When someone say they are visiting a cultural place, they will try to experience it as close with the local as possible. We dropped by Old Market, just a stone throw away from Pub Street to check out their morning market. It is indeed a market, where locals get their daily food ingredients from. Some might not appreciate the pungent smell, but I found it acceptable. Not much for us to view though, as we are not buying anything to cook.
We have the whole morning to ourselves. Thus, I opened Google Maps and search is there any attraction nearby Old Market. Found a peaceful temple built within a busy town, and we decided to check it out. Wat Preah Prom Rath is its name, with amazing architechure and photo spots!
Then, we took a tuk-tuk to the only mall in Siem Reap - Lucky Mall. A tuk-tuk ride within the city average around 2 Dollars. Some may want to charge you 3 Dollars, but most of the time they will give in to 2 Dollars. But bear in mind, 2 Dollars is for a distance shorter than 5km. They are earning more than Uber drivers in Malaysia!
For a city without McDonalds, Lucky Mall have their own version called Lucky Burger, but the selling price of the burger sets were surprisingly expensive! Visited their book store and I am amazed with the display of their items, very vibrant and tidy!
We actually changed our accommodation to a 5-star hotel for our 2nd and 3rd night in Siem Reap. Requested the pickup to pick us up from our first hotel and they came right on time in a Hyundai Starex (remember I said something about sitting a car in Siem Reap is a luxury?), with the Assistant Manager welcoming us all the way to the hotel!
The hotel is called Sumeru Boutique Hotel & Spa. We were pretty excited when we read almost all good reviews about them in Trip Advisor, and they definitely did not disappoint us!
We were greeted warmly from the gate of the hotel to the reception table, where we were served welcome drinks and light finger food. Additionally, cold towel was provided the moment we sat down, very appreciated in a hot place like Siem Reap.
Check in was swift, and we were guided to our room. One qualm though, Agoda stated my room comes with a bathtub, but the actual room doesn't. I faced the same problem with Agoda repeatedly though with other hotels I booked via the website, Agoda seriously need to look into the amenities stated.
The hotel will set up a essential oil burner in the washroom, where you can choose the flavour preferred. We chose the lemongrass flavour, which turns out to be an excellent choice! Can view flight details in the room too, how thoughtful!
Dinner time! One of the perks of staying in Sumeru is complimentary tuk-tuk ride out to the city daily 5pm-8pm, as it is situated slightly further away from the city centre (but nearer to Angkor Wat). We dropped off at Pub Street, and went to a Khmer BBQ restaurant along the main road. Nothing to shout about the meal, but we were given crocodile meat! He does not like the smell of it, but I found the meat to be chicken-like, maybe more chevy.
We walked around Pub Street after our meal, with me seeking for more food due to the unsatisfactory dinner. Then we saw this! Bugs store, deep fried and waited for people to chew on them. The snake kinda look like rubber though, I wonder how to swallow...
Siem Reap river, the only river I saw in the city. Apart from the colourful lighting, not much worth checking out here.
Tons of fruit juice stalls can be found along the main streets. However, I found this to be one of the most attractive, with all the fruits displayed tidily under well lighting! With only 1 Dollar per cup, guess how many cups I had for my 4 days stay in Siem Reap?
NEXT: Angkor Wat!
