Fantastic Siem Riep -- My, how you have changed!!
This "Heart of Cambodia" trip spent four nights in Siem Riep. Four nights in one place...amazing. We'd actually have a chance to unpack and see what's in our suitcases. It's New Year's Eve but we're not great celebrators even though our conveniently located hotel, the Angkorland, has a big gala going on tonight in the pool-side area. Instead, ex-Marine and I took the 2-8 block walk from the hotel into the central area of Siem Riep. Could have taken a tuk-tuk for $1.50 but it felt so good, not only to walk, but to walk around an area where things were happening...
We wouldn't have known that this was the same Siem Riep we saw in 1999. Siem Riep was a little provincial town with few facilities. There were very few large hotels, handful of budget guesthouses, no restaurants to speak of, no taxis and tuk-tuks, or places to shop. Only the Central Market, still there. Now....well! Almost beyond description.
The Angkorian ruins turned Siem Riep into a boomtown and tourism is a huge, lucative industry.
Past the many banks with ATM's, hole-in-the-wall travel agents selling bus tickets, tours, and massage parlors (one of my favorites was Dr. Feet...View image) to one of the main tourist streets, Pub Street is packed jowl-to-jowl with restaurants and bars.
We settled for an early dinner at the Blue Pumpkin, very high-tech with good food and wonderful ice cream. The Blue Pumpkin quickly became our daily stop for ice cream. Mango, Coconut, Double Chocolate, Passion Fruit...and then there were cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, brownies and so much more...
Such a pleasure to eat dinner and then be able to shop or walk around. Eating and shopping...two of my instant gratifications. I don't know exactly how many stalls there are in the Central Market but suffice it to say that you could spend days browsing if you wanted to hit them all. B-A-R-G-A-I-N.... HARD!
Full and happy, we tuk-tuked back to Angkorland Hotel where the beautiful entertainers were milling around the lobby waiting to perform by the pool... Our room had a balcony overlooking the pool area, and I went back and forth doing a little video-taping. A perfect New Year's Eve for us.
I fell in love with Siem Riep instantly. Sometimes changes are for the good. All this development has brought livelihoods (significant wealth to some) to the Cambodian people. However, Siem Reap is still safe to walk around and fun to visit.
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