Siem Reap day one

Despite the closeness of the room and the aircon blaring down on top of me freezing my bones I slept real well and woke to find that I hadnt been bitten to,pieces by the myriad of tiny bugs that were in my room.  The "functional" shower was just that.  One step up to our bush shower from Kenya but not what shoudl really be classified as a shower.

Off I trot to breakfast in a lovely restaurant surrounded by ponds, greenery and beautiful carvings.  The menu is a large beautifully done board and provides about 10 options, nine of which are western meal options. A dissappointment for me but I settle on a banana pancake which was huge, stodgy and falvourless.  The coffee was different but I think I could get used to it.  Potent, thick and black.   No coffee making facilites in the room sadly, but then I didnt expect to find them in HCMC either.

It takes a while to make myself understood but I eventually manage to book a temple tour for tomorrow, a massage (my complimentary one) for this evening, a cookery class on Sunday and a bus ticket to Bangkok on the Monday.  In each case I have no idea what I have booked as no one really knew what I was asking or what each imvolved.  Oh well all part of the adventure. 

Time to set off and despite checking through all the brochures over breakfast can't seem to see anything in the township that I want to do except maybe check out the nightlife and the night markets (of which there are many).  So I go wandering.  Many restaurants I would like to check out and that I will do over the next few days although the hotel restaurant has rave reviews too.  Otherwise not a lot of interest, next time I will try the other direcetion.   But I have to say that there are many beautiful looking hotels and a really neat eating area called The Alley which I will return to.

                            

Supermarket found I get a few supplies and head back to the hotel and on impulse I ask if they have a bigger  room.  I am now lying on a rather large twin bed next to another rather large twin bed, looking out to my balcony which overlooks a garden. I have just used the bathroom where the shower alone is the  size of the entire bathroom of room 40.  I can swing a cat, in fact many cats and do.  I no linger have to jump off the bed into the bathroom.  It has multiple power plugs, a tv set and dvd player.  All for the same price.  I only have two nights here then will move to another similar room without the balcony but thats OK.  And they arent charging me any more so I suspect they were expecting me to ask to be moved.   The other room really was a dive.  But $20 aint much.

Feeling far better about being here I have a wee rest.  I am on holiday after all.  Read a bit, catch up on emails, blogs that sort of stuff before I head off to check out the old markets.  Not to different from the new markets, or any other market.  Food at one end, cheap stuff at the other.  

                               

I was on a search for cotton tops that might be a little coler than those I have with me.  Knowing a reasonable amount about fabrics I was getting increasingly annoyed at the vendors who kept trying to tell me that their fabrics were cotton and clealry were not.  I eventually decide that rayon was going to have to do and priced a few garments. A lovely lady quoted $8 or $6 if 8 bought two.  That means I could probably get them both for $8 or $10.  I wander on and find exact same top in nicer colours.  How much?  Calculator comes out, as it does, nd she plugs in $25 for one.  At that stage I lost my rag and left and continued my walk.  Far better to soend money in food than clothes that really had no room in my bag anyway.

So I stop at "the Paper Tiger" for lunch.  Banana Flower Salad, Mango Salad or Green Papaya salad.  The waitress suggests I go with the banana which was nice enough but nothing I got excited over, still very refrshing.  

While I am sitting there I am approached by a multitude of kids trying to sell me 10 postcards for $1.00.  They are everywhere around town.  I have no need for 10 postcards so shoo them away.  But there is one persistent wee soul, with a huge smile and big eyes who speaks great English. She starts telling me jokes and then asks if I want to buy a book. Its one I want to read so we start the haggling.  From $10 I get it for $5.  I'm happy and she is happy.  She moves on after ine last try with the postcards.  A few minutes later another wee lass appears.  Again speaks great English and tries to sell me the book.  I show her that I have ine already and she tells me I should have bought two. But I only need one if them I tell her.  Oh no that other girl sells two for $10.  The two being the first and second book of the series.  So the negotiation starts again.  I didnt relent this time as it was only the one that I wanted and now I have it and no space in the suitcase.  Full marks for both of them for trying.  I suspect they may be sister trying to run some sort of tourist trap.  The book looks kosher but who knows.

                               

Hot and tired and time for another rest I return to the hotel for a nap.  Murphys bloody law.  Now in the middle of my siesta they start repairing something downstairs.  Maybe it was in room 40.  No point in trying to sleep I wander off again.  This time to the original night markets.  Now this is the sort of market I like.  Purpose built with each stall in its own rondavel type structure, proper paths bewteen each stall, a food hall, a bar in the centre and the wares of a much higher quality than the other markets.  It was lovely.

Hunger beckons and I return back to the Alley to the Khymer BBQ Restaurant wheree at lunch time I was impressed by a young kid working there.  He spoke beautiful English and explained everything so nicely I told him I would be back for dinner.  And I am so glad I did.   A Khymer BBQ consists of woven pots holding thinly sliced meats (I had chosen Pork but it could have been any of a number or a mixture of different kinds of meat including ostrich and kangaroo), a bowl,of raw veges, a couple of bowls of sauce and a bowl of cooked but cold noodles.  On the table a round contraption with a gas flame is placed.  The round thing is simlar in shape to a mountain with a moat around the edge.  The moat gets filled with broth and the flame is lit.  A piece of pork fat is placed on the peak of the mountain to oil the surface.  Some veg are placed in the "moat" and then pieces of meat placed around the sides of the mountain.  Once cooked the meat gets dunked in the sauces, noodles get placed in the moat and left fir a few minutes to heat up and are then transferred to the bowl, with the veg and some of the stock.  And now you have a soup.  Add the cooked meat and of you go. -  Divine.

                               

Tonight, as I write, I am sitting on the main balcony outside; I can hear the gentle hum of traffic, the quiet conversations downstairs and the occasional baby's cry.  I look back down the corridor towards room 68.  A little different to last nights view.

                                              

I feel like a new person having just had the most unusual but sublime massage, my complimentary massage - one free with the wildly cheap room.  Rather than the usual massage where a lot of stroking or rolling happnes this was just repeated squeezing actions, up and down the body followed by the slapping thing that seems to predominate in eatsern massages.  Very different but very very nice, with some nice touches like the cucumber slices on my face and a head massage to die for.

Anghor Wat tomorrow, time to get ready and hit the sack.