We arrived in Siem Reap late Saturday night after a 13+ hour travel day. Between the drive from Koh Lanta to the Phuket airport and the two short flights (Phuket to Bangkok and Bangkok to Siem Reap) plus the waiting time, somehow the whole day was gone! We were very happy to reach our hotel around 11pm and fell into bed. We have two connecting rooms at the beautiful Le Grande Indochine hotel right on downtown Siem Reap. It is calm, beautifully decorated  and a short walk to all the restaurants and shops.

On Sunday, we started the day with some schoolwork since we are a bit behind and we knew we would take Thursday and Friday off. In the evening we went to the Phsar Khmer Food Court to find some dinner and loved the place! There were several different food stalls, so something for everyone, and then a traditional dance show (Apsara Dance) featuring children that raises money for a good cause. The organization provides educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, giving them a chance to learn the arts as a pathway out of poverty.

On Monday afternoon we headed towards downtown, looking for a place for lunch and we were approached by a Tuk Tuk driver, offering us an hour-long tour of the city. We asked him to first take us to a restaurant for lunch and then we headed out. The first stop was Wat Preah Prom Rath, a Buddhist temple complex with colorful pagodas and gardens.

From there we crossed the Wat Preah Prom Roth Bridge to a small statue covered by a strangler fig tree. It is amazing how quickly nature can take over! First we saw a small version and then across the street, a much larger one.

Then we drove to the Royal Residence where we saw trees full of bats, the famous 12 statues depicting Angkorian army chiefs and military leaders from the Khmer Empire era, and we got blessed by the monks! We each received a beautiful lotus flower, as well.

Our final stop was at a factory where they handmade fabrics, from making the silk from the lotus flower stem to hand-dyeing the fabrics using different types of bark and making the prints using a variety of leaves. Of course, we couldn’t leave without buying a scarf! A quick stop at the Cambodian-Vietnamese War Memorial and then we were back at the hotel having had a much different afternoon than expected but having learned so much!

On Tuesday, after school and some pool time, in the evening we saw the famous Phare circus and it was amazing! Better than expected, even! It was funny and heartfelt and the physical feats were just astonishing. The music was great, they told timely stories about cultural differences and we were all on the edge of our seat the whole hour-long show. And the best part? All the artists performing are students and graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s vocational training center in Battambang which is a non-profit arts and circus school that empowers children, youth, and communities. If you want to donate to their efforts, click here.

On Wednesday we started the day with a visit to Bayon Pastry School, an absolutely delicious French bakery that also has a beautiful purpose. Something that we have noticed here in Siem Reap is that there are quite a few businesses that are connected to organisations helping the disadvantaged youth. Cambodia has had a hard history with years of conflict, only reaching peace in 1998, so there are many people who continue to feel the effects of the conflicts. Bayon Bakery and Pastry School offers a complete and entirely free vocational training for about 20 young women in very precarious situations each year. Again, if you’re interested, you can donate to their efforts here.

A few photos from my quick walk to Starbucks for a mid-afternoon treat. And a look at how “Julia” is spelled in Khmer script!

In the afternoon, the girls and I went to the APOPO Visitor Center where we learned all about the hero rats who detect landmines. It was such a great learning experience! Every visitor takes a tour where they explained the advantages of using rats over metal detectors (so much faster and safer), showed us the different types of landmines that are found throughout the world, demonstrated how the rats find the TNT-filled metal balls for training with Gertrude (she was great!) and let us hold Nina, one of the hard workers. Afterwards, we watched a few videos explaining the program in more detail. And, again, a chance for you to help from afar: donate here. They are doing some very important work, work that is necessary for farmers to safely earn a living, for kids to be able to run free and for this country to move forward after so many years of conflict and pain.

We have really enjoyed Siem Reap this week! It is hard to describe exactly what the city is like. It feels safe, is clean, the people are friendly and helpful and there are so many beautiful restaurants and shops melding together the jungle and modern architecture. It is walkable, which is something I love! There are countless restaurants walking distance from our hotel plus stores, salons, spas, pharmacies and anything you might need for everyday life. The infrastructure is not as modern as Europe but still very good, especially within the city center. When we ventured towards the villages, the roads were more bumpy and there were mostly open-air restaurants, carts selling street food and stray dogs, chickens and cows on the side of the road. Overall, a place we are very glad we visited and a place we would recommend. We easily could have stayed another week, exploring and getting a better feel for the city.

I will write one more post about Cambodia soon, detailing our Thursday trip to see Angkor Wat and our Friday boat tour of a traditional floating village and a visit to Tonlé Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Two very interesting, informative days!