We would wave goodbye to the many others that were still waiting for their transportation to arrive. In Stung Treng we would have some lunch at the Riverside Guesthouse while waiting for the 2 o’clock departure for Siem Reap, ETA 7:30pm.
Our van driver to Siem Reap would arrive at 2:30, from the guesthouse he would take us to the ferry for the river crossing. This vessel is an interesting trip in itself. The ferry is powered by an old tug. Try to stay upwind of the soot that belches from its stack. After walking up the riverbank on the other side, we were then taken to the van to SR, all 5 of us. There were other vans making the same trip. I noticed one van being force fed passengers and then luggage for dessert. For a time I felt sorry for them but that would pass. The five of us hopped into the van and we were on our way.
The road wasn’t that great, I thought not like some of the reports I’d read. After a couple of kilometres we were on the New Road to Siem Reap. Because of the late departure from Stung Treng our arrival into Siem Reap would be delayed. The first part of the trip was fine, a good road, the driver was OK we stopped for a twenty minute break along the way, all good.
Then it started to get dark, the things we saw along the road that night would be enough to turn your hair grey or, if that’s already the case white. Chinese mechanical ox jump out of the dark, large trucks with boards jammed up under the rear bumper bar (there would be men sitting on these boards that hung out 3 meters beyond the bumper) pedestrians appear and disappear before your brain registers exactly what just happened.
It’s a trip we would not do again if we could help it…. no way Jose!
The van pulls into a guesthouse very close to the Children’s Hospital in Siem Reap, we are invited in, we decline. We have other accommodations in mind. Making our way down the lane we flag down a passing tuk-tuk and head towards the Mandalay Inn. This is a place that receives good reviews and has so for years. The next morning we couldn’t get out fast enough. Now thinking back, we think it was a dead heat between the overnight bus from Pakse and this place for being, the worst night’s sleep we had on the entire trip.
We would then look at several of the other hotels in the vicinity, and found the Siem Reap Sky Inn just across the road from the Terrasse des Elephants.
If you drove past you wouldn’t know it was there, $12 a night, fan, air-conditioning, flat screen cable TV, refrigerator, hot water, clean white sheets that were changed everyday, and a lovely staff all within five minute of Pub Street. The Sky Inn had twelve foot ceilings with decretive cornice and ceiling rosettes that were a reminder of days gone by. A great find for $12.
The cook and I would stay here in the Sky Inn for another five nights. We would eat upstairs at the Cambodian Restaurant the Khmer Kitchen the Red Piano (a couple of times) Steven Corner BBQ down near the Night Markets was interesting and a few other places during our stay. On one occasion while we were sitting upstairs in the Red Piano we noticed a few of the milk formula mums breaking into a canter with a couple of policemen in hot pursuit. The police had several of the scam artists bailed up. We would also notice that in the mini mart where they exchange the formula for money, someone had written the words “milk scam” in text across the side of the can.
We like Siem Reap; we enjoy visiting the markets, talking to the people, and watching the town evolve. Although I will say that being asked if you want a tuk-tuk every five steps gets a little tiresome after a while. You’ll notice a gap in the traffic, get ready to cross the road, just then a tuk-tuk driver will slow down right in front of you and ask if you want a tuk-tuk. Having to negotiate your way around the traffic on the footpath becomes a pain in the rrrrs after a while, but all in all we like Siem Reap a lot.
After five days we think its time to hit the trail again. We pick up Capitol Tour bus tickets to Battambang from the ticket office just across the road from our hotel. For $4.50 a piece (in seats 1 and 2 sitting right behind the driver) we’d be on the 9:30am bus out of town the next day. Saying our goodbyes to the girls at the Sky Inn, before making our way across the road to the pick up point (the ticket office) for Capitol.
While we were waiting I had a nice talk to a young couple. He would mention the large numbers of his countrymen that were making their way back to the provinces from Thailand. He was a tuk-tuk driver taking a break during low season. He said things had to change, and how the old men were scared while the young had no such fear.
They pointed to our shuttle bus that would now take us down the road a few kilometers to the (what we saw as new) Capitol bus station and a big comfortable bus. Seat one and two on the left hand side of the bus are great, the seats opposite are terrible. At the time the road to Battambang (Buttumbong) is fine, short stretches of the road being resurfaced are evident. The bus pulls into the new (for us) bus station on the outskirts of town. Here we would (after evading the tuk-tuk huddle) hop onto the free shuttle bus that would then take us right into town. The Seng Hourt is the place we wanna be…we had kind of a tentative booking, we had arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule.
The road wasn’t that great, I thought not like some of the reports I’d read. After a couple of kilometres we were on the New Road to Siem Reap. Because of the late departure from Stung Treng our arrival into Siem Reap would be delayed. The first part of the trip was fine, a good road, the driver was OK we stopped for a twenty minute break along the way, all good.
Then it started to get dark, the things we saw along the road that night would be enough to turn your hair grey or, if that’s already the case white. Chinese mechanical ox jump out of the dark, large trucks with boards jammed up under the rear bumper bar (there would be men sitting on these boards that hung out 3 meters beyond the bumper) pedestrians appear and disappear before your brain registers exactly what just happened.
It’s a trip we would not do again if we could help it…. no way Jose!
The van pulls into a guesthouse very close to the Children’s Hospital in Siem Reap, we are invited in, we decline. We have other accommodations in mind. Making our way down the lane we flag down a passing tuk-tuk and head towards the Mandalay Inn. This is a place that receives good reviews and has so for years. The next morning we couldn’t get out fast enough. Now thinking back, we think it was a dead heat between the overnight bus from Pakse and this place for being, the worst night’s sleep we had on the entire trip.
We would then look at several of the other hotels in the vicinity, and found the Siem Reap Sky Inn just across the road from the Terrasse des Elephants.
If you drove past you wouldn’t know it was there, $12 a night, fan, air-conditioning, flat screen cable TV, refrigerator, hot water, clean white sheets that were changed everyday, and a lovely staff all within five minute of Pub Street. The Sky Inn had twelve foot ceilings with decretive cornice and ceiling rosettes that were a reminder of days gone by. A great find for $12.
The cook and I would stay here in the Sky Inn for another five nights. We would eat upstairs at the Cambodian Restaurant the Khmer Kitchen the Red Piano (a couple of times) Steven Corner BBQ down near the Night Markets was interesting and a few other places during our stay. On one occasion while we were sitting upstairs in the Red Piano we noticed a few of the milk formula mums breaking into a canter with a couple of policemen in hot pursuit. The police had several of the scam artists bailed up. We would also notice that in the mini mart where they exchange the formula for money, someone had written the words “milk scam” in text across the side of the can.
We like Siem Reap; we enjoy visiting the markets, talking to the people, and watching the town evolve. Although I will say that being asked if you want a tuk-tuk every five steps gets a little tiresome after a while. You’ll notice a gap in the traffic, get ready to cross the road, just then a tuk-tuk driver will slow down right in front of you and ask if you want a tuk-tuk. Having to negotiate your way around the traffic on the footpath becomes a pain in the rrrrs after a while, but all in all we like Siem Reap a lot.
After five days we think its time to hit the trail again. We pick up Capitol Tour bus tickets to Battambang from the ticket office just across the road from our hotel. For $4.50 a piece (in seats 1 and 2 sitting right behind the driver) we’d be on the 9:30am bus out of town the next day. Saying our goodbyes to the girls at the Sky Inn, before making our way across the road to the pick up point (the ticket office) for Capitol.
While we were waiting I had a nice talk to a young couple. He would mention the large numbers of his countrymen that were making their way back to the provinces from Thailand. He was a tuk-tuk driver taking a break during low season. He said things had to change, and how the old men were scared while the young had no such fear.
They pointed to our shuttle bus that would now take us down the road a few kilometers to the (what we saw as new) Capitol bus station and a big comfortable bus. Seat one and two on the left hand side of the bus are great, the seats opposite are terrible. At the time the road to Battambang (Buttumbong) is fine, short stretches of the road being resurfaced are evident. The bus pulls into the new (for us) bus station on the outskirts of town. Here we would (after evading the tuk-tuk huddle) hop onto the free shuttle bus that would then take us right into town. The Seng Hourt is the place we wanna be…we had kind of a tentative booking, we had arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule.
On the Snail Trail 6 Days, Siem Reap
4/
5
Oleh
Unknown
