Siem Reap was charming, like a breath of fresh air! We were booked in the “Two Dragons Guesthouse” and one look at the place and we were in love. Two Dragons is a cozy little guesthouse tucked away in a small lane in Siem Reap. It is away from the din and bustle of the old market and the "Pub street" and so one can spend the night in peace and tranquility and wake up to sounds of traditional Khmer music every morning.
The place is run by Gordon Sharpless - an American married to a Thai. Gordon is the author of “www.talesofasia.com” - which is quite easily the most comprehensive guide to Cambodia. Gordon is sort of a walking, talking guide on anything and everything related to Cambodia. An extensively traveled gentleman, his experience was of great help to us and we kept asking for his recommendations on a lot of things.
We had the second biggest room in the guesthouse and it was an absolute de
light. We had opted for a fan room and it was a lovely, spacious room with all modern amenities like a fridge, ensuite bathroom with hot shower, a TV and two huge beds which could comfortably accommodate two people on one. We paid 22USD per night for this room. There was a very interesting menu in the room where the first few pages were dedicated to food and the last few pages to hilarious signs which were actually observed at hotels around the world. It is a good testament of the sense of humor of the owner.
Two Dragons has a wonderful café where we spent a lot of time in between our temple visits. The restaurant serves up delicious thai, khmer and European delicacies. The breakfast options are named – Big Dragon breakfast, little dragon breakfast and baby dragon breakfast. Mind you, the Big Dragon is exactly that – BIG. What I liked best was their Hot Chocolate. It was to die for. According to my non-vegetarian friend the Lok Lak - which is a beef preparation is quite nice as well.
We could only spend one evening on the famous pub street in Siem Reap because the temples would tire us a lot. But it was a treat. I simply loved the place. Influences of European culture are quite predominant in the fabric of Siem Reap. Absolutely not to be missed is the Angkor What? bar. The name of this place had intrigued us since the time we were leaving for our trip. So Angkor What? was on our list since the very beginning. And our excitement paid off quite well!Angkor What? is a crazily done up place. Bright colours on the walls and patrons are given markers so the graffitti on the walls is generated by the patrons. The music is popular rock. It’s a great place for people watching and the drinks are economical too – atleast compared to India.
Angkor What? is only a bar, so we had to search for a place to satisfy our rumbling tummies and we found heaven at Red Piano. It is a tastefully done up restaurant which serves up really nice pasta. The restaurant has a special cocktail dedicated to Angelina Jolie and you will find many other influences of Ms Jolie there. The food and the ambience are truly amazing. We took up a table overlooking the street and enjoyed some really nice wine and food there.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Beautiful Siem Reap!
My Big Fat International Holiday!
The Crazy Start
It was that time of the year again when my creative juices were failing me and all I needed was a break. This time, however, the break was planned well in advance at the beginning of the year as me and two of my friends were to experience our first international vacation. Us three musketeers set out on a 2 week long trip first to soak in the beautiful temple ruins of Angkor and then to relax at the gorgeous beaches of Thailand and lived to tell our tale. So here goes.
Two of us began our journey from Mumbai International Airport at 11:30 pm on a Thai Airways flight from Mumbai to Bangkok on Dec 14, 2007. Our friend began her journey from the other corner of the world – US of A on a similar Thai Airways flight from LA to Bangkok. Our flights were to reach Bangkok early in the morning with a difference of about one odd hour between the two landings. The Mumbai flight landed on time, but the LA flight just refused to come. Two of us were at the departure terminal of Bangkok airport from 5:30 in the morning till 12:00 in the afternoon after which we were joined by our friend and we continued to stay at the airport till about 3:30 in the afternoon. We finally bid farewell to our “beloved” airport and left on an adventurous journey from Bangkok to Cambodia in a cab. We paid 3000 THB for our journey from Bangkok to Aranyapeth.
The Thailand – Cambodia border on the Thai side is called Aranyapeth while that on the Cambodia side is called Poipet. The Bangkok to Aranyapeth ride was a breeze. We had our guesthouse arrange for a pick-up for us from Poipet to Siem Reap so we had someone waiting for us while we waited patiently for immigration clearance. Not that any of us look liked terrorists, but the immigration officer was somehow fascinated with all our passports and took his own sweet time to clear all of us. As we entered Poipet we were met by a stark change in the countryside, peppered with casinos, glimpses of extreme poverty and lack of infrastructure. It is said that they are trying to develop Poipet as the Las Vegas of the east. If you ask me, they have a long way to go.
We were escorted by our man Friday to our car where we were handed over to our driver. Then the strangest of things started happening. First the driver decided he needed to fill gas. Poipet offered retail options for gas we had never seen before – not even in India. 
Gas was sold in make-shift shacks and was pumped through hand-made instruments. As if this was not enough to fascinate us, the driver started shaking the car once the gas was filled. We had no clue what was going on and could not help but laugh about all that was happening around us. It was also getting dark and we wanted to leave. We made sure that the driver understood the fact that we were not to stop anywhere now until we reach Siem Reap. Little did we know that there WAS nowhere we could stop before Siem Reap. Thus began an adventurous, hectic and the most treacherous journey I have undertaken in my life. The road from Poipet to Siem Reap was the most back-breaking road I have ever been on. In fact, it was no road at all. Just miles and miles of dusty, uneven roads with massive potholes, mountains of dust acting as speed breakers – landing from one of these felt as if we landed in a deep pit from a mountain.
But come Siem Reap, we were in for a refreshing change. The first thing one my friends exclaimed on arriving in Siem Reap was – “Oh this place has roads!!”. This trip cost us 45 USD and unless you are the adventurous kind, I would not recommend taking this road-trip. For anyone wanting to go from Bangkok to Siem Reap, I suggest take the flight!! But mind you the flight is very expensive – one of the reasons why we decided on the road-trip.
Well, thankfully, the rest of our trip was quite unlike our first day – things had already started to look up as we entered Siem Reap.
Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Thailand, Bangkok, roadtrip, Aranyapeth, Poipet
