Going back to a more industrialized, urban country was a bit jarring coming from the serenity of Laos. After our exhausting delay, and relatively frightening flight, we landed in Cambodia for the final leg of our trip. Again, when you get to Cambodia, you’ll need to have cash on hand for the $35 visa.
Our hotel was The Golden Temple Hotel, which arranged for a tuk tuk to pick us up and bring us there. The Golden Temple Hotel’s staff welcomed us with tea and a snack when we arrived. The folks there are incredibly helpful and accommodating. The place itself is brand new, and only has 30 rooms so the staff does their best to get to know their individual guests. The rooms are equipped with all the amenities to make a comfortable stay (HD TV, free WiFi, A/C, nice clean and new furniture). The hotel also provides a cell phone for you to use (which is HUGE for those of you without an international plan), a free wine happy hour, a very generous complimentary breakfast every morning with a box breakfast for those who leave early for Angkor Wat, and when you leave they give their departing guests a free T-shirt and scarf as a thank you gift. The deal we got through Expedia also included for each of us a free massage at the hotel spa and a free Khmer dinner cooked and delivered to your room. What did we pay? $80 a night.
So, yeah, that hotel might be the best value I’ve ever gotten at a place I’ve stayed traveling. There’s only two things that they could improve on. One, they need a few more lounge chairs by the pool. And two, while the staff was great (and I really want to make sure that’s clear, they were GREAT), they were a bit overbearing in their attempts to accommodate every need. While I do feel kind of like a dick for saying that a negative is that people were too nice, I do wish they scaled it back just a notch.
The location of the Golden Temple Hotel is also a huge plus. It’s within walking distance of the Siem Reap Night Market as well as Pub Alley. My first impression of these places was this: I hope that Luang Prabang doesn’t turn into it. The Night Market in Siem Reap is the exact opposite of what was in Luang Prabang. It was loud and seedy, with tuk tuk drivers and whores coming up to you constantly. I almost punched a guy in the face because he grabbed by arm and spun me around so that he could get my attention. Despite that, knowing that it is what it is, it is a rather fun place to go out if you’re looking to have drinks and a crowd. Pub Alley is essentially trying to be the Bourbon Street of SE Asia, so there are plenty of different types of bars with large quantities of cheap drinks to be had. Most of the bars have outdoor seating for people watching. Our experience was even cooler because there was a power outage (not uncommon for SE Asia apparently), so half the street had no electricity and people were using candles for lighting giving the street a really cool, rustic, exotic look.
One place in particular that I’d recommend for drinks is Beer Battle, which has a bit of a calmer vibe surrounded by all the madness. I would also recommend walking to the Night Market from there and grabbing dinner at Genevieve’s Restaurant. This restaurant was the closest thing to a Mom & Pop place we went to all trip. We honestly weren’t expecting much, but it ended up being a surprisingly good meal. The owner is an Australian who opened up the place, named after his wife, and sends a portion of his proceeds to charity. The staff he hires are all local Cambodians whom he hopes will one day take over the restaurant and make it their own. He came by our table at one point, and it was had not to feel good about eating there after speaking with the kind, grandfatherly figure. One thing to note – if you ask for spicy, they will give you spicy. My buddy on the trip is Indian, and he had been noticing that there wasn’t any really spicy food so far on the trip, so he specifically asked our waitress to make our beef salad spicy, spicy. I lasted one bite; literally one bite. He on the other hand impressively finished the dish, but at the cost of practically not being able to eat the next day!
Coming up: The signature attraction of Cambodia — Angkor Wat.
Here and There 
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