1st dinner in Siem Reap

1st dinner in Siem Reap
Originally uploaded by Asia Trip2007.

After I arrived in Siem Reap alive and in one piece and after I made it through the tuk tuk/moto swarm, I got driven to the 'popular guesthouse'. I got the last room they had for 5 bucks a night and dumped off my gear to find a place to eat something. I headed to the Psar Chaa as it's a market and you can usually find cheap eats there. As I was walking along I found this neat little restaurant that served a Khmer classic of rice and curried vegetables with coconut milk for 1.50 US. I had a delicious dinner with a pineapple fruit shake, for 3 bucks.

Day two was spent emailing and walking around aquainting myself with the area and tasting the foods here. It is a very busy city, absolutely full of tourists. What a contrast to where I just came from. I think there are more white people here than Cambodian!! I've met a lot of Americans and French and German travellers, a few Canadians too. There are a lot of Japanese too, but they don't seem to venture outside their tour groups so you don't really get to meet them much. I planned which temples I wanted to see with the time I had, but I have felt quite an aversion to going to these monuments. I don't know why but I need to go when it feels right to do so.
I went out for food at this place called the blue pumkin, which served a delicious panini with roasted eggplant and other veggies with a coriander vinegarette, as well as the typical fruit shake that I love so much (papaya this time)!
I headed to bed early because I felt like it.
The next day I decided to check out and find another guesthouse as my room was really, really noisy and the bed wasn't at all uncomfortable. I can usually take one or the other, but when both of the vital things for sleep are compromised, I can get cranky, I was going to sleep on the floor but mr. cockroach was already sleeping there so I decided to leave. I wandered the streets to find a place and many of my first choices were full. I then stumbled onto this side street guesthouse (a little dark hole with a sign) but as it turned out they had a $3 room with a share bathroom, available. I checked it out and it was perfect. Small, comfortable bed, quiet, simple. So I've been staying there the past few days.