this guy ask Taylor what his next destination is. He casually says, ‘I’m heading to Laos tomorrow’….I’m like, ‘what dude!’…oops, he forgot to tell me that he decided to bounce with the Spaniards…it actually was super funny and all good. I am glad he is going to Laos and I am trying to convince him to meet up with me in Brazil next year which I think will happen. We decided to get one more day out of our costumes and went out for our last night together. Another super fun night with lots of laughing and dancing and singing…lots of singing!
Taylor bounced super early this morning and I had the bus pick me up at noon for Phnom Phen…somehow he forgot to leave me any money for the room and food/beer charges…lucky him. It’s so funny and all good. UPDATE: Actually he did pay at the front and I think they ripped us off. I am looking into it but it is probably a lost cause.
This was the first time since I have started blogging that I waited this long to put my thoughts down. We were just going non-stop in Siem Reap and having so much fun there was no time to sit and type. I am actually looking forward to the next week+ by myself and am heading to a few very very chill spots where I plan to sit in a hammock and read for most of the day….but today and tomorrow I am in Phnom Phen…stay tuned!!
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