Our Cambodia Adventure - Day 1

I don't even know where to begin with this round of posts.  This trip was the most eye-opening, humbling experience of my life.  It was fun, heartwarming and heartbreaking all rolled into one, which is a strange mix of emotions to feel over the course of only three days.  I felt elated (meeting the wonderful people), exhausted (climbing temples) and at times on the edge of a nervous breakdown (witnessing the living conditions).  I hope I can write in a way that will paint a vivid picture of this interesting and tragic country. 

Travel from Singapore to Siem Reap was completely uneventful.  It is only a 2-hr flight and we quickly got through immigration since we had electronic visas.  I highly recommend applying on their website to avoid standing in a line upon arrival.  A friendly driver (who spoke no English) held the usual sign with our name on it, loaded up our baggage and we were on our way to the hotel.  Along the short route we saw many large hotels and the usual spattering of stores, bodega-type stands and small restaurants catering to the locals.  And of course, lots of motorbikes and tuk tuks - many overflowing with 3 or 4 passengers sharing a single bike seat. Very few (including young children) wearing helmets.

After a 15-minute ride, we pulled into a very non-descript driveway to what would be our home for the weekend.  The lobby building looked like a beautiful British Colonial house.  Our first greeting came from the resident dog, Tuna.  Cooper and Sophia, to no one's surprise, ran right to the pup and fell instantly in love.  Alex, an intern manager and recent college graduate from Chicago, came out (barefoot and with a very casual way about him) and welcomed us to the Journeys Within Boutique Hotel.  The American owners, Brandon and Andrea, were away so he was in charge. We sat down at a table in the small lobby, were served some fresh pineapple juice and got the lay of the land.   Once we were shown to our room, we were able to relax and really survey our surroundings.  The boutique hotel has only ten rooms, and we occupied two of them (adjoining).  The kids' room had two double beds, ours had a king and we both had large bathrooms with awesome showers.  A balcony ran across the length of both and overlooked the pool.  The rooms were spotless and very tastefully decorated - overall, just very comfortable.  Complimentary laptops were in each room, as well as air conditioning, ceiling fans and TVs on the wall.  Bottled water and sodas were available at no charge from the mini-fridge (unlimited).  Wifi was easily accessed anywhere on the grounds.

Since I have SO much to write, even after dividing up the trip into multiple posts, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  Journeys Within truly was our little piece of paradise that, after hours of sightseeing in the blisteringly hot climate, we were relieved to return to every day.

I also wanted to mention the school that Journeys Within runs.  They owners of the hotel truly have given back to the community with the creation of several community programs including two schools, one in Cambodia and one in Laos. No matter how eager students are, poor facilities and resources prevent the children of Cambodia from receiving a quality education.  Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) gives over 700 children a chance to learn English and have a chance at a higher education.  Those that do not continue still learn valuable vocations that will help them lead more productive lives.  Due to the school's schedule and our crazy itinerary, we did not get a chance to visit the children at JWOC, but we did exchange waves and smiles a couple times a day with many of the students, who were so excited to see our kids! 

Since we arrived late afternoon, we let Sophia and Cooper go swimming while we enjoyed a couple of beers.  As with everywhere we visit, we chose the local beer, Angkor in this instance.  Over the next few days, we would get to know Angkor very well!  After a couple of hours, and now fully refreshed, we cleaned up and headed by tuk tuk (hotel offers free rides nightly) into the town of Siem Reap for dinner.

The main tourist area of Siem Reap is Pub Street.  In a country where 80% of the population has no electricity, Pub Street clearly stands out.  Brightly lit shop signs and flashing neon are abundant, as are unique local shops and restaurants, all pretty well blocked off from traffic.  There are restaurants with all kinds of cuisine, western included, and we chose a two-story restaurtant called the Red Piano.

At the time I did not know this, but the Red Piano is now known as the hangout of Angelina Jolie when she was in Siem Reap filming Tomb Raider.  As has been our experience in all Southeast Asian countries, the service here was excellent.  We wanted to sit overlooking Pub Street, but all tables along the balcony edge were taken so we settled on an inside table. Moments later, as soon as a couple left a table on the railing, the staff motioned for us to move over and enjoy the view.  We also had two servers at all times ready and waiting to help us with our needs.  When the bill came we were shocked.  Two beers, two glasses of wine and four adult-sized entrees totaled $27 USD.  (The US dollar is used as the main currency, there is also the Cambodian Riel)  The same dinner in Singapore would have cost at least $150.


Batman Tuk Tuk!

We had wanted to shop at the night market after dinner, but a sleepy Cooper thwarted our plans!  His falling asleep in public is starting to become quite a theme!  It almost deserves its own blog.  First he fell asleep at the table, then on Jason's shoulder and finally in the tuk tuk back to the hotel. 

Finally, I wanted to comment on our tuk tuk driver.  His name was Moang Moal (Mo for short) and he was very friendly, and easy to spot with his pink helmet!  We got his card and ended up calling him every evening to take us out and bring us home.  If anyone runs across this blog and is heading to Siem Reap, please call/text him at (+855) 97 60 29 493 or email him at moeng.moal@gmail.com!

Next time I'll get to some of the good stuff - the temples!