day 5 - siem reap, cambodia

day 5 was a whole lotta traveling - from hanoi to vientiane (laos) to phnom penh and finally to siem reap. they don't have a direct from hanoi to siem reap, but we made the mistake of getting the ticket to phnom penh, not realizing that it's a 5-hour bus ride to siem reap. thus, our first flight was at 8:30am and we arrived at 2:30pm. here's a peek at the airport in phnom penh and some beer i grabbed in between flights at phnom penh:

and here are before/after shots at siem reap:



after checking in to our hotel (kool, natch), the front desk manager gave us the tip that buying an all-day pass at angkor wat enables one to catch sunset the day before, so we hit the road via tuk tuk and made the trek to phnom bakheng hill to catch the last remaining rays of light.



i had no idea that a vast number of tourists make the pilgrimage to angkor wat, so the complex was a near zoo. when you arrive, your tuk tuk driver agrees to wait until you're done, so here's a shot of where they all park. even the elephants...



after about a 3/4 mile hike up the hill, we arrive at phnom bakheng, where one scrambles upwards multiple sets of really steep staircases, with some stairs jutting out a scant three inches. but once atop, you're rewarded with quite the spectacular view of the sunset - that is, if you can tolerate the hundreds of others all up in your grill. luckily my parkour skills enabled me to secure a great spot right on the precipice. bottom right is a nice reciprocal photo of a hot air balloon on one side and the sun on the other:




we headed into town in search of some good local grub, and everybody seemed to direct us to pub street - a sort of cambodian third street promenade if you will - loaded with bars and restaurants of all types of cuisine. this menu is almost laughable at the prices, so you're damn sure i made a beeline here. fried rice w/beef for one dollar? are you kidding me? not only that, but i saw a guy with a t-shirt that said lowell high school chess team. for those unfamiliar w/san francisco, lowell is the public high school i couldn't get into due to my grades (and no, my GPA was over 4.0 i'll have you know), so i had to say something to this lad. turns out he was from cambodia, but mentioned his uncle "lives in USA" and went there, so i told him he's got a smart @$$ uncle. he thanked me as i muttered bad things about lowell for not granting me admission, but hey that's another story altogether...




dessert took us to a place called the blue pumpkin, which was akin to a suped up pinkberry except as a bakery and ice creamery. i opted for the pistachio mousse, which had shards of pineapple and a coconut macaron crust. dare i say the bomb shiz? decide for yourself...

lastly, a nightcap at the 2nd floor bar the red piano, a place that angelina jolie and the 'tomb raider II' cast/crew made famous when they spent many a drunken night here after a day's filming.

one thing that has really stuck with me this past week is the incredible kindness that the hosts in hanoi and somehow even more so in siem reap have exhibited during our short time here. everybody couldn't be more lovely, and they really go out of their way to make you feel at home. it's a lesson i wish more from the USA could adopt, as it's a shame that our self absorption and at times air of superiority prevents us from truly learning from other cultures...