Siem Reap 2011

After a few days in Bangkok we were on to our next destination Siem Reap, Cambodia.
We are always hoping to encounter airports with good playgrounds and activities. This airport did not offer much to keep us busy during our two hour delay. The kids watched Cars 2.

As we got off the plane and felt the fantastic breezy warm air, I felt excitement and apprehension. We had to wait in a line with all the other foreigners to get our on the spot visas. Foreigners are also finger printed upon arriving. Our hotel was expecting 4 adults and had brought us two Tuks Tuks. We let our luggage go in one and shared the other to make our way to the city. I hadn't researched much about the demographics of Siem Reap. Nathan informed me that it was a relatively rural and small in population. As we passed rice fields, farms and lots of cows, this became evident. After living in Asia, it isn't uncommon to hear people talk about being from a small town of 5-8 million.
Siem Reap has about 172,000 residents. We would sometimes see people at the temples and later in the town. It was peak season, but compared to China it felt like a small town hosting a fair wherever one comes out to participate and visit.

Our hotel was the Wooden Angkor (Almost everything has the name Angkor attached to it) When we entered the lobby, removing our shoes first, we were greeted with cool towels and some tea. The family suite is two adjoining rooms. The kids had their own beds and bathroom. That night we decided to try the restaurant upstairs. It was situated on a veranda, on the top level of the hotel overlooking the street. The kids immediately took to the two hammocks that were available and claimed them during our entire stay. We soon realized that as our cheap ( dishes ranged from $2-$4) and delicious food arrived on the table, so did the bugs. It is nice to have the openness, feel the breeze, but the bugs at night were too much for us and ate there only for breakfast and lunch after this. Khmer food I found to be relatively mild, with aromatic combinations of ginger, garlic, coconut milk, lemon grass. Possibly a fusion of Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese? I liked everything and the price was great. Siem Reap has no McDonalds. It was nice to tell the kids it wasn't even an option and they both found Khmer dishes they enjoyed.

The hotel staff were friendly to the kids and pleasant to talk to.
They arranged a tuk tuk driver to take us around. He was hired from 7am-7pm and the cost was only $14US.

Banana pancakes for the kids. Breakfast was included in our stay and we could order off the menu.

more post to follow..