Day 17: Welcome to Siem Reap!

After a slightly later breakfast due to some confusion with the hotel we finished packing our bags to leave the hotel we had called home for almost two weeks.

We said goodbye to Sam and Sokhon and jumped in two vans which took us to Siem Reap. After mentally preparing ourselves to eat spiders on the journey we were all relieved to arrive at our hotel in Siem Reap without having found somewhere that sold tarantulas.

After Kampong Thom our hotel in Siem Reap seems very luxurious and the good WiFi, pool, cocktails and staff that speak English is very welcoming. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant with many of us getting cocktails for a fun treat. The afternoon was then spent relaxing by the pool. A few girls got massages which were an interesting experience and many of us booked in massages for later in the week. For dinner we walked to Pub Street where there were many flashing lights and a lively atmosphere.

One of the things we have noticed is that there are a lot more tourists and we are hearing more conversations in English. The restaurant where we ate dinner had mostly good food and questionably ‘live’ music though we were all swatting away insects the whole time we were there. We wandered around the night markets and stopped at a place for ice cream rolls and putting our feet in tanks of fish that ate the dead skin off our feet. It was quite an experience with a bit of shrieking and squealing from all of us (including Isaac).

After a long day we headed back to the hotel in tuk tuks feeling a lot more like tourists, relaxed and looking forward to a couple more days by the pool and exploring Siem Reap.

​Esther