Siem Reap: Like No Other Experience
After a crazy commute to Siem Reap from Bangkok, I had finally gotten to the place I had googled, and spoke about. Siem Reap. The home of the Angkor Complex. We stayed at the Hanumanalya Boutique Residence. It was a boutique hotel that was a little under $50/night for two people. It included breakfast too! When I planned the trip, I made sure to include some nice places to give myself a break from the hostels and get some R&R. After roughing it out in some hostels, all you want is some warm water.
We arrived to Siem Reap a day later than we expected because we got to the Thailand/Cambodia border too late to cross over into Cambodia. I sent the front desk an email to inform them that we wouldn’t make it, hoping they wouldn’t cancel our reservation. Not only did they honor the reservation they gave me a credit for the 1st night. We got complimentary massages and a credit towards a meal. We were welcomed with drinks and warm facial towels. They took our bags straight to the room. Broke out a map and gave us the run down. Let’s just say I was HYPE to feel some type of luxury. After traveling by bus and taxi to Siem Reap, it was refreshing to be treated like royalty. Lugging my ridiculously heavy luggage up and down steps of hostels had gotten old. (I will NEVER take as much crap as I did on another month long trip)
The main attraction in SIem Reap are the temples but I still wanted to explore the nightlife. It wasn’t too shabby either. The main street for bars and restaurants is called Pub Street. The surrounding areas are filled with stands and markets.
Soooo the ONLY issue I had were the 7/8 year old kids with infants on their hip saying “I don’t need money, just need milk.” Now before you go thinking that I’m insensitive and cold, these kids are well trained in scamming tourist. After traveling thoughout Southeast Asia, you start to pick up on game. I had a 15 minute exchange with a little girl who at point told me to sell my iphone since I didn’t have any cash on me. Really chick? After telling her “you may get these other folks but you not about to get me,” she scurried along. An hour later I saw her with a wad of money and when she saw me she ran off. Don’t get got out here! These kids are CUTE! Make you want to take them home too. 
$3 dollar pedicure! It came with a beer too:)
Korean Barbeque Spot. I had croccodile, kangaroo, squid, chicken and that good ole swine. 
Shout out to my girl Maria of Pangea REVOLT for the fit!
We visited the temple complex two days in a row. And let me tell you 2 days is NOT enough. You could literally explore for days if not weeks. A day pass is $20 a pop. Well worth the money. There are 3-day passes and week passes. The longer your pass the better the deal. We were only in Siem Reap for 4 days though.
OK so Angkor Wat! I was literally in awe. Speechless. I had never seen anything like it in the flesh. lol. So beautiful. So regal. So peaceful. So inspiring. So amazing. It’s really hard to describe the feeling I had when I watched the sun rise behind Angkor Wat. I’m not going to front, I cried. When you go from googling something thousands of miles away to being feet away from it, it does something to you.
Like I said before, there is no way you can get through all of the temples in two days. But I managed to cover a lot of ground. The second day of exploring was during the day instead of at dawn. It was SO FREAKIN HOT! I’ve never sweated so much in my life. Like GROSS! But it was ALL worth it.
I rep Atlanta no matter how far!
Met these cool chicks from London while trying to cool off. I thought I was in shock of the heat. They had never experienced weather warmer than 65/70 degrees.
Exhausted. Water bottle number 5.
I’m a big kid at heart. I will forever love to explore. I have a thirst for new information, new experiences and meeting new people. Being able to walk through the corridors of buildings that were built over 1,000 years ago. Like, seriously. Craziness! I will always remember those two days. My experience there is the reason why Siem Reap is ranked as my favorite experience abroad.
You MUST make a trip. It’ll be life changing. I promise.
