A Day Off in Siem Reap

The ‘Old Market’ at Siem Reap

I am aware, dear reader, that once again I have been somewhat lackadaisical in my reporting of events on this trip. I shall do my best to rectify this now. Today was a rare day off from our travels and excursions. Much of it was spent updating reports for previous days and, when not doing this, reading by the pool. All in all, it was a good day. My only complaint is that, frankly, the sunbeds by the pool are rubbish! They are extremely uncomfortable which, for a sunbed on which one is expecting to relax, is not good! However, management have been informed.

Fruit and Veg at the Old Market

We did decide to visit the ‘Old Market’ in the town of Siem Reap today. Markets do seem to have been a bit of a feature of this holiday, but they are generally quite fun and do provide a welcome distraction from temples from time to time! The Old Market is quite a fun market. It sells everything from clothes to souvenirs to fruit and vegetables and street food for eating ‘on the spot’ as it were. Keeping in mind the state of our lower orders we decided that street food would probably not be wise today. The hotel did, this morning, give us all some ginger and honey tea which definitely improved how we felt, although hasn’t completely eliminated the problem. Captain Clarke has now not eaten for 24 hours!!! This is unheard of and must, surely, be in indication of how matters have been.

Captain Clark with a small G&T

Having visited the market, we decided we should partake in a small libation. We stopped off at a small bar, (I’m afraid I don’t recall the name of it), in the rather aptly named, ‘Pub Street’. It really kind of does what it says – it is full of bars. Apparently at night this street becomes a bit of a party street with hundreds of youths drinking and dancing in the streets – we certainly won’t be encouraging anything of the sort. The bar opposite the one in which we took our libation does seem to describe things rather succinctly. Over the door there is a sign which says, ‘Actively Encouraging Irresponsible Drinking since 1999’. Hmm, I think that gives us a flavour of the sorts of establishments there are in this street. We shall vacate immediately. Having said that, two things are of note; firstly, Captain Clarke must be feeling a little better as he felt he could partake in a small gin and tonic and, secondly, this must be the cheapest gin and tonic I have ever bought at a cost of about 60 pence each!

Packing up from work!

You certainly see some sights here in Cambodia. I have been taking some photographs of a variety of vehicles – all loosely based on the trusty motorbike. There are more in the gallery, but this photograph on the right is a small motorbike with a huge trailer which not only ends up carrying about six people, but it also has bags of cement, ballast and builders rubble in it too. I am rather inclined to think that those people who may be packing up and going home in Lingfield or Norwich, (or indeed any other part of the UK), have things somewhat easier than they imagine! It is worth looking at the very blurred photo in the gallery of the motorbike, (no trailer), with seven people on it!! I had very little time to get a camera out and take the photograph, but have kept it just because there are so many people on it!

The aptly named, ‘Pub Street’ in Siem Reap

And so to the evening. We decided to eat in the town of Siem Reap rather than at the hotel this evening. We took a Tuk Tuk into town and walked around a few restaurants before eventually deciding to return to the restaurant called ‘Aha’ that we had visited yesterday and where we had eaten, amongst other things, dried snake. They welcomed us back and gave us a very nice table near to the kitchen, (which is open so that diners can see the food preparation). I would have liked to have had the dried snake again as I had really rather enjoyed it, but the waiter persuaded me to try alternatives instead. I wasn’t displeased with these, but would still have liked to have had the dried snake though! Captain Clarke appears to have recovered somewhat. He managed to force down a starter of three different cheeses served in three different ways, a bowl of gazpacho and crab soup followed by a fillet of salmon served on a bed of coconut and vegetables, (apparently the sauce wasn’t that nice), so I think he’ll live!

Tomorrow we will return to Bangkok to complete our tour of the Far East. We are somewhat looking forward to getting back to Bangkok. Madame Cholet is particularly looking forward to another dance with our very rich tailor! We are all looking forward to the dinner cruise on the river Chao Phraya in Bangkok tomorrow evening and I am looking forward to another day off on Friday! Having said that, we have all enjoyed Cambodia. For me, I think I have enjoyed it slightly more than Lao – I have enjoyed everywhere we have been, but I particularly like Cambodia. The people of Cambodia have suffered the most incredible and horrific atrocities yet, throughout everything, they maintain a dignified and positive attitude. I honestly think I have seen more smiles in Cambodia than almost anywhere else I have been in the world! And so, my friends, to bed. I must sleep and dream of the wonderful sights and smells of Cambodia before we depart once again tomorrow for Thailand. I sum up the people of Cambodia with one of my favourite sayings … ‘Always look on the bright side of life!’ It’s RudyMenTerry!

View the photo gallery for this post here