Cambodia: Siem Reap

We visited Cambodia during the Lunar "Chinese" New Year from February 12-17, which is a holiday that most of Asia celebrates. We stayed in a city called Siem Reap and found it to be so different from anywhere else we've been before. This is the only city that we've been to that had no McDonald's, Starbucks, or any other chain that we're used to seeing when we travel. We weren't able to drink the water (we don't drink the water in Korea either, so we're used to it) and had to brush our teeth using bottled water, but this was the first place we heard we shouldn't drink the milk because they don't pasteurize it...this made for very dark coffee in the morning! Siem Reap is actually a huge tourist city because of the famous temple complex Angkor Wat, so we had no problems finding a variety of really nice restaurants to eat at. Another thing we found surprising is that they use mostly US dollars! Even the locals buy things using dollars, but they don't use US coins. Instead, you get change back in Cambodian money for things less than a dollar.

Bike Ride: One day, we rented bikes for a $1/day and explored the outskirts of the city.
We rode passed many rice fields that had water buffalo and cows grazing.

One of the few paved roads in Siem Reap.

We also rode down many dirt roads and were able to see the local people and their houses.

This is the main river that runs through the city.

Video: Here's a video of us riding by the rice fields.

Video: Here's another video. This one is of us riding through the neighborhoods. Most of the houses are built on stilts and the people live not only in the house, but also spend a lot of time underneath laying on hammocks, etc.

Riding through the city, we found a beautiful tree-covered street.
Oddities We Found Interesting:

Tuk Tuks are the main mode of transportation with locals and tourists.

Transporting cushions on a scooter!

The majority of houses were small straw huts built on stilts.

We did see some nice concrete houses, too.

The power lines were held up by sticks.

In front of many houses there are hand-pumped wells....next to many of these wells there are signs that show who donated money to help build the well. They were from all over the world, but most were from Americans like this one.

Florida English School!

Apsara Traditional Dancing: We enjoyed watching the Apsara dancing performance one night during dinner.

Old Market and Pub Street:

Pub Street was lined with tons of Italian, French, Mexican, and Cambodian restaurants.

Off of Pub St. were small alleyways filled with outside restaurants. We loved walking around here at night...it really had a great atmosphere!

Great street food, too.

Cambodian Khmer Food: spring rolls, beef with green peppers and onions, and fish amok all served in banana leaves. Most of their food is made with coconut milk, so it has more of a sweet flavor. We thought it was all delicious.

Chicken curry with coconut milk is also very popular.

Stir-fry noodles with chicken and veggies, chicken and cashew nuts, mango shakes...yummm!

We can't get Mexican food easily here in Korea, so we really took advantage of the Mexican restaurant on Pub Street and ate there a couple of nights for dinner.

The Blue Pumpkin was a daily stop for us. They had great ice cream and pastries, plus it was one of the only places besides our hotel room with AC. (It was humid and about 97 degrees F.)

Angkor Spirit Palace: We LOVED our hotel! It was a little bit out of the city and surrounded by rice fields. Plus, it used to be a cultural center in the 80's to teach Cambodians how to do the Apsara dancing, so it's decor was really authentic!

Us outside our hotel.

The hotel provided tuk tuks to take guests into the town center for free.

Our room was by far the biggest hotel room we've ever stayed in. It had 2 queen beds that only took up about a quarter of the room. It also had a nice, modern bathroom.

Cows grazing the rice fields next door to our hotel.

Sunset from our hotel room.

A hallway with a Buddha statue that led to our room.

In front of a different Buddha statue in the lobby, the hotel staff put out a display of food and drinks to serve Buddha for Lunar New Year...including a roasted pig! One of the guests thought the food was for everyone to eat...oops!

We ate breakfast every morning on this breezeway on the third floor over looking the pool and garden.

The pool and garden at our hotel.

Enjoying mojitos by the pool!