Tropical Storm Tour: Cambodia Part 3
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Siem Reap, Cambodia
A poignant pharmacy sign glows in the gloom in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The entrance to Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
The loud families raged around the swimming pool for five hours again this morning, so I moved into a huge, deluxe room on the fifth floor for the same price as my old room. It was further away from all of the “action” and therefore considerably quieter. A bit later, I rented a good mountain / road hybrid bicycle for only two dollars–by far the best one I’ve ever ridden in a foreign country. It was smooth sailing all the way, in sharp contrast to the usual funky local bicycles with bad geometry that make it difficult to pedal or get any momentum, which makes it nearly impossible to climb up even a slight incline. I just cruised around the streets of Siem Reap at random, trying to get a handle on this town. Foreign visitors pack the city like sardines exploding out of a can due to the presence of the world’s most impressive and legendary temple ruins, Angkor Wat, which is located just outside of town. Of course, that means there is an overabundance of hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, shops, street markets, food stalls and carts to serve them, plus an endless amount of buses, cars, taxi cabs, tuk-tuks, motorcycles and bicycles flying in every direction. It’s so overwhelming and exhausting after you’ve snaked your way through it for a while–especially in the thick, tropical heat.
What are the health benefits of letting fish nibble on your feet? Absolutely none. But, dumb tourists get suckered into doing it anyway.
The nice lady who cut up my pineapple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
I ate lunch at a place called Curry Walla, where I ordered stir fry vegetables with rice, a tiny salad, two spring rolls and a little bit of fruit. At first, they brought out the wrong food, which consisted of meat, curry and naan. Oops! Then they produced the correct food, which was decent, and the staff was super polite. The nearly five dollar price tag was a little high compared to the three dollars I usually spend on meals in Southeast Asia. Later in the evening, I stopped at a roadside stall to eat a before-bedtime snack. I pointed at a small, whole pineapple, and the nice lady spent five minutes cutting it up for me. She even notched out all of the little remaining nobs over the whole thing and sliced it up into bite-sized pieces–all for only one dollar!
Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.