My experiences in Siem Reap
Door: Demi Dawn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Demi
25 Januari 2019 | Cambodja, Khett Siem Reab
Today marks my last day in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The past few days have gone back and forth between being stressful and relaxing and I am looking forward to moving on to my next destination.
On Monday morning, at 7:30 AM, I took the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap. The trip was supposed to be about 8 hours and I must say, altogether, it went quite smoothly. The bus company provided us with breakfast and lunch, which I had not anticipated, and even crossing the border was a-okay. Nonetheless, 8 hours is quite a long sit and when we approached Siem Reap I was getting more and more excited. What would it be like? Would it be like Bangkok? Better? I was looking forward to all the fun things I could do in this new city I had never been to before. However, when we were about 10 minutes away from the city center, I felt like this city may not live up to my expectations. The roads were a lot messier than they had been in Bangkok, there was a lot of litter and I felt like Bangkok had been a lot nicer. Nonetheless, I tried to have an open mind even when the city center was also messy and relatively dirty.
At this point, I just wanted to go to my hotel. One thing you need to know (this becomes important several times later) is that the hotel I'd booked, "JaMe Hotel & Spa" had two branches in Siem Reap: "JaMe Hotel & Spa 1" and "JaMe Hotel & Spa 2". Naturally, I had checked several times which one I had booked and it was JaMe 1, which was about 10 minutes walking distance from the bus stop. So far, so good.
We got to the stop, I grabbed my backpack and decided to set out. For a split second I thought I should check if I actually grabbed the right bag, but when I looked around the pile of bags, nobody had the same one as me (a black Mountain Warehouse backpack) and it seemed like too much hassle to take it off, so I just assumed I was fine. Usually I am too paranoid not to double check these things, but at this point I was just too tired.
In about 10 minutes I reached my hotel and I wanted to check in. At this point, I should also mention that on the same day, the hotel had sent me a message, saying "hello" and nothing else. I'd figured it was a mistake. However, when I tried to check in, the lady at the desk told me they'd transferred me to JaMe 2 because JaMe 1 was full. I was super annoyed, even more so when she told me that JaMe2 was a 30 minute walk. Luckily though, she grabbed me a Tuk Tuk and one of the hotel personnel (a guy) came with me. The guy tried to have a conversation with me and while I was polite, I was just not having it. Then, I looked at my bag. I saw a lock. I don't have a lock on my bag. My heart sank. At first I thought maybe somebody'd put a lock on my bag but then I opened a smaller pocket of the bag and I saw it was not my stuff. Freaking out, I told the Tuk Tuk driver to go back to the bus terminal; surely somebody had left my bag there and was waiting for theirs.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. No bag was to be found at the terminal. I left a card of the hotel and I was mostly just grateful it was only my clothes and not my passport, credit cards or phone that was lost. I was annoyed but also felt like my bag should turn up (after all, somebody out there was missing their bag also) so I just went to buy some toiletries and clothes and discovered the neighborhood for a bit.
While I was walking back to the hotel, mr. Tuk Tuk driver came driving past me and said: "Hey lady! Your bag was found, I just got a call!" So, he drove me back to the bus terminal and there was my bag. :) The girl who brought it was super apologetic but obviously we'll never know who took the wrong bag first so we both just ended up apologizing to each other several times. Mostly, I was just happy to have my bag back. :) So far, day 1.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful, I just spent the day discovering the city, and booking a trip to Angkor Wat (Buddhist/Hindu temples, the reason I went to Siem Reap) the next day. I'd booked the Sunrise tour as I heard that the temple looked phenomenal during sunrise and sunset so I felt like I couldn't miss this, even if it meant waking up at 03:45 AM. In the evening I had dinner with a girl I'd met in Kanchanaburi and, as the tour for Wednesday required me to wake up at 03:45 AM, I went to bed at 9:30 PM.
My impression of Siem Reap at that point was (and remained) that it is a fairly underdeveloped city still which aims to be like Bangkok. I personally like Bangkok a lot more and I also felt a lot safer there than I do here. Something I really find strange and slightly annoying is the Tuk Tuk drivers here. In Bangkok, they just left me alone. Here, Tuk Tuk drivers all say the same thing: "Hey lady, want Tuk Tuk?". Now, this wouldn't be so annoying if they asked this while passing by because for all they know I may actually need a Tuk Tuk. However, it is only the Tuk Tuk drivers that are standing still that ask this. This just confuses me so much; if I just walked past your huge Tuk Tuk, it is inevitable that I saw it and if I needed a ride, I would ask. However, the Tuk Tuk drivers here seem to think that I am not seeing their huge Tuk Tuks and so they proceed to ask me every. Single. Time. If I, lady, want a Tuk Tuk. My most used phrase (probably around 100 times in the past 4 days) is "No, thank you". It's really kind of annoying, but I guess that's how things are here.
On Wednesday, I was supposed to be picked up from my hotel at 04:10 AM for my Angkor Wat Sunrise Tour so I was in the lobby by 04:05 AM. 04:10 came and passed. Then 04:20. Then 04:30. Then 04:40. In Thailand, I'd always gotten picked up half an hour late for tours but this tour was a specific "Angkor Wat Sunrise Tour" and therefore is kind of... You know... Bound to a certain time. I emailed the tour company, texted them, WhatsApped them and by 05:20 I just called them. Luckily, somebody picked up. I explained the situation and the simple response was: "Oh yeah, our guide says he came to your hotel but you were not there. He talked to the receptionist and they called your room but you didn't come." What. The. Actual... I immediately got furious and said that I had woken up at 03:45 and that I had been there for almost 1.5 hours and that there was no receptionist at the desk so there is no way the guide spoke to the receptionist. In any case, I was going to miss the sunrise and so it really wasn't worth it to me anymore. At first I said I wanted my money back but then I asked to go on Friday, instead. I must have repeated: "This cannot happen again" like five times because, you know, not getting picked up for a tour is one thing, but having woken up for it at 03:45 AM brings it to a whole other level. The guy was very apologetic and he ended up moving the tour to Friday.
Grumpily I went to bed at 05:40 AM, trying to forget this had happened to me. At this point, I really didn't like Siem Reap. As smoothly as things had gone in Bangkok, they seemed that much more difficult over here.
At 07:00 AM I booked a cooking class for the afternoon, seeing as I'd had no prior engagements and I was going to do this on Friday, it seemed like a good idea to flip the schedule. I also sent an e-mail to the Angkor Wat company asking for a new ticket. As it turns out, the guide went to JaMe 1. Why the receptionist there would say that I was actually staying there is a freaking mystery to me, but at least we can see that having two hotels with the same name does.not.work. To make matters worse, when I had made the reservation I had reiterated twice that I was staying at JaMe 2 (with the address and everything). Anyhow, I got my new ticket so I was happy.
In the afternoon, I went to get a cooking class. Expecting to meet some people, I excitedly went in, only to be told that I was "the only one who signed up today". On the one hand, I was excited to get a private cooking class but on the other it made me feel so much more nervous as I am not an excellent cook and it felt like there was a lot of pressure to perform. However, it really was not that hard. :) We made fresh spring rolls, amok fish (fish and egg with curry) and fried banana with coconut milk. I felt kind of Koos Vriendloos eating the food by myself, but I did feel like it was a very useful class and I am very proud of how well it went. :) I actually really enjoyed myself and I may try a cooking class in one of the next cities I visit.
On Thursday, I had a chill day. I got a very fancy breakfast, had a manicure, watched movies, laid by the pool and just enjoyed myself. Uneventful but so nice. :) There was a 50 year old guy who, unfortunately, talked to me for a long time at the pool and then wanted to get me a drink. When I said no and left, he wanted to get my Facebook details. Unfortunately, that kind of made me feel like I couldn't go back to the pool anymore as I didn't want to deal with him. While he had been nice, him asking for my Facebook and offering to get me a drink made me super uncomfortable. Luckily, I am leaving pretty soon. :)
Today is Friday. I know you are wondering: "Did you get picked up for the tour this time??". Yes, I did. I woke up at 03:45 AM again (such a holiday!) and this time I got picked up on time. I went to see Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (jungle temple) and Bayon Temple (temple with 216 faces). The whole tour was really nice and the sights were so beautiful. I will upload a few (of the 500) pictures I took so you can admire the beauty of these temples. I can spend some time writing about them but I'll let the pictures do the talking. :)
In the afternoon, I had a nice foot massage and now I am enjoying a nice meal. Tomorrow, I will fly to Ho Chi Minh and continue my adventures in Vietnam.
With love,
Demi.
On Monday morning, at 7:30 AM, I took the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap. The trip was supposed to be about 8 hours and I must say, altogether, it went quite smoothly. The bus company provided us with breakfast and lunch, which I had not anticipated, and even crossing the border was a-okay. Nonetheless, 8 hours is quite a long sit and when we approached Siem Reap I was getting more and more excited. What would it be like? Would it be like Bangkok? Better? I was looking forward to all the fun things I could do in this new city I had never been to before. However, when we were about 10 minutes away from the city center, I felt like this city may not live up to my expectations. The roads were a lot messier than they had been in Bangkok, there was a lot of litter and I felt like Bangkok had been a lot nicer. Nonetheless, I tried to have an open mind even when the city center was also messy and relatively dirty.
At this point, I just wanted to go to my hotel. One thing you need to know (this becomes important several times later) is that the hotel I'd booked, "JaMe Hotel & Spa" had two branches in Siem Reap: "JaMe Hotel & Spa 1" and "JaMe Hotel & Spa 2". Naturally, I had checked several times which one I had booked and it was JaMe 1, which was about 10 minutes walking distance from the bus stop. So far, so good.
We got to the stop, I grabbed my backpack and decided to set out. For a split second I thought I should check if I actually grabbed the right bag, but when I looked around the pile of bags, nobody had the same one as me (a black Mountain Warehouse backpack) and it seemed like too much hassle to take it off, so I just assumed I was fine. Usually I am too paranoid not to double check these things, but at this point I was just too tired.
In about 10 minutes I reached my hotel and I wanted to check in. At this point, I should also mention that on the same day, the hotel had sent me a message, saying "hello" and nothing else. I'd figured it was a mistake. However, when I tried to check in, the lady at the desk told me they'd transferred me to JaMe 2 because JaMe 1 was full. I was super annoyed, even more so when she told me that JaMe2 was a 30 minute walk. Luckily though, she grabbed me a Tuk Tuk and one of the hotel personnel (a guy) came with me. The guy tried to have a conversation with me and while I was polite, I was just not having it. Then, I looked at my bag. I saw a lock. I don't have a lock on my bag. My heart sank. At first I thought maybe somebody'd put a lock on my bag but then I opened a smaller pocket of the bag and I saw it was not my stuff. Freaking out, I told the Tuk Tuk driver to go back to the bus terminal; surely somebody had left my bag there and was waiting for theirs.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. No bag was to be found at the terminal. I left a card of the hotel and I was mostly just grateful it was only my clothes and not my passport, credit cards or phone that was lost. I was annoyed but also felt like my bag should turn up (after all, somebody out there was missing their bag also) so I just went to buy some toiletries and clothes and discovered the neighborhood for a bit.
While I was walking back to the hotel, mr. Tuk Tuk driver came driving past me and said: "Hey lady! Your bag was found, I just got a call!" So, he drove me back to the bus terminal and there was my bag. :) The girl who brought it was super apologetic but obviously we'll never know who took the wrong bag first so we both just ended up apologizing to each other several times. Mostly, I was just happy to have my bag back. :) So far, day 1.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful, I just spent the day discovering the city, and booking a trip to Angkor Wat (Buddhist/Hindu temples, the reason I went to Siem Reap) the next day. I'd booked the Sunrise tour as I heard that the temple looked phenomenal during sunrise and sunset so I felt like I couldn't miss this, even if it meant waking up at 03:45 AM. In the evening I had dinner with a girl I'd met in Kanchanaburi and, as the tour for Wednesday required me to wake up at 03:45 AM, I went to bed at 9:30 PM.
My impression of Siem Reap at that point was (and remained) that it is a fairly underdeveloped city still which aims to be like Bangkok. I personally like Bangkok a lot more and I also felt a lot safer there than I do here. Something I really find strange and slightly annoying is the Tuk Tuk drivers here. In Bangkok, they just left me alone. Here, Tuk Tuk drivers all say the same thing: "Hey lady, want Tuk Tuk?". Now, this wouldn't be so annoying if they asked this while passing by because for all they know I may actually need a Tuk Tuk. However, it is only the Tuk Tuk drivers that are standing still that ask this. This just confuses me so much; if I just walked past your huge Tuk Tuk, it is inevitable that I saw it and if I needed a ride, I would ask. However, the Tuk Tuk drivers here seem to think that I am not seeing their huge Tuk Tuks and so they proceed to ask me every. Single. Time. If I, lady, want a Tuk Tuk. My most used phrase (probably around 100 times in the past 4 days) is "No, thank you". It's really kind of annoying, but I guess that's how things are here.
On Wednesday, I was supposed to be picked up from my hotel at 04:10 AM for my Angkor Wat Sunrise Tour so I was in the lobby by 04:05 AM. 04:10 came and passed. Then 04:20. Then 04:30. Then 04:40. In Thailand, I'd always gotten picked up half an hour late for tours but this tour was a specific "Angkor Wat Sunrise Tour" and therefore is kind of... You know... Bound to a certain time. I emailed the tour company, texted them, WhatsApped them and by 05:20 I just called them. Luckily, somebody picked up. I explained the situation and the simple response was: "Oh yeah, our guide says he came to your hotel but you were not there. He talked to the receptionist and they called your room but you didn't come." What. The. Actual... I immediately got furious and said that I had woken up at 03:45 and that I had been there for almost 1.5 hours and that there was no receptionist at the desk so there is no way the guide spoke to the receptionist. In any case, I was going to miss the sunrise and so it really wasn't worth it to me anymore. At first I said I wanted my money back but then I asked to go on Friday, instead. I must have repeated: "This cannot happen again" like five times because, you know, not getting picked up for a tour is one thing, but having woken up for it at 03:45 AM brings it to a whole other level. The guy was very apologetic and he ended up moving the tour to Friday.
Grumpily I went to bed at 05:40 AM, trying to forget this had happened to me. At this point, I really didn't like Siem Reap. As smoothly as things had gone in Bangkok, they seemed that much more difficult over here.
At 07:00 AM I booked a cooking class for the afternoon, seeing as I'd had no prior engagements and I was going to do this on Friday, it seemed like a good idea to flip the schedule. I also sent an e-mail to the Angkor Wat company asking for a new ticket. As it turns out, the guide went to JaMe 1. Why the receptionist there would say that I was actually staying there is a freaking mystery to me, but at least we can see that having two hotels with the same name does.not.work. To make matters worse, when I had made the reservation I had reiterated twice that I was staying at JaMe 2 (with the address and everything). Anyhow, I got my new ticket so I was happy.
In the afternoon, I went to get a cooking class. Expecting to meet some people, I excitedly went in, only to be told that I was "the only one who signed up today". On the one hand, I was excited to get a private cooking class but on the other it made me feel so much more nervous as I am not an excellent cook and it felt like there was a lot of pressure to perform. However, it really was not that hard. :) We made fresh spring rolls, amok fish (fish and egg with curry) and fried banana with coconut milk. I felt kind of Koos Vriendloos eating the food by myself, but I did feel like it was a very useful class and I am very proud of how well it went. :) I actually really enjoyed myself and I may try a cooking class in one of the next cities I visit.
On Thursday, I had a chill day. I got a very fancy breakfast, had a manicure, watched movies, laid by the pool and just enjoyed myself. Uneventful but so nice. :) There was a 50 year old guy who, unfortunately, talked to me for a long time at the pool and then wanted to get me a drink. When I said no and left, he wanted to get my Facebook details. Unfortunately, that kind of made me feel like I couldn't go back to the pool anymore as I didn't want to deal with him. While he had been nice, him asking for my Facebook and offering to get me a drink made me super uncomfortable. Luckily, I am leaving pretty soon. :)
Today is Friday. I know you are wondering: "Did you get picked up for the tour this time??". Yes, I did. I woke up at 03:45 AM again (such a holiday!) and this time I got picked up on time. I went to see Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (jungle temple) and Bayon Temple (temple with 216 faces). The whole tour was really nice and the sights were so beautiful. I will upload a few (of the 500) pictures I took so you can admire the beauty of these temples. I can spend some time writing about them but I'll let the pictures do the talking. :)
In the afternoon, I had a nice foot massage and now I am enjoying a nice meal. Tomorrow, I will fly to Ho Chi Minh and continue my adventures in Vietnam.
With love,
Demi.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
