Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

monkey sitting on a pole

I made another rookie mistake. When I got home my last night in Phnom Pehn, I thought I should open the safe and take everything out but I got lazy and thought “I’ll do it later.” I got everything all packed up that night since I had to head to the shuttle van at 6:45am. I got to the post office (the van is a mail post van that also takes passengers) in plenty of time and waited with another passenger. I saw something run across a power line…it was a monkey! It hopped into a tree and started playing with another monkey. I got some video. I then looked closer and there were 3-4 monkeys up on the power lines. These were older, bigger ones. They just sat there watching everyone below, very zen-like. For the last two days they were probably hanging out above me the whole time, but I never looked for them. After about 30 minutes, the driver ushered us into the van and we were off to Siem Reap!

Post VIP van

Two hours later at our rest stop I realized I had left my passport, ATM, and most of my cash in the safe. I considered catching a van in the other direction and trying for a later shuttle, but my van was just getting ready to leave and when a helpful co-passenger explained my situation to the driver he said it was better to have the items sent later and I should get in the van. Considering how hard it has been to get this straightened out I wish I had just gone back. First I had to see if I could get by with just the one credit card (with no pin so no cash withdrawl) and my global entry id, but I needed cash. I texted my sister who confirmed with Chase that I could not add a PIN if I did not have one or know mine already. She could wire me money so that was possible, but I wasn’t sure if I needed my passport for the covid test. To make matters worse, Google Fi sucks in Cambodia so I had no service or poor service while trying to sort this all out during the last 4 hours of my van ride. After several phone calls to my old hotel and a couple to my new hotel, plus a number of emails to my old hotel since written communication is clearer, they finally found a company that would deliver by the next morning so I could take my Covid test. That may cut into my “full day at Angkor Wat” but there’s not much I can do about it.

rest stop where I realized I left my $ in the safe

Lotus Blanc Hotel locked up

We got to the Siem Reap Post Office and I took a tuk tuk to the Lotus Blanc Hotel. There was construction on the road and sidewalk, so I walked from the street up to the hotel lobby and was dismayed to find chains on the doors. Panic. I looked for my driver but he was long gone. I opened Skype on my phone and desperately hoped there was enough signal for the call to go through. Luckily there was. They informed me that they were remodeling and were using the other wing which was just to the left of the building I was standing in front of. The Lotus Blanc is also a very nice hotel that I got for half price due to the pandemic, about $60/night. Though as my guide/driver said the next day “$60 is very expensive.” So I suppose for Cambodia, it’s pricey.

Lotus Blanc street entrance blocked

Lotus Blanc lobby

My room in Lotus Blanc

Bathroom

Lok Lak stir fried beef

I took a Grab to Pub Street and the Old Market. I found some good food at the old market, one of the classic Siem Reap dishes, Lok Lak, which is stir fried beef with rice and a side of tomato, red onion, lettuce, and cucumber. I was a little worried about eating cold veggies as I didn’t want to get sick, but they were really good, even the cucumber which I typically don’t like. Afterwards, I shopped for my $2 temple pants. They are lightweight, comfortable, cover you acceptably for the temples, and don’t last more than a few washings. I found them almost immediately. Technically they were $2.25 pants, but times have been hard here. I also looked around for possible souvenirs to get. I had gotten most of what I wanted in Chiang Mai with all their cute handmade items, but there were some nice things here too.

Food stall at Old Market

Delisious smelling woks

Outside view of food stall

My 2 dollar temple pants

People in Cambodia are more assertive than Thai people, which is not saying much because a teddy bear is more assertive than Thai people. Though they are far less assertive than people in India. I take that back, I mean than people in Delhi. This is true with the market stalls and also with drivers in traffic. I am also a bit disturbed by the fact that the traffic direction seemed “wrong” here even though they drive on the right side of the street. Have I been in Thai and India traffic too long?

Old Market

I also saw a guy on "Pub Street" rollerblade and jump through one the the giant hanging hearts they had:

Bridge archway

I found a great driver/guide through a google search and confirmed his excellent Tripadvisor rating. His name is Keo. He convinced me to do the sunrise at 4:45. I explained that after the sunrise I would have to come back to the hotel to get my ATM card and get my Covid test done. Unfortunately, I did not know when my stuff would arrive as I had just said I needed them before 10am. Originally they were going to send them to arrive tomorrow afternoon, but Covid PCR tests take 24 hours before you can pick up the results (I don’t think they do email or PDFs) so my only window to take it is tomorrow before 1pm since I take a van back to Phnom Penh at 2 the following day. It’s been a lot harder getting around Cambodia during covid. There are no flights between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I had planned to go to the beaches near Sihanouk except there were no vans, buses, or planes going there and I wasn’t crazy about a 10 hour taxi ride by myself. Anyways, with a 4:45am start I went to bed early, though I was still stressed out about if/when I would get my ATM card and passport, so to fall asleep I had to put on Stephen Fry reading Chapter 4 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which is my go-to sleep inducer.