Siem Reap

We woke up in Bangkok and, having learnt from our Hong Kong breakfast, decided to eat at the airport. We took a 30 minute cab ride to the airport, which was half the time as public transport and checked into our flight. Security and immigration took about 15 minutes. Then we were in the huge, shopping mall-like Bangkok airport.  The last time I was here, I ran end-to-end trying to make a tight connection so this time was much more relaxed. SMS and I got mango sticky rice and waited for our flight to Siem Reap.

The flight was about an hour and we landed in the small, clean Siem Reap airport. There, the visa line is directly to the left and we handed over our passports and $30/each. It was a little disconcerting just to hand over the passport with no receipt or documentation but they were passed down the line of about 8 officials, each one checking and stamping something. After about 10 minutes, our passports were back in our hands and we went through immigration. There, we were met by a driver from the hotel and headed to Pavillon d'Orient. 

Hotel

One of the two lovely pools

It's a beautiful hotel with two lovely pools. Our rooms are spacious and decorated with dark furnishings but with a very airy feel. A nurse from work had recommended this place and it is awesome!

Forgot my selfie stick but I remembered my arms!

Aspara dancer sandstone carvings

Statue of Shiva turned into a Buddha via robes

Main bridge entrance, sunset

After checking in, we went to the pool for a bit and relaxed. I decided I wanted to go to Benking for the sunset but we were already too late since they close the approach to tourists about 30-45 minutes before the sunset. Instead, we went to the main Angkor Wat complex and wandered around and took pictures there. It was really spectacular and a great way to see a little bit of the amazing ruins before our planned epic tour the next day with a tour guide. 

After sunset and getting whistled out of the park with the rest of the tourist herd, we went into town and wandered the night market. I bought some elephant pants and my sister and friends were right- they're amazing. 

We went to BBQ Lovers for dinner, a restaurant with its kitchen on the street corner. We had delicious fried rice and meat skewers. Then we headed back on a tuk tuk and went to sleep. It was a great day and we were ready for the next, which would start with sunrise over Angkor Wat!