Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ron and I flew two hours on a Vietnamese Airlines turboprop to this town we had last visited in 1997.  We arrived during the rush hour which means hundreds, if not thousands, of motorcycles and tuktuks and cars all sharing the road which have no lanes, just an understanding of who careens around the other and who has right of way.   The air was smoggy and smelled of fires and exhaust.  I was shocked at the enormous changes.  Large ugly hotels lined the road from the airport, which was under construction last time we arrived, by boat.  We were picked up at the airport in a vintage Land Rover and arrived at our hotel, The Angkor Village Hotel, in style.   We were immediately delighted by the beauty and respite from the outside chaos.  Even the air was perfumed which truefully I could have done without.  But the grounds were lovely and intensely tropical with hanging plants like long tendrils hanging from the second story balconies.  Our room had a view over the lotus ponds and we felt fortunate to stay in such a wonderful sanctuary.  Breakfast was huge.  The homemade yogurt in tiny glass bottles and fruit salad was my favorite.  Didn't stop there, had to have perfectly made French omelets and croissant as well.  Fresh juices and jams.   Here, everything is priced in dollars.  I have yet to exchange any money to local Riel.  Funny to see everyone handing over American money.   A large cold draft Cambodian beer cost $1 but a can of soda water cost $1.50... Go figure.  Needless to say we have had our fair share of beer.   At first I was dismayed at the dirt and dust and grime everywhere.  And quickly learned not to venture out at rush hour.  But we slowly got our bearings and walked everywhere and found great small restaurants and local Xpat hang outs.  The Cambodians are very sweet natured and sadly have yet to fully recover from the horrors of Pol Pot.  Most speak a little English but can confuse you to think they know more.  We did meet one interesting man who ran a busy guest house and restaurant.  He spoke great English, had studied in Germany, and was very helpful.   He answered my array of questions and also arranged for a tuktuk driver to take us out to the Angkor Temple complex the next day.  Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples that were built in the early 12th century.  There are ruins spread over more than 400 km, consisting of many sites of ancient terraces, pools, moated cities, palaces, and temples.  The most famous is Angkor Wat.  Even with the number of tourist now, the ruins remain a wonderfully amazing site.  We went out for two days.  And two days of breathing red dust, and climbing steep stairs, and wandering from one site to another is tiring, especially in the heat.  Our driver was nice, and he offered us an individually wrapped cold wet wipe from his cooler each time we returned to the tuktuk.  Other days we just wandered around the town, laid around our pool, and went out for meals.  The week went past easily.   As I packed my rolling duffle, I laughed when the zipper was harder to close.  I now have collected three more pairs of pants, a new skirt, a top, and a dress.  Oh, and four new scarves.