Cambodia

Feels like I have not blogged in a while... because I have not blogged in a while. We have returned from Cambodia and I need to write about it. We had a week off in October and flew into Siem Reap, which turned out to be the perfect spot for us. We stayed the entire time at a very nice hotel called Karavansara. I will review the hotel in a future blog post.

Siem Reap is a small city with great character. The people are amazing; warm and friendly. There were ample restaurants that served a variety of cultural foods from local fare to Mexican and almost anything in between. For being such a small town it seemed like there was a vibrant nightlife, likely a result of the inexpensive ($0.60 US) draft beers and countless pubs. The markets were a shoppers delight; inexpensive (negotiating required) and full of treasures (provided you skip the stalls with the trinkets). The shopping experience is further enhanced by the fact that you can use US dollars for everything.

There was a lot to look at as things are done differently here. It is relaxed; I do not think I saw anyone drive over 20 mph in the city. Mopeds are used for about 90% of travel. It is not unusual to see 3-4 people piled on one, or someone moving something large with one. Trailers are connected to mopeds and used as taxis.

The town is full of two and three story buildings that have a European feel making the town nice to look at. There are many Buddhist temples scattered through out the city, which are filled with interesting architecture. One of the newer ones is Wat Preah Prom Rath which was very close to the hotel and was the subject of a few of my pictures.



 
Of course no trip to Siem Reap would be complete without visiting the ruins of Angkor Wat and the dozens of other ruins close by. Angkor Wat is a part of the Angkor World Heritage Site for good reason. These ruins are impressive in their craftsmanship, their scale and their impact. We spent one day and went to three ruins (Angkor Watt, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm). Feast your eyes on some pictures:

 
Overall, Siem Reap is an amazing vacation destination and has a pull to it that makes me want to move there. It is relaxed and has a deep cultural history and is still modern and fun. I do not feel like 5 days was enough but I feel incredibly lucky that we were able to see this amazing spot in the world.