Siem Reap

 We flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Sunday, December 22 and stayed until Saturday, December 27.  We stayed at a lovely hotel, the Sokha Angkor Resort.  The weather in Cambodia in December is not too hot or humid, with days mostly in the mid- to upper-80's.

All of Siem Reap was really decorated for Christmas, which was a little disconcerting in that heat.  There were lots of lights and big Santas everywhere, although many of the Christmas trees were quite unusual.  Often the strings of lights ran vertically up and down the tree and the trees were white, pink, or covered with an odd assortment of decorations, including the tree in our hotel lobby, which was covered with teddy bears.

We arrived fairly late on Monday night, but on Tuesday morning, we had some time to take a tuk-tuk into town from a nice lunch and a chance to play cards.  We walked around the main tourist area and Elizabeth and Miranda even had a "fish pedicure."  After doing some shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a little down time before our big afternoon plans.



On Tuesday afternoon, we took an ATV tour into the Cambodian countryside.  I really hated everything about the tour, although Chris and the girls had a lot of fun.

I think part of the problem for me was the fact that we were driving through dusk and then dark, so we really didn't get to see many of the locals working in the fields, as others had told us was the best part of the tour.  We brought candy to give out to the children along the way, but our tour guide decided that we could go really fast the whole time, since we didn't have any little children with us, so he really didn't stop very often.  The roads or paths that we followed were filled with holes, mud, puddles, and bumps, so my head, neck and shoulders were in agony almost the whole time.  I really didn't want to drive one of the ATVs myself, so Miranda kindly agreed to let me ride with her.  However, if I could have said stop, take me back and go without me, I would have.  It was definitely not for me.



We had set up with our English-speaking private tour guide to take us to see some of the temples and ruins in the area on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, giving ourselves Thursday, Christmas Day, to relax, enjoy some spa time, and hang by the pool, swimming and playing cards. 

The hotel had a Christmas Eve gala dinner, which was mandatory, that featured some beautiful Christmas ice sculptures and entertainment.  The main problem with the gala was that it was outside, after dark, and therefore everything, from our chairs, tables and napkins to our food, drinks and silverware, were covered with bugs.  This whole thing was a little disconcerting because we had passed the local children's hospital where a large sign out front told of the epidemic of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, which is spread through mosquitoes.

On Christmas morning, we found our stockings full in our hotel room before the girls and i headed to the spa for 4 hours of luxury.  We had body scrubs, wraps, massages, and baths. After a relaxing day at the pool, Chris and the girls went to the spa in the afternoon for father-daughter facials.  We spent a lot of time playing cards and enjoying drinks by the pool, not a bad way to spend Christmas day.

We toured four temples over the course of the week, which I will discuss in my next post.