Cambodacious!

So, its been a few weeks since we got back from our SE Asia trip, the tips of my thumb and forefinger on my right hand are still numb (anyone know a good neurologist?) but I did want to take time and finish documenting our trip, so that future generations can read back through our adventures and think “Bloody hell – those guys are crazy – no way am I ever doing that!”



We last left you, dear blogwatcher, as we were cruising up the Mekong by tourist speedboat about to come into dock at Phnom Pehn.   Just from the skyline alone, as we approached, its clear the city has changed a lot since I was last there 9 years ago, driven primarily by a ton of Chinese and some Japanese investment.  The cityscape was absolutely littered with cranes.   As we pulled into dock and scrambled off the boat, I searched the waiting throng of people for our guide – and found him, holding a Spiceroads placard with my name on it!  Hurrah!!

Lunch at the Titanic

While ManpanionTM waited for our luggage to be offloaded from the boat, I made my way to introduce myself – our new guide was a chap called Huy and our new driver, a impeccably courteous and polite chap called Ert (I have no idea if this is the correct spelling or not  – but the only way we could remember how to pronounce his name is that it sounds like car brakes coming to a screeching halt!).   Huy was not as gregarious as Phat and a bit more awkward in his demeanor, but I thought, well he’ll warm up a bit (newsflash – he didn’t).  After loading our bags into the mini-van (this time, a white Merc with bright lime green curtains – a surprisingly popular color combination in Cambodia), we immediately decamped for lunch at this great restaurant right by the riverside called (not sure whether ironically or not) The Titanic restaurant!  

Lunch was excellent.  Spring rolls to start with, followed by a delicious fish curry (called awok – no, Loopy ..awok, not ewok), plus chicken kebabs and a heaping bowl of steamed jasmine rice.  Very tasty – and a very common tourist meal combo as we were to have this exact same meal several more times during our stay in Cambodia!!!



Lunch.  Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat....

So Huy didn’t really get much warmer over lunch, but he did loosen up in that he started talking more.  And primarily about how much he doesn’t like Phat, our Vietnamese guide who we’d said goodbye to earlier that day!  It became very apparent there is no love lost between the Vietnamese and the Cambodians and, soon, we were also getting a very different take on some of the previous historical events that Phat had told us about.  It felt a little awkward at times and, to be honest, it wasn’t terribly professional of Huy to slag off another guide like that, so we just kinda mumbled non-committedly (being British, I’m a natural at that) and eventually he petered out of gripes and instead came on to going through the itinerary for the next few days (which i'll tell you about in a bit).

I guess karaoke is a big deal in Phnom Pehn?

By this time, it was around 2pm and instead of just going straight to the hotel as we had nothing formal until tomorrow, instead we got our driver and Huy to go off schedule and -for an extra $20 - take us to the Toul Sleng (or S-21) genocide museuem.  I remembered this very clearly from my last visit and it left a huge impression on me. S-21 was the main prison that the Khmer Rouge used during the terrifying reign of Pol Pot to interrogate and torture suspects (ie anyone) before sending them off to the Killing Fields.  If you are interested in learning more, check out the website:  http://www.killingfieldsmuseum.com/about-us.html  Its very harrowing and sobering and, having read more about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge’s regime, its still difficult to comprehend how it happened.  But basically it seemed to involve dehumanization and indoctrination of the youth -(most of the prison guards, interrogators and executors were between the ages of 15-19 - its just so chilling).

Super-grim "rules" of S-21

One of the cells in S-21 - the prison used to
be a school.  Note the blood stains still on
the floor....

Holes knocked through the walls to make it easier
for guards to keep an eye on the prisoners

One of the buildings with its original barbed wire
fencing still intact

We spent a couple hours at the museum before meeting our guides again and driving to our hotel for the evening.  Almost straight away, ManpanionTM was struck by the difference between Phnom Pen and Saigon – in terms of the sidewalks being in good condition, the lack of trash littering the streets and a generally more well-kept appearance.  Whereas ManpanionTM did not care for Saigon AT ALL, Phnom Pehn was met with a much more favorable response! (sidewalk snob!). And, to be honest, I liked it much better too - it was just, well, nicer than Saigon.   As we were driving to our hotel, the sun was just beginning to set with palaces and temples starting to light up in the dusk.  



Our hotel was actually pretty nice - after checking in, we had time for a quick drink up on the rooftop bar (which was populated with a fair number of pretty drunk people!) before meeting up with Huy for dinner.  Despite the plethora of restaurants nearby, we got back in the van for a 15min ride to transfer to a hotel for dinner.  Again, the traffic was nuts - more cars this time - and there was a fireworks display going on down by the river, so it was jampacked!!  When we finally reached the hotel we were pretty much the only people there in this soulless crappy dining room.  The food matched the décor and - surprise! - it was fish stew and kebabs and rice again!  Up to this point, the food has actually been pretty good, so this was a bit of a miss by the tour company.  Huy agreed and said he'd pass on the feedback to SpiceRoads.

Lovely view from the rooftop bar

This'll do nicely

 

View from the rooftop back back down along the riverfront

And from the other side....

And finally the Royal Temple (or Palace, one of the two)

After dinner, we were pretty tired, so decided just to crash out and have an early night, ready to get back into the saddle first thing the next morning!  We'd decided to get an early start and do the bulk of the ride in the morning, when it was cooler, so we had to be up and ready to leave by 7am.

Monks on bikes

So, onto our cycling in Cambodia and here’s the summary of our ride for today.  Our itinerary is still jam-packed but not the same distances, cycling-wise, as in Vietnam but – if my memory serves me correctly – the road conditions weren’t as good, so still a challenge, but for different reasons:

Day 6: Phnom Pehn – Oudong – Kampong Thom.   Today we have a late start to give you time to explore Phnom Pehn.  We then transfer for only 30mins before we hop on the bikes and for our cycle towards Cambodia’s former capital, Oudong.  The 400-plus steps to the top will get the legs working overtime, but the view is worth it.  This ride gives us the chance to see rural Cambodia – stilted houses, rice paddies, ox carts, waving children and, of course, the friendly Khmer people.  After the ride we transfer to Kampong Thom.  Ride: 25km, stay at Sambor Village.

OK -  so we didn't have a late start, but got cracking bright and early.  The last time I was here, I distinctly remember the craziness of cycling out of Phnom Pehn in the middle of morning rush hour (its not something you easily forget - plus I got a flat tire too!) but it seems like sanity has prevailed over the last 9 years because we transferred in the van out of the city (I wonder how many cyclists got squashed before that change was introduced?!).   The traffic was nuts again but, after about half an hour, we pulled up outside this big temple complex where Huy and Ert started to assemble our bikes (they were in the back of the van).  While they did this, ManpanionTM and I had a wander round the site - there was a ceremony underway with some orange-clad monks and local folk, to bless the local village's dragon boat that was going to be racing that weekend.  Its still weird to me to see monks in their robes with smartphones and iPads!  We also saw this huge Buddha halfway through being built, so that was interesting.  Its basically one giant paper-mache project!!

Saddling up the steel ponies

Temple du jour

So these are definitely better viewed from afar - up close,
it looks a lot more homespun!

Buddha-in-progress

Perhaps we should have asked for a similar blessing to help
improve our biking prowess

As became standard, we soon attracted a
highly-amused crowd

Anyway, after a half hour or so, our bikes were ready so, under the bemused gaze of numerous young monks, we hauled our still somewhat-chapped bottoms onto our saddles and peddled off.  So the ride was, as I remembered it, basically flat the whole way.  However, unlike Vietnam, these roads were more likely to be unpaved and, instead, made of hard, packed red-orange earth.   The countryside we were cycling through was also very different - lots of agricultural pastures but studded with the typical Cambodian Dr. Seuss trees!  (I can't remember what they are called!).  The weather wasn't too hot, but I still felt quite sluggish starting off.  However, we kept a reasonable pace and I didn't fall behind too much and, after about an hour, we made our first stop at this lovely grove of temples with lots of statues bought by families and individuals looking to bring them favor with the gods.  Interestingly, a lot of the statues had the actual cost of the piece (in US dollars!) engraved into the stone plinth, so that everyone would know exactly how much money each one cost and how much they had given to the temple!  Bizarrely immodest. 

As we sat and rehydrated and chomped on these yummy sesame cookie snacks, Huy was once again bending ManpanionTM's ear about something (probably how Vietnam thinks its "the boss" or how much everyone hates China) so I left him to it and instead found the world's smallest kitten and its mangy mother to play with (don't worry - I didn't touch them - they were probably crawling with god knows what!).

Beautiful grove for our first rest stop of the day

Roll up, roll up - this impressive snake statue
can be yours for the low, low price of $950USD!

World's most pathetic kitten & mom - although I'm sure Loopy
would still adopt them!

Cow giving ManpanionTM the evil eye.....

So, after about 20mins, we set off for the second part of our ride, continuing to head to the old capital of Oudong.  Again, more baked dirt roads, filled with a variety of cars, trucks, cattle, snail carts and beaming children, once again excitedly yelling out "hello!!" before dissolving into helpless giggling!  It's just infectious and you can't help but smile back.  As per usual, Huy our guide was out in front, followed by ManpanionTM with me bringing up the rear.  And we settled into our groove riding away until.... disaster!!!  In the blink of an eye, ManpanionTM was down!  And I very very narrowly avoided riding straight into his sprawled out body and bike right in front of me!!  He'd lost concentration for a split second and - in that moment - the rear wheel of his bike came off the roadtop and into a rut, catapulting him off.  Fortunately Matt was OK, if a bit shaken - he'd scraped up his arm and knees, but fortunately nothing more serious (thank Buddha!).  Huy did a good job of cleaning his wounds and patching him up (again, with a sizeable gallery of bemused kids watching the proceedings) and, after getting the bike back up and running, we started off again. 

ManpanionTM down!!!  Getting patched up after
The Crash.

ManpanionTM certainly knows how to draw a crowd....

Fixing the steel pony, post Crash

Buy my juicy snails!  Hot and fresh!

The rest of the ride to Oudong was, thankfully, uneventful and we got there after about another hour's riding, stopping briefly along the way to try some yummy banana fritters from a roadside stall.  Oudong is more popular with locals than tourists and is a well-loved picnic spot so, as we rode in, we passed many carts and stalls selling food and local delicacies.  It was easy to be grossed out at the various fried things we saw - but then you remember why so many insects are eaten and it takes you back to the era of Pol Pot and there was no food, so people had to eat anything and everything to survive.   Not sure what the excuse is today, though.....

Fried banana fritters - delicious!

Stuff

Feesch piiiicniiiic

I think this one was my personal favorite -
turtles stuffed with cherry tomatoes!

No idea.  Could be fried dough.  Could be cow
intestine pancakes.  Your guess is as good as mine....

 After running the gastric gauntlet, we parked up our bikes and ascended the many, many stairs to take us to the top where the funerary and temple were.  It was hard work and certainly got the heart pumping - but was well worth it as the views from the top were absolutely incredible.

 

Up we go!!

ManpanionTM conquers the climb!

View from the top of Oudong, the temples and the
 surrounding countryside

 

Funerary temple for one of the kings

Beautiful intricate carving

 

Blinged up door - always kept locked

 

 

Oscar P. Lion was very brave and made it to the top too!

Our lunch spot after coming back down from the temple

As we got closer, we could understand why the Buddha had a
smile on his face - he's totally checking out the arse of this lady
statue right in front of him

Gorgeous flowers

  

Lion squared

 

I wonder what could be for lunch today???

 

Ta-da!!! Surprise!!!  Its fish, chicken and rice!!!

After lunch, we were done cycling for the day, so  Huy and Ert broke the bikes back down and we all loaded up in the van.  It was a couple of hours drive to our overnight stopping place of Kampong Thom and, en route, we stopped at a silver factory, and also stopped by the roadside to see firsthand how the various statues we'd been admiring are carved.  While Huy has his issues, you can't fault him for trying to make sure we packed in as many local sights and experiences as possible.  And - of course - about half way through our transfer to Kampong Thom came the famous visit to the Roadside Services and - yep - deep fried tarantulas!  (my long-time blogwatchers may remember this from last time).  They were still there, in all their creepy-crawly magnificence as the platters of deep-fried spiders sat on top of buckets filled with their still-alive brethren!  If spiders weren't your bag, there was a cornucopia of choice to meet your every leggy, insect-y desire.  *SHUDDER*   I passed on the deep-fried locusts this time (once was enough) and I couldn't even persuade ManpanionTM to try anything.  Huy happily munched on a spider while we watched squeamishly ("Matt - you want just a leg?") until - thankfully - it was time to get out of there!! 

Intricate hand-engraving at the silver store.
Yes, I bought stuff.

I can't believe I actually ate these last time I was here.

Oscar P.Lion and his new furry friend!

Nope.

Oh God.  It gets worse.  I think these used to be
tiny birds or chicken things once.

Crunchy deliciousness as far as the eye can see!

Buddha statue-making

Wonder what this is going to be?

We eventually arrived in Kampong Thom just before 5pm - our hotel was actually really nice (I know - I sound surprised!) with a pool and everything!!  (It didn't have water for the first hour or so, but you can't have everything!)  We had a well-needed shower and then crashed out for a bit until it was time to meet Huy for dinner at 8pm.  We sat by the pool and enjoyed a relaxed G&T or two, and then made the arduous transfer to dinner - heading upstairs to the hotel restaurant.  Dinner was good but unremarkable and we were done by about 9pm or so.  So, time to rest up, ready to head to Siem Reap tomorrow!

Home sweet home for the night. Surprisingly nice digs in the
heart of rural Cambodia

 

Day 7: Kampong Thom – Siem Reap

We start the day with a visit to the ancient temple of Sambor Prey Kuk.  This temple site was constructed in the 7^th century and functioned as the capital of the Chenla Empire.  It is one of the oldest temple sites in Cambodia and is mainly covered in vegetation.  After our guide assisted tour through the temples, we enjoy a local picnic lunch prepared by the local community in small wooden huts along the Stung Sen River and are able to absorb the local sights and sounds.  After lunch we have a short transfer to Damdek village and ride on country roads through rice paddies.   Ride: 40km, stay at Steung Siem Reap Hotel.

 

Survived the night - and raring to go!

Typical rural scene with the houses built on stilts

 

The ugliest chicken ever at our first rest stop

 

ManpanionTM's bike was still suffering from -The Crash the day
before.  Got worse when Huy tried to "fix" it.  Ended up switching
to the back-up bike!

I'm sure this is a perfectly safe method of transportation....

Cute boy and cute dog



After an uneventful ride out of Kampong Thom, we arrived at the temple complex of Sambu Prey Kuk.  Huy handed us off to a local guide who took us round and explained about the history of the site and some of the culture of the time.  He was a very gentle chap, was well into books and had a crinkly-type of face that just made you think "here's a lovely kind person".  He could have been a total arse, but if so, he hid it well.  We spent about an hour wandering around the ruins - the oldest in the area.  And ManpanionTM saw the first of what would be many, man temples, draped in strangler figs (or also called "Mother-in-Law trees" according to our guide!).  Then it was back on the bikes and another 20km or so ride before making it back to this little village, where our van was waiting for us and it was the end of cycling for the day.  After lunch, it was a 4hr transfer up to Siem Reap, so we did it in two legs - 2hrs to our lunch stop, then another 2hrs with various stops along the way for local color!  My hand was not happy, so I was grateful for an "easier" day's cycling.

 

 

Old temple draped in strangler fig tree

 

Difficult to see where the tree ends and the
temple begins.  Oscar P. is unfazed.

 

The long and non-winding road. 

Lunch stop at a tourist trap by Tonle Sap lake.  Food was great -
and we got some souvenir shopping in, so result!

 

Another roadside stop - this time to see flaked rice
being made.  Pounding the rice with that massive
mallet over and over....

....to produce this... which you then roll and banana
in and eat.  It tasted pretty much how you'd expect
from the picture....

ManpanionTM particularly appreciated the simplicity of
the engineering of these tractor-cart hybrids

En route to Siem Reap, we stopped to appreciate the beauty of this
old bridge - I cant remember exactly, but its at least 1000yrs old!!

 

And littered throughout our drive were celebrations like this!  Apparently
today is an auspicious date, so there were tons of young couples getting
married - all seemingly accompanied by terrible and LOUD karaoke singers!!!

Yet another stop - this one to sample rice and soybean cooked inside
a bamboo stalk.  it was... interesting.  But - hey - at least he'd
stopped trying to feed us arachnids!!

We got into Siem Reap at around 4pm and checked into our new hotel.  We have the luxury of staying here for the next 2 nights (yippee!) so it made a nice change knowing we didn't have to repack again the next morning.  Dinner wasn't until 7.30pm, so ManpanionTM and I headed out to explore Siem Reap for a couple of hours. 



The Night Market.  Its Local.

It was pretty much how I remembered it - very touristy, loud, full of bars and restaurants - and a ton of fun!!  The traffic was as insane as usual - this time with the added hazard of inebriated tourists alongside the million tuk-tuks!  As in Phnom Pehn, the river was all lit up ready for a Water Festival the next day.  We had a wander down by the river and browsed in the Local Market ('local market!") where I picked up some baggy pants to wear during our temple visits tomorrow and Matt picked up an awesome elephant print shirt. We looked like a couple of scruffy Australian backpackers.  Perfect.

After our shopping frenzy, we were exhausted and had to go imbibe a G&T to recover.  We found the infamous "Pub Streets" where the main strip of bars, clubs and restaurants are, so spent a very enjoyable hour people-watching, until it was time to head back to the hotel and meet Huy for dinner.

Downtown Siem Reap - getting ready for the evening's Halloween
celebrations!

For dinner tonight, Huy took us to a Korean BBQ place, back over across the river, where we could sit and cook our little chunks of meat and fish over this communal steamer pot and grill-thing.  It was tasty enough but also gave us something to do and serve as an additional conversation starter, as we were seriously starting to run out of things to talk about with Huy!  We finished dinner around 8.30pm and went back to the hotel - then hid for a few minutes until Huy had left for the night (he was staying in his home town, fairly close by) - and then snuck back out again for a nightcap and to enjoy the craziness of Siem Reap on Halloween!! 

Korean BBQ

We headed back to the Pub Streets were we'd been earlier - and ran straight into a solid wall of people, dressed up, dancing to Desperate Cheeto and having an awesome time!!  It took us at least 15mins to travel about 20 meters but we were happy to get caught up in the party for a bit, so it was fun to hang out!  Eventually, though, being crushed shoulder to shoulder with heaving throngs of humanity started to get a little wearing, so we managed to squeeze out on the other side and go revive ourselves with a $1.50 margarita at the taco joint that was just round the corner from our hotel! (much to ManpanionTM's joy!)

 

After a round or two, it was time to finally call it a night.  Tomorrow is The Big Day and where we head off to Angkor Wat and the Tomb Raider temple - and the last full day of our vacation.  It feels as if we've been away for ever - but also that the cycling has gone really fast.  Its weird how time away on vacation warps that way. 

 

Various Meats.

 

The quiet end of Pub Street

 

The noisy end of Pub Street.

 

I'm surprised ManpanionTM actually left Siem Reap
at the end of our vacation - $3 for a taco and a margarita
makes for a pretty compelling place to be!!

 

ManpanionTM in margarita nirvana.

 

Hmmm.....

 

It was a crazy fun scene!

 

Umm....and this is what happens after too many
$1.50 margaritas.  ManpanionTM and an impromptu
fashion show with my earlier purchase....

Day 8: Angkor Temples



Inspiration for a thousand shirts and wrap dresses

This morning we start our bike ride at the entrance of Angkor Wat and head to Ta Phrom, famous from the film Tomb Raider and deliberately left by French conservationists in the same condition as it was discovered, overgrown by strangler fig and silk-cotton trees, giving the temple a mystical and romantic appeal.  We continue to Angkor Thom, Bayon temple, and the Terrace of the Elephants.  We enjoy lunch at the Angkor Café before we explore the biggest religious Hindu edifice in the world – Angkor Wat.  Considered the masterpiece of Khmer architecture, this Vishnuite temple is the King’s funerary temple, which is why the temple is oriented to the West.  Inside the temple, the walls are covered by carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman VII fought during his reign.  After our visit to these magnificent temples, we cycle back the 7km to Siem Reap.  Ride: 30km, stay at Steung Siem Reap hotel. 

 

So then.  Final day of cycling.  Our first stop was to Ta Phrom, as described above - and this was, by far, my favorite temple last time - and my favorite one this time too.  As per yesterday, we had another local guide to take us round the temples - this time, Huy's boss and English teacher.   After a few minutes talking to him, we could understand why Huy's English was so bad - his accent was really difficult to comprehend.  But, despite that, he knew where all the good places were to take pictures, so at each major stop, guided us to various locations and directed where to point our cameras, so I guess that was something. 

Earlier on in the morning, we'd had to go to the ticket office just outside of Siem Reap, but way before the temple complex to collect our tickets.  You are actually photographed so that the ticket is yours and yours alone - I guess so people don't transfer them and resell them on.  I also took the opportunity, as Huy was getting our tickets, to rethink my templewear fashion and - instead of the Hammer Time look I'd picked out the night before (damn those margaritas) - buy an infinitely more tasteful wrap-around skirt (yes, with the requisite elephants!).   We then cycled about 7km to the entrance of the complex and then - for some inexplicable reason - Huy decided it was going to be "fun" to cycle through the forest in our approach to the temples, rather than on the lovely, flat TARMACKED road.  Now, to be fair, in principle it sounds fun and all Lara-Crofty and exciting.  In reality, it was a fucking nightmare as the "forest" was basically an excuse for a shit-ton of vines and tangly undergrowth that somehow seemed to be thriving in soil that was composed of 5% earth and 95% sand. 

I was not happy. 

Do you know how difficult it is to cycle in sand?



Four faced Buddha

Its fucking impossible.  Especially with a duff hand that is still numb and a wrist that is screaming at you.  My chain kept coming off my bike, the gears kept slipping and I was having a serious sense of humor failure.  Fortunately, the impending disaster shit-storm of me Losing My Cool was averted in the nick of time when Huy, sensing my mild displeasure, suggested we could finish the rest of the ride to the temple on the road, rather than through the forest.   I don't know what he was thinking - but that pretty much had effed up my wrists for the rest of the day so, at least for me, the cycling became more endurance than pleasure.  Fortunately we didn't have that much left to do - after Ta Phrom, we cycled for a half hour to Angkor Thom before then breaking for lunch and a rest.



Angkor Wha??

ManpanionTM goes all moody and contemplative

As grand as Angkor Wat is, its sheer scale means that -when you're actually inside it - it feels less impressive somehow.  In the hour or so that you are wandering around inside , climbing up lots of stairs and meandering through the cloisters and corridors, you kinda forget where you are and it ends up feeling a bit same-y.  Its difficult to explain - but its a bit like the Grand Canyon.  Its on such a scale, its just too much for your brain to process so, instead it defaults to "yeah, OK, that's pretty nice".  Ta Phrom is much more accessible and, thus, much more enjoyable to visit.   I don't think it really helped that our guide wasn't great - he seemed to just give us a series of potted sound bites ("here's a bas-relief of a crocodile" "here's a woman in childbirth" "here's some Chinese warriors") so we didn't get a really good feel for the story of the place and how it must have been to have lived or worked here.  Which was a shame.  

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy balls, right??

 

 

 

 

 

So cool

 

Look at those crazy kids!!!

 

Ta Phrom

 

Ta Phrom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful pic by ManpanionTM

 

Give him some money and he'll chant a blessing for you

 

 

iPad monks

 

The iconic picture that everyone has to take of Angkor Wat

  

 

 

ManpanionTM and Oscar P. rocking Cambodian fashion

 

Busty lady bas-reliefs - as our guide pointed out, it was good
to be the king!

 

 

Yes - those steps were as steep as they looked.

 

 

After about an hour of exploring, we were pretty done in, so we then headed back out to the van (me with an emergency bathroom stop along the way - which probably explained why I'd been feeling pretty flat and low energy all day - I know, I know - TMI).  We said goodbye to our guide and, declining Huy's offer of "lets ride the 7km back into town" we climbed back into the van and headed back into Siem Reap. 
 
When we got back into town, our last visit was to a local school/workshop where we were taken around a variety of different artisans and shown how the local crafts and art was made.  One room had locals being taught how to carve intricate wooden statues, another stonemasonry, another painting and jewelry making.  Of course, the tour ended in the gift shop (huzzah!) where I bought a couple of pressies plus a beautiful silk scarf for myself and then we finally made it back to the hotel were we crashed out for a rest. 

The statue-making process

ManpanionTM tries out his skill at carving....

After that, it was time for our last dinner with Huy.  It was actually the same one that I remembered from last time - pretty fancy (comparatively speaking) and with decent food, so it was a nice way to finish off our official tour.  We got back to the hotel by about 8.30pm, said our goodbyes to Huy and Ert, gave them their tips and then went out for one last drink before bed.  We went to the Mexican taco place just round the corner from the hotel again - a nice chilled out way to finish the evening! 

So then, that's it - its Thursday and our tour has officially ended.  However - the vacation continues!!!!  We have one more night in Siem Reap before flying to Bangkok on Friday for the weekend, before then finally heading home on Sunday.  While this hasn't been the most relaxing of vacations by far, both ManpanionTM and I feel very proud that we DID IT and we didn't wimp out of any of the cycling but stuck with it, even when it was hot, humid and dusty and we started to question our sanity! 



Getting ready for the Dragon Boat racing...

So Thursday morning, we treated ourselves to a bit of a lie-in (both of us were also a little gastrically challenged), checked out of our hotel and headed out into Siem Reap for lunch.   We found this great little Italian place so we had a lovely pizza!!  Not fish stew or chicken skewers, thank God.  We just couldn't take any more!!  After lunch, we wandered around town for a couple of hours, watching the preparations for that evening's Dragon Boat racing until it got too hot and humid and we headed back to the hotel to check out and transfer to a different hotel for our last night.  I'd booked this one on TripAdvisor too and it was ranked #1 in Siem Reap, so I had high hopes of finding a beautiful tranquil oasis with which to offset the crazy of the town.  We took a tuk-tuk to get to it (which was fun) and, after a couple of false starts, managed to find it off a back road well outside of the center of town.

There must have been at least 50 teams ready to compete

Not quite sure Matt has the right idea....

Listen up, kids.  If you ever see 6 giant ducklings beckoning you
to come down to the riverside, just RUN.....

Oh-er, missus!  That's quite a claim from just one cup of coffee....

It was gorgeous. It was impeccably styled and decorated and exuded calm and serenity - and was a great choice for our last night.  The staff were very hospitable and gracious - making us a welcome drink from a coconut as well as serving us a weird jelly dessert thing as we checked in (and then standing there watching us as we politely ate and drank until we had to just ask for our keys!).  The room was lovely and - after about 10mins - the owner of the hotel himself came by to personally welcome us and to give us a complementary bottle of wine!  We lazed about for a couple of hours watching telly and lying out by the pool, before changing for dinner and some delicious food.  All in all, it was a lovely way to wrap up our time in Cambodia and to spend a few hours well-earned relaxation.

 

 

Tomorrow, its off to Bangkok - and the very last leg of our trip!!  Can't believe its gone so fast!!!