Day 3: Travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Pick up from the hotel (this is free): 8:30AM

Time of departure from Phnom Penh city: 9:00AM

We left Phnom Penh for Siem Reap at 9:00 in the morning. Unlike in Saigon where signs and town's address along the road are translated in English, in Cambodia all words and road signs are in Cambodian language characters, very strange! So we’d no idea what's the name of the place we’re in.

Usual architectural scene that travelers could see around Cambodia

Bus had two stop overs, one for lunch and one for snacks. Again, we did not take for lunch because we could not understand the food on display, we’re afraid we might eat crickets and other insects, so we decided to eat biscuits. I looked for a safer menu or food in the counter but could not find one until I saw "pinipig", so I bought half a cup. Pinipig is a provincial rice delicacy in the Philippines and I used to eat this when I was still a kid so I am a bit familiar with its taste.

It took nine hours before we reached Siem Reap. We hired Tuktuk to take us to the hotel at Wat Bo village, we're lucky because the driver is quite good in English, we were able to make an arrangement with him to take us to Angkor on the following morning. He suggested for an early schedule at 5:00 in the morning to maximize our time and also to see the beautiful sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Dinner time at Koulen II Restaurant in Siem Reap City, Cambodia

Upon checking-in, the hotel receptionist suggested to spend our dinner at Koulen II restaurant where most tourists dined due to the famous Apsara dance show every night at 7:30PM. Koulen II offers a buffet style with international cuisine and authentic Cambodian dishes and since we wanted to try something new and see the Apsara show, we gave it a go and the receptionist placed a call to the restaurant to make a reservation for us.

We went out via tuktuk again and reached Koulen 10 minutes later. It was a nice place, conducive for dining. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was very relaxing. Lots of tourists jam-packed the area. And there was plenty of them when we arrived. We took our sit nearly at the edge of the lined tables.

Apsara dance show at Koulen II Restaurant in Siem Reap, near Wat Bo village. This cultural dance is said to be the foundation of Thai classical dance when the Siamese sacked Angkor in the 15th century and brought the royal dance troupe

as part of the booty.

Apsara dance show started at 7:30PM and ended at precisely 8:30PM which is also the closing time of the restaurant, pretty early isn't it? But we had a great time watching the show, it showcased Cambodian culture and customs and the presentation was really awesome.

After dinner, we crossed the street to look for a souvenir's shop, we found one and bought some items. Then went back to the hotel to take enough rest for our early morning trek to Angkor!