Soaking It Up in Siem Reap, Cambodia

- March 16, 2014

After our stress of actually making it to Cambodia (see previous post), our B&B had arranged for a pickup at the airport. Ever fly international and exit and airport to find a crowd of drivers standing with signs of tourist names? Our driver was nowhere to be found. We figured they forgot, so we hired a driver. We were staying at the Khmer Cuisine Bed & Breakfast, which the driver had never heard of. He didn't want to turn down a fare and how hard could it be to find? Halfway through our ride he pulled over and flagged down a Tuk-Tuk driver for directions. Tuk-Tuk's are basically a motorcycle with a little trailer attached. In Siem Reap, they'll take you around wherever for $1 or $2. This type of transportation is used all over the world with varying names and setups. I definitely recommend as there easy to get around busy streets.

Anyway, this Tuk-Tuk man seemed to know better directions so our driver had us hop out and go with him. We obliged, but realized this guy didn't know where he was going either. We spent the next 30 minutes searching for our B&B which did not have an address. Our address from our booking site, Agoda.com stated:

Khmer Cuisine Bed & Breakfast

100 meters north of Catholic Church on River Road, Siem Reap Cambodia.

We always seem to get in these weird predicaments while traveling. After cruising around the potholed streets of Cambodia, we decided we needed to stop and ask some directions. We stopped along the river and dirt road to ask directions. No one knew. As we started to gameplan on what we should do, Janie happened to look directly across the river and see the Khmer Cuisine Sign! She found it. Crazy to think we were driving aimlessly around the back roads of Siem Reap and end up parking right across the river from where we were staying.

Note: Our B&B didn't forget about our airport pickup...they were there, but our immigration and customs check took so long that they left. If visiting, try to contact your hotel ahead of time to see if they can pick you up from the airport.

We were excited to checkin and grab some food. But first lets talk about customer service. We paid $20/night and were greeted with a cold hand towel and freshly squeezed juice while she briefed us on the room.

After that dust-filled tuk-tuk ride, we needed to eat. Food in Cambodia was awesome. So much influence from Thailand and Vietnam, but with their own flair. If I lived there, I would eat at this place every day start from the top left of the menu and work my way to the end.

Keep it Simple. $4.00 for Everything

Cambodia is known for its pepper. Try green peppercorn. You won't be disappointed.

Visiting Angkor Temples

Let's start with a few tips on visiting Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples:

Don't try to walk to the temples from town. It doesn't seem far, but the temples are so massive and spread out that you will be so tired by the time you see the first temple.
For that matter, don't even rent a bike. We thought of renting bikes because it seemed like a good idea. We were happy we didn't. You will end up walking miles just going through all the different temples, that you look forward to Tuk-Tuk rides between each temple to cool you down. I felt bad for the Western families biking in the heat, they truly looked miserable.
Do rent a tuk-tuk driver for the day. All hotels will have some sort of package. We chose a $13/person day which included breakfast. This is not a tour-guide. You go at your own pace.

Keep track of your Tuk-Tuk Driver. All Tuk-Tuk drivers have numbers on their backs, similar to taxi drivers have cab numbers. Take a photo or remember the number, because there are literally hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers with same bikes, same clothes, same helmets, same everything.
You can get also get tour guide, which I heard are very good. We opted out.

Do check out one of the temples at sunrise and sunset. Angkor Wat at sunrise is amazing. We experienced it, but also with a 1,000 of our closest friends. See photo below. It was jammed packed and I couldn't help but feel the temples were being exploited.

Looking back at the crowd as they look toward Angkor Wat

Angkor Temples Do have entrance fees. It is $20/per day for each visitor. They do have multi-day passes too. You get this right at the entrance.
Do dress conservatively. Common sense, but cover shoulders and legs. I saw a few groups get turned away because it looked like they were ready for the beach. These are religious temples, people. Would you show up to your Sunday church in sandals and a bikini? Didn't think so. Have some respect.
You will take a billion photos. Be prepared with storage for your camera(s). I'm still going through photos...here's a few.

Angkor Wat

Vishnu, one of his many avatars

After walking around at the temples all day, we decided to splurge on our last night in Cambodia. We stayed at the Mulberry Boutique Hotel right in Siem Reap. It was beautiful and included breakfast. It comes highly recommended by us. Great location, staff, and food.