Eastbound and Down: Siem Reap

When we started planning our trip, we asked for lots of advice from friends that had recently been in the area (Annie/Todd and Kim/Kyle were hugely helpful!) and one destination that came up again and again was Siem Reap in Cambodia. Providing easy access to the Angkor temples and wild jungle beauty, there was no way we could skip it.

Quick General Travel Tips:
1) Be sure to get your e-visa ahead of time ($30 each for 90 days, multiple entries).
2) The official currency is the Riel but USD are accepted almost everywhere and come out of the ATMs.
3) Tuk tuks are the main form of transportation in town. Prices are negotiable. Get it squared away ahead of time.
4) Tipping has become pretty standard practice, although it "isn't really in Cambodian culture." The exact amount is debatable and confusing (more on that later).

Thanks to a recommendation from Rick's mom's friend, we had two days of all-inclusive tours booked with a guy named Sopheara Phaev. We are usually pretty self-sufficient but it seemed like there was a lot to do and see in a short amount of time and we didn't feel like bargaining with local tuk tuk drivers all the time (we learned we are not good hagglers in Marrakech). Better to have a set itinerary and a flat fee so that we could spend our time enjoying Cambodia and not getting wondering if we were getting ripped off. I was looking forward to someone else making the decisions!

We stayed at the Kim Xiang Boutique hotel and they offered to send a tuk tuk to pick us up from the airport (~20 minute ride to downtown). When we arrived at the hotel, the person in charge asked us if we were planning to visit Angkor and showed us their tour packages. I explained that we had already set something up and the owner got a little snippy, telling us that the only reason our airport transfer was free was because the driver "expected a real job," such as taking us to the temples. I don't appreciate being guilted into using a service so the exchange instantly put a bad taste in my mouth. Strike one.

We got settled in and went to go find some dinner, which turned out to be Cambodian BBQ. You get a basin of hot water and a domed cook surface over a bucket of coals, and you grill a selection of meats right there on the table. Chuck some veggies in the water, let the meat juices drip down to make a broth and you have yourself a hearty meal! It was quite tasty. We strolled through the night market (Hello sir! Hello ladyyyyyy!) and just took in the sights, sounds and smells (oh, God so many smells). We went to bed at a reasonable hour because we had to get up super early the next day for our touring.

Cambodian BBQ with 7 different meats, including crocodile and shark!

4:50am snuck up on us quickly. Our hotel had packed us a breakfast to go which consisted of several super sweet processed snack foods (think: vending machine muffins) and some bottled water. Sopheara picked us up and we drove directly to the Angkor visitor center to get our temple passes (a 3-day pass cost $40), which they check at every entrance to every temple. The lines were fairly long because lots of other tourists were trying to get passes in time to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the best preserved and most extensive of all the temples in the region.

We found a great spot to stand but heavy cloud cover made for a very gray and very underwhelming sunrise. Glad we got up at the crack of dawn... It wasn't a total loss because we got to visit the temple before it was blisteringly hot outside and with so much walking around to do, we were glad for some more moderate temperatures. Although the dress code isn't quite as strict as it was in the mosques of Istanbul, everyone is still required to have covered knees and shoulders in all of the temples. Lightweight, moisture wicking fabrics are essential.

No sun for our sunrise :-(

Monkeys will steal your breakfast

Angkor Wat is objectively impressive. It's a sprawling maze of hallways, courtyards, and little alcoves, all brilliantly decorated with reliefs depicting epic battles between gods and demons. Sopheara gave us a veritable master class in Buddhist iconography, which was fascinating, but eventually started to wear us down. There is only so much information one can retain at 8am.

The visit continued at the Angkor Thom complex, which I think was my favorite of all the sites we saw. It's slightly smaller than Angkor Wat but with more varied structures.

Faces of Angkor Thom

Bayon Temple

Baphoun Temple

Temple exploration requires a fair level of fitness. Be ready to climb a lot.

When I ride an elephant past a 10th century Cambodian temple, the thing I care most about is what's on my phone.

Our last stop before lunch was Ta Nei, a more isolated and less touristy temple in the middle of the jungle. Climbing on ruins is fun!

In the afternoon, we went to Ta Prohm, which was made famous by the Tomb Raider movie and was pretty spectacular with this giant tree growing right through the middle of it, and Banteay Kdei.

Nature does what it wants.

Banteay Kdei

We were back in the hotel by 4pm but it felt like midnight because the day was so intense. We had a little nap and then went for dinner at this restaurant just up the street from our hotel (Bao Chin Thian). It was modest to say the least but the food was soooo good. The menu offered something called "sexy fish" but they were out so we had to settle for regular fish, some sautéed veggies and a shrimp curry. Delicious.

The next day didn't require us to get up so early so we had a hot breakfast at the hotel before venturing off to Beng Mealea, another temple in the middle of nowhere, over 70km away from downtown Siem Reap. Although it was pretty cool driving through the Cambodian countryside, the temple itself was underwhelming. It was mostly ruins, just giant stones getting swallowed by the jungle. Plus, it was an additional $5 entry fee each since it's not part of the Angkor Wat archeological site. It was cool climbing in the vines and over rocks but I didn't think it was worth the extra trip. Plus, my stomach was a little upset that day and riding in the tuk tuk on bumpy roads for close to two hours was not making it feel any better. I think there was a miscommunication with our driver because they usually take a car to get there... Strike 2.

Beng Mealea

We had lunch in a "local" restaurant but the only people eating there were other tour groups. The guides/drivers all ate by themselves in a separate room. It was awkward. The afternoon took us to the Preah Ko and Bakong temples followed by sunset over Tonle Sap lake.

Preah Ko

Bakong

In the rainy season, the lake doubles in size and to get there, you have to travel through a fishing village where all the houses are on stilts. The visit was an extra $20 per person, plus a $5 small boat ride to get to the big boat because the road was under construction, plus tip. While it was definitely beautiful and I am glad we got to see it, I couldn't shake this feeling that we were turning these people's lives into a spectacle. I suppose whenever you visit a city, there is a certain amount of that, but you're usually looking at monuments, not someone's home. Plus, it wasn't clear what all the money was paying for. Did it go to the boat driver? The community? Some kind of lake preservation fund? No idea.

Little boat to get to the bigger boat. Driven by this small child.

Beautiful fishing village

The lake stretched as far as you could see in every direction. It was pretty impressive. 

When it was all said and done, the total cost of two days of transport and guide services was $140 plus $30 tip, plus ~$50 for the lake plus $10 for Beng Mealea, bringing us to a grand total of $230. Yikes. Everyone always talked about how cheap everything was in Cambodia but that was definitely not our experience. Strike 3.

We had made reservations at The Sugar Palm (Gordon Ramsay said it was good!) but we had to go all grubby because we were late getting back and didn't have time to change. Sorry we were so smelly but we had earned it.

On our last day, we hired the kid that had picked us up from the airport and gave him a "real job": Our only request was for him to take us around to some of his favorite spots. We saw two more temples (Preah Kahn and Baksei Chamkrong), and it was a lot of fun to have some time to explore them on our own without running commentary from a guide.

Preah Kahn

Breaking the rules

Baksei Chamkrong

Those steps were super steep and not super safe in retrospect.

It was time for lunch so the kid took us to a truly local spot at the edge of a lake and we ate like champions for next to nothing. We had grilled frogs, quail eggs, sour soup with snails, and some kind of fish. It was epic.

Our final destination was Wat Thmei, also known as the killing fields shrine. The exhibit tells the story of the Khmer Rouge era and the genocide of the Cambodian people. It was a really humbling experience because we always think of these atrocities as things of the distant past when in fact Jason was born the same year that Vietnam invaded Cambodia, ending the genocide. Makes you wonder if we have really come as far as we think we have as a global community...

It was time for our next destination so we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and the kid ran us out to the airport. In many ways, our last day was the most enjoyable because we did all the stuff that we love the most: climb tall things, eat local food and learn a little history.

Overall, our time in Cambodia was not really what we hoped it would be. From the moment we arrived, we felt like we were getting scammed. For being heralded as this budget destination, everything was quite pricey, more so with having to tip an unknown amount all the time. The most difficult thing for me was that more than anywhere we had been before, I felt like that Banksy piece with the poor brown kid pulling some fat white people around in a rickshaw. I understand that their economy depends on westerners bringing their stacks of western money to enjoy the history and culture of Cambodia but it still felt exploitative somehow. Maybe that scammed feeling is just part of the price you pay. 

Lesson from Siem Reap: The tourist stuff is great to see but you'll save money and perhaps some of your soul if you get away from it and try to experience life like the locals. Also, there is such a thing as too many temples.

Eastbound and Down: Istanbul and Bangkok

Our fabulous European lifestyle has afforded us the time and (just enough) money to take quite a few epic adventures but none so extensive as our summer in southeast Asia. In the next few posts, we'll travel halfway around the world, eating, drinking and exploring six different countries in just four short weeks. Get ready.

***

The impetus for the trip was fairly typical for folks our age: Let's do one last big vacation before settling down and trying to make some babies! The initial planning also came at a time of uncertainty, since Jason was still waiting to hear whether his three-year grant proposal had been accepted and I was still waiting to hear whether I was going to have a job come September. There was a possibility that we would be moving to Minneapolis so we decided to take full advantage of our relative proximity to the East in case we had to leave France by the end of the summer. (Spoiler alert: we're still in Bordeaux.)

Turkish Airlines recently opened up a direct flight from Bordeaux to Istanbul and from there, we could get to pretty much any major city in Asia. It seemed like a shame to skip over such an iconic city with so much history so we took an extra long layover in the gateway to the east before heading off to Bangkok.

Two days before we were scheduled to fly into Istanbul-Ataturk Airport, it was hit by a terrorist attack that killed over 40 people and injured some 240 more. All of our friends and family panicked. You're not still going to Istanbul, are you? The place was just bombed! People died! Why can't you just stay home in Bordeaux where it's safe??

To be honest, the thought never even crossed my mind, for several reasons:
1) It's pretty unlikely that there would be a second attack in the same place in the same week.
2) Bordeaux could just as easily be targeted for an attack.
3) If we stay home, the terrorists win. That's their whole plan: Make you afraid to live your life. I'll be damned if I'm going to let some punk-ass suicide bombers dictate where I go. Get in the plane. We're doing this.

***

Arrival at Ataturk was intense, maybe because of the attacks, maybe because it is one of the busiest airports in Europe and the world. As Americans, we needed a visa to travel to Turkey, which we purchased ahead of time for $20 (valid for 90 days, multiple entries.) We hoped this would expedite our passage through passport control but it did not and we waited at least an hour and a half to get stamped. Luckily, this was the most waiting we had to do during our entire visit to Istanbul because there was no one else there.

You can take the red M1A urban train from the airport terminal and transfer to the T1 Blue Line to get into town via cheap and easy public transit. We couldn't find anywhere to buy or validate tickets so maybe transit was free that day...? We still don't know. Normally, three passes cost 10TL (~2€) but transfers are not included and you need exact change for the machines.

We stayed at Angel's Home Hotel and I would highly recommend it if you're visiting Istanbul. It's a short walk from the Sultanahmet tram stop, which is where all the major attractions of the city are. The staff were friendly and helpful, the room was immaculately clean with high powered AC, and the views from the rooftop deck were nothing short of amazing. This is also where the buffet breakfast (included!) was served every morning and it was a great way to start our day. Please go there and give them all your money.

Once we got checked in, it was time for a little exploring and some dinner so we hit the town. As we walked, we came across some random man offering shoe shines on a just-too-dark-for-comfort street where my lady senses were already on high alert. I don't know what possessed Jason to allow this man to touch his shoes, but suddenly he's asking for money and trying to grab Jason's arm and we got out of there pretty quick when things started to get a bit aggressive. Jason was a little rattled by the experience, saying "I wanted to leave but he was touching me and I didn't know what to do." I resisted the urge to say, "And now you have a small idea of what it feels like to be a woman" and instead just said, "We'll just have to be more careful in the future." I find it funny (but mostly sad) that women have to have a million exit strategies planned out for just such an encounter and Jason had never even thought about what to do if someone was touching him and he didn't want them to be. You mean people don't just assume they have the right to put their hands on you as you go about your daily life. It must be nice! *Feminist rant over*

After that small hiccup, we found our way to some neighborhood that I couldn't direct you to if I tried, where they were serving lots of tasty-looking local food. We stopped at a place called Cag Kebap Sehzade and got some delicious sliced meat wraps, with a side of ezme, which was translated to "crushing pain" on the menu. Despite the aggressive name, it's basically just the Turkish version of salsa, served with bread, and it was glorious! We headed back to the hotel and slept like champions.

Hagia Sophia at night

The next day, we decided to be a little touristy and bought the Museum Pass, which gives you entry into a dozen different sites. It ran us 85TL for a 3-day pass, so if you go to three of the museums, your pass is paid for. Plus, you only have to wait in line once, which is always a bonus if you don't have a ton of time. We hit Hagia Sophia, (if you do nothing else, you should go there), the Basilica Cistern (cool underground cistern with interesting sculptures but not included in the pass), Hagia Irene (totally skippable) and Topkapi Palace (also pretty essential).

Hagia Sophia: Christian church turned mosque turned museum

After a long day of running around, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at Fener fish restaurant in the Kumkapi neighborhood. It's close to the water and there are many seafood restaurants in the area but this one came recommended by our hotel. We were both pretty happy with the choice. Just don't feed the impossibly adorable stray cats because they will never leave you alone and you will cry when their hungry little faces beg for more. You have to be a little aware leaving the main area with all the restaurants because the neighborhood has a reputation for being scam-y and it gets a bit seedy pretty quickly on your way back up to the tram line. Be street smart!

Day 3 was another day of touring: We had to get fueled up so we stopped for lunch at Durumzade, a kebab shop once visited by Anthony Bourdain, who referred to their kebabs as "flavor rockets." I would not disagree. I don't know how you get so much tasty into a sandwich but DAMN. We crossed the bridge to the Galata Tower and were treated to some incredible views, strolled through the Grand Bazaar somehow did NOT purchase a rug (or soaps or spices), and found religion at the sprawling Suleymaniye Mosque. Everything we saw that day was a visual feast. The vibrant colors of the bazaar, the artful Arabic script in the mosque, the striking overlap of so many different cultures and time periods from the top of the tower... It was overwhelmingly beautiful in all ways.

Ancient and modern, east and west, Muslim and Christian... Istanbul is a land of contrasts.

Everyday, we had to walk by this restaurant in our neighborhood called the Cozy Garden and everyday, the charming staff guys would try to convince us to eat there. We finally decided to give in and went there for dinner. The food was not knock-your-socks-off amazing but it was tasty and filling, and the ambiance more than made up for any minor culinary shortcomings. We chatted with the guys for hours about politics, language, traveling, family, love and life as we were presented with dish after dish of Turkish specialities and glass after glass of mint tea. It was like that time we went to Mexico and ate at a place called El Shrimp Bucket. It seemed like a giant trap but is to this day one of the best meals we've ever had.

Our flight out to Bangkok the next day wasn't until the evening so we had almost an entire day to kill. We had our breakfast very leisurely on the terrace, soaking in the sun and the view of the city, before heading over to the iconic Blue Mosque. Normally, it's teeming with tourists but was deserted in the wake of the attacks. It was heartbreaking to know that such stunning beauty was going unseen because of some stupid terrorist assholes. And Istanbul's economy, which is highly dependent on tourism, suffers when people don't show up. I get it, you're scared, but life is too short and too filled with spectacular experiences to just stay home. We grabbed our bags back at the hotel and I was able to help the friendly man at the desk deal with some incoming French guests who didn't speak any English. Good deed of the day DONE! We had a bit more stalling to do so we stopped by the Cozy Garden for some more tea and conversation before our long ride back to the airport.

Lesson from Istanbul: Don't be afraid to travel. You'll thank yourself later.

***

We were really interested in traveling to Bangkok but it was the cheapest and easiest entry point in the area. The Airport Link Express will take you to the heart of the city for 45THB (~1€) but since our hotel (Bangkok Dream Apartments) was on the other side of the river, we figured we could just grab a taxi at what was the most major transit exchange in town. I don't know why we couldn't get a cab but we ended up finding another metro line to take us close to where we needed to be. The apartment/hotel was super pimp: 24th floor, overlooking the Chao Pharaya river with free ferry crossings, gym, pool and sauna facilities... It was a bit expensive (6900THB/175€ for 3 nights) but we weren't going to be there long. Treat yo'self!

Despite our best efforts, we had a little nap in the afternoon before heading out for some exploring and dinner at Somboon Seafood in Siam Square One, a massive mall-like structure where the kids go to see and be seen. Jason had looked into it ahead of time and we were sold by their famous curry crab. Of all the things we ate that night, however, it was my least favorite. The crab was completely overwhelmed by buckets of sauce and was way too difficult to eat. The fried grouper was excellent, though, so it wasn't a total loss.

We crashed hard that night woke up leisurely the next morning to go check out some temples. Our hotel was just across the river from the Central Pier (Saphan Taksin) so we hopped right on the Chao Pharaya Express boat for only 16THB one way, which can be paid in line or on the boat. They will try to sell you tickets for the tourist boat (40THB one way or 150 all day) but it's not really worth it since it goes to the same places as the regular commuter boat and you can't even hear the commentary over the roar of the engines. The boat took us to Tha Tien and we immediately transferred to the ferry that took us across to Wat Arun. The main temple was under construction/renovation and the whole site had a Grandma's-backyard feel to it, but it was still pretty stunning.

We ferried back across the river to Wat Pho, where the glittering masterpieces continued. This temple is best known for a massive golden reclining Buddha statue. It was a bit hard to capture on film since it's housed in a building barely bigger than the statue itself but it was impressive nonetheless. So shiny!

The idea was to check out the Grand Palace as well but the last admission of the day is 3pm, so we were a bit too late for that. Plan B took us to Khao San Road, sort of like an open air market where you can get just about anything you want, from poorly translated T-shirts to henna tattoos to bizarre street food. We had a pretty tasty pad thai and even tried some fried bugs! They tasted like chips.

Our evening adventure was to the Silom Road night market. After years in Europe, we were expecting more food and less shitty clothing and accessories but we were certainly not in Kansas anymore. One thing that there is no shortage of in the area around Silom Road is sex shows. I was not about to go to a "free show" that would certainly require us to sell our souls and dignity to watch some teenager shoot ping pong balls out of her vagina so we kindly turned down all the solicitors but we did grab a picture of the "menu" for one place.

Pussy write letter? Like just your initials or an entire text? I guess we'll never know.

Since we didn't get the food we were hoping for on Silom Road, we wandered into the Bangrak neighborhood and stopped for spicy fish ball soup at this little roadside stand. Questionable hygiene but it was super tasty and we did not have any gastrointestinal repercussions.

Take two on the Grand Palace the next day and even though there were a lot of other tourists, we weren't too upset about the crowds or the wait. It's the sparkliest place I have ever been. The palace grounds are home to a pretty fascinating weapons display as well as the temple of the emerald Buddha (which is actually made of jade and a lot smaller than I anticipated but still pretty cool).

August in Thailand = constant sweating

We wandered around in search of this giant swing that we saw on our tourist map but it turns out it's not really a thing so we stopped at this boat noodle place instead (Thing tiao reur) and got many bowls of super cheap noodles. Yummmm. We were really interested in getting the "Best Pad Thai in the Bangkok" from Thip Samai but they didn't open for another few hours so we had to find something else to do in the meantime. The Golden Mount was nearby so we hiked up the steps to see this massive shiny bell just before an epic storm rolled in.

Very representative of Bangkok: Modern skyscrapers, Buddhist temples and dilapidated shacks.

Looking very tough.

This is right before the wind picked up and forced us inside.

The summer is monsoon season and we had been pretty lucky avoiding the rain until that point but it seemed our luck has run out. We waited in the temple for awhile until Thip Samai opened (my love of food far outweighs my dislike of being wet) and I must admit that it was probably the best pad thai I have ever had. Damn good orange juice, too.

When it rains, it pours. For hours.

After our meal, it was still raining but we were out of things to do/see and just wanted to be dry again. Many failed attempts at taking a bus finally drove us to get a cab (virtually impossible since it was pouring) and it took us nearly 45 min and 150THB to go less than 6km. We ended up back in Bangrak and got ourselves some nice jok prince porridge to warm us up on a rainy evening. I wanted mango sticky rice for dessert but of course when you're looking for something, you can't find it so we had egg rolls and duck legs instead. Not a terrible compromise.

The night was still fairly young but we were traveling the next day and wanted something low key to wrap up our time in Bangkok. There was a Thai massage place just up the street from our hotel and we had some Baht just burning a hole in our pockets. You can get a one-hour foot massage and one-hour traditional Thai massage for only 400THB (~10€). I left that place feeling like I was walking on a cloud. I definitely recommend Shinta Massage and Spa if you would like to have all of your body fixed. Do not let the humble furnishings dissuade you!

Leaving town was pretty simple because the front desk called us a cab to take us to DMK airport (300THB + 120 in tolls) and our driver was quite friendly. Unfortunately, security on AirAsia flights is super strict about carrying on pointy objects. No corkscrews, scissors, screwdrivers or blades, no matter how small and we had to say goodbye to a lot of the cute little multi-tools that Jay got us for Christmas. Oops!

Lesson from Bangkok: The sooner you can let go of your western ideas of what "quality" should look like, the quicker you can start enjoying the best that Bangkok really has to offer.