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Out of all of the Asian countries I've visited, Cambodia is my favorite. The people are super friendly, incredibly hard working, and polite. Lovely culture and country. Although these temples are breathtaking incredible historical works of engineering, craftsmanship, art, and religion, Cambodia is much more than this. We were lucky enough to have a large group of monks walk past while we were visiting Angkor Wat. The tuk tuk experience is one to be had as well. The tuk tuks are basically just people haulers hooked to motorbikes. Some are better quality than others. The do drive on the right side of the road! I'm told that the best time to visit Angkor Wat is during wet season as well as during a weekday. This is exactly what we did. They told us wet or rainy season was August, September, October, November. We didn't have anything to compare it to but it was quite a pleasant experience with not a lot of crowds and zero waiting at all for transportation. Bring extra water with you during your visit as you can really do a lot of walking and it's quite hot. It's amazing this is still actually standing after all of these centuries. If you are trying to pick a country to visit in Asia don't wait any longer. Come and see Cambodia. You won't be disappointed. Here's some books if you are interested in reading more about the history of Angkor Wat and Cambodia.
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This Burger King was cleaner than any BK I've seen in either other southeast Asian Countries or the US. The price was reasonable and the food was tasty. We were hungry from traveling and site seeing all day and this really hit the spot for us. Friendly and professional workers there. They even have a parking lot attendant outside who keeps everyone's scooters and vehicles in order as well as their helmets. He's actually got them on a numbering system by using a two part tag making sure you are leaving with the scooter you arrived on. On one occasion, just as a downpour was beginning, I saw him covering up some scooters with a piece of cardboard and turning over helmets so as they wouldn't fill up with rain. I gave him a small tip for his efforts. Great operation here.
Our week long stay at Khmer Mansion Residence in Siem Reap Cambodia was an amazing experience. They really went the extra mile with absolutely everything. When we arrived at the airport and got out VISA on arrival, we were greeted by Chovey's friendly face just outside the terminal in the pick up area. She was holding up a Khmer mansion sign with our name printed on it. She patiently waited longer while we got our SIM cards for our phones. The driver then loaded up our suitcases. During the brief trip from the airport to the hotel Chovey gave us a run down on what to do locally as well as some historical facts. Once we arrived we were given some tasty drinks to sip as well as refreshing cold towels while we went over a few things and our luggage was taken to our room. After paperwork was signed and reviewed we were shown to our room. The elevator had an uplifting scent of lemongrass. Upon entry into our room we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had our names spelled out on the beds with carefully placed lettering made from reeds. The room was very spacious and the refrigerator stocked with water and other beverages. The balcony overlooking the pool and small courtyard area was relaxing as well. We had coffee out there every morning. We were also able to take morning walks around the city and over to pub street every morning from mansion. Here's pub street: https://youtu.be/FGVR34lh7YM. There were also tuk tuks (don't know if I spelled that right) readily available across the street to take us anywhere we wanted to go around Siem Reap. Breakfast was complimentary every morning. The kitchen/diner folks were amazingly gracious with customer service like no other. Breakfast started at 6 and then went to 10:-00 which was very nice because this gave you the choice of either sleeping in or eating when you return from an early morning walk. It was very nice because there was a breakfast buffet with a nice variety and also a full menu from which to order from. The menu was wonderful and I don't think there is a bad item on there. They would seat us every day, take our orders, make us nice latte's, and prepare the food quickly. The dinner here was amazing as well. We were served a complimentary 4 course dinner one night. I ordered room service dinner a couple times as well. They made a very good loke lock. I'm sure I'm spelling that one wrong as well but it was my favorite Cambodian dish. We were able to take one of the best tours we've ever taken. It was an all day tour riding motorcycles across the countryside. We were also able to have scooters delivered right to the hotel on two separate occasions. These were great to ride around and see the city as well. Our overall experience here was outstanding. I highly recommend this place if you ever visit Siem Reap. http://the-avant-garden.blogspot.com
This was a great day out in Cambodia's countryside getting a peek at the local lifestyle with a knowledgeable and friendly tour guide named Slim. We did a full day trip and it was worth every penny. We covered a ton of area. If you like to ride motorbikes, this is the trip for you. The company does offer a dirt bike trip but this is a little more mellow as you cruise around on semi automatic Honda 150 motorbikes. We got to see how rice was grown and harvested, local farms, painters, blacksmithing, lakes, streams, orchards, red dirt quarries, eat local food, local drinks, and much more. When we were done we were left with smiles. If I ever come back, there is no question I'll be calling these guys for either a dirbike tour or multi-day mountain tour. One of the coolest things is also getting to see the hidden temples in the jungle. No crowds, no fees, yet still getting to experience setting foot on and exploring ancient ruins. We got to also visit a real life distillery on a farm where they also make rice whisky. It was also neat to see all of the water buffalo along the way. Riding motorbikes is fun in the states but this is really a topper being able to do so much exploring and sightseeing on them. (Oh also, don't forget to tip your tour guide at the end of the day.) We stopped for lunch at a nice and clean local resturaunt. Slim recommended I get the loke lock. I'm sure I'm spelling it wrong but it was delicious. I want to say that we didn't decide to do this until the last minute and Mr Po Hay made last minute arrangements to pick us up and get us outfitted with helmets and bikes. Once we were done he gave us free beers then drove us back to our hotel. Wow. Top notch. Mr. Po Hay is incredibly warm and friendly. 100% recommend you and your family call him. You will thank me later=). Here's his info. Mr. Po Hay-Cambodiamotorbikeadventures in Siem Reap.
Took this great day tour on motorcycles out in the Cambodian countryside. Cruising our Honda 125CC scooter around the outlaying areas of the city of Siem Reap. During this amazing local tour we stopped at many places. We stopped at the local blacksmith where they were making knives and chisels. He had a nice hot forge and was working really hard. They had a well choreographed alternating swinging sledges pounding out each piece to it's desired shape.
Here's a little glimpse of Cambodia's famous Pub Street during the daytime hours. The place really lights up at night but I wanted to capture a few of it's daytime features. Southeast Asia is notorious for street vendors and markets. It's part of the culture and for most, a way of life. Visiting Cambodia's pub street is a testament to the hard work ethic of the Cambodian people. Here you can find just about everything you are after in a market. In this area there are great tourist souvenirs for an affordable price, local food to eat, snacks, drinks, clothes, you name it There are things here that you won't see in many other places. There are bottled solutions (not sure if it's liquor) with cobra's in them, real taxiderm crocodiles, and upscale knock off brand ladies items. We really enjoyed the dried mangos, the lemongrass peanuts, and the cheap t-shirts. Located in Siem Reap you can eat all kinds of different types of foods here. The Mexican restaurants are even good. Expect to be pestered by the vendors but don't be offended or irritated as this is their means to making money. Similarly, don't feel rude by not acknowledging every solicitation during your peruse.
hese four adapters are the ones you'll need when traveling to Southeast Asia. The wall plugs vary if you travel to Bali compared to Cambodia. www.diy-technician.com Here's a link to some of them on amazon: https://amzn.to/2JKIHAJ https://amzn.to/2PHYYdl https://amzn.to/324WqZD https://amzn.to/2NAal4p
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