Chapter 2 - Discovering Siem Reap

We arrived still a little groggy and unsure of our upcoming adventure that awaited us in Siem Reap. The international terminal was still asleep as we walked through the gates, and you could see immigration officers reluctantly putting on their jacket unifoms and walked to their posts to see us through. The sun was already shining in full force though, and the streets outside the airport was bustling with tuk-tuks, small motorcycles and the occasional tourists vans.

The Shinta Mani hotel was nice and cozy, and remains a favourite throughout the trip. The hotel arranged a tuk-tuk for us, and the driver Mr. Kim was our first driver/guide for the day. Life in Siem Reap was centered around Psa'a Cha, the central market; it was our first destination in this town.

Psa'a Cha is a market for the locals, not one of those touristy souvenir types, and we got ourselves lost in between rows of vegetable sellers, walked on wet patches of the fish mongers, watched poultry being cleaned of the insides. Somehow, there was a particular charm about the stinking mish mash smell of various fresh produce that lure us into absorbing our first few hours of Siem Reap. We walked through the market to get comfortable, and before long started to get trigger happy with the camera.


The heat and humidity caught up with T. He began to be drenched in sweat, and experience his first flash of south east asian climate. We quickly discarded our plan for some local Khmer lunch for a taste of the air-conditioned, all familiar Blue Pumpkin Cafe - thus began a love affair with good air conditioning and good middle of the day comfort food. The place serves good western style lunch, with a good bakery and wonderful gelato counter. Kiwi and lime sorbets never tasted so good.

Indochine is almost identical to the Mekong River, and next on the itinerary is the fishing village of Tonle Sap, of Kompong Cheas. We hop onto a boat, a whole boat to ourselves captained by the slightly hung over Khui, who just had a big night of kickboxing and drinking with his friends. These people live a floating life style. Their homes shifted along with the rise and fall of the Mekong water. It needs water to be able to stand.