SATURDAY April 18th – First Day in SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

SATURDAY April 18^th – First Day in SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

Wake up call at 4:45; take out breakfast from hotel; guide waiting for airport transport; today we fly to Cambodia. We were surprised to see a medium sized propeller plane waiting for us to board.

We arrived in SieM Reap around noon on Thai Air (Flight 5) to Bangkok and then on Bangkok Air (Flight 6) to Siem Reap and were met by our guide, Sam O. Immigration authorities were not friendly – no “Welcome to Cambodia” or smiles. Our expensive Visas purchased for big bucks in the States could be purchased in the airport for $20.00. So now we have a new currency ($1.00 US to 4,169.10 Riel); a new airline (Bangkok Air), a new language, old cars, unairconditioned restaurants and hotel lobby and definitely a third world country feel, so much different than Thailand. Cambodia was one of the poorest countries in the world in 1993 and for a first look, it does not appear to have moved forward in a big way. We are staying at the Victoria Resort and Spa (bed number 4) which is supposed to be a four star hotel. From the outside, it did look quite nice and the lobby and pool are beautiful. Our room, too, is spacious and well air conditioned. The bathroom, however, has lots to be desired. We called immediately to have the safety bar in the tub repaired as it was hanging out of the wall. The hot water in the shower cycles every minute between hot and cold. The bath mat was really dirty too. We know that we have crossed into a very different culture and attitude. All prices are in American dollars and at the hotel, where they have a totally tourist population, the prices are probably triple what they should be. There is also a big distinction about where tourists and where Cambodians can eat. We tried to get Sam to take us to a local restaurant for lunch but he said he had to take us to a tourist restaurant.

Now we really see what a hot climate is all about. It was 100+ degrees and we started our tour in a very poorly air conditioned car. We also were given two bottles of very hot water to drink and were also advised to put on lots of sunscreen and insect repellent. We have a guide and driver for the two of us. The car is a very old Toyota. Seats belts don't appear to be used much. On the road we see mostly cycles carrying at least three if not four people and lots of run down cars. There are no helmets, even for the small children. There are also lots of tuk tuks used as taxis. Our guide does have a 12^th grade education and then was trained to be a tour guide. He seems to have a good knowledge of the history of the sites but not much more. After lunch, we toured two ruins: Angkor Thom which is 900 years old and then

Temple Bayon (Temple of Smiling Faces) which was built in 1181. Tomorrow, we will tour Angkor Wat.

Along the way, we saw wild monkeys and many parks with some grass but mostly dirt. Women workers wearing the traditional straw hats were actually sweeping the dirt areas, for what we have no idea!

After returning to the hotel, we did take a wonderful swim in the pool and then decided to stay in the hotel for the evening. We were tired and hot, hot, hot. Having had a big lunch, we went down to the hotel bar and shared a beer and a shrimp quesadilla which was pretty good. Stayed at the bar and played some cards for a good ending to a long day. In the bar, people were smoking and 40s style music was playing in the background. The scene reminded us of the movie, Casablanca. The hotel is fairly empty. As in Thailand, there are not many tourists and tourism is the biggest industry here. Our guide thanked us several times for coming to Cambodia and bringing the dollar with us.