Angkor Wat is the best preserved ancient monument in Cambodia, a temple built as a king's mausoleum at the peak of the Khmer empire. The spectacular carvings on its walls tell stories of mythology and, perhaps, history and allow us a tiny glimpse into the royal court of the time.
The flight from Phnom Penh is only 40 minutes and we had a lovely clear morning. Around Siem Reap seems to be a vast flood plain with fields under water, rivers, and small collections of houses strung along the river banks.
Our guide and driver were at the airport to meet us and twenty minutes later we were at our hotel, the Shinta Mani.
We really liked this hotel. The staff were unfailingly welcoming and helpful. At the entrance we were always greeted with cold towels and provided with bottles of water as we went out. Our room was gorgeous, spacious and very comfortable. Outside we had a lovely sitting area in front of the pool. Most of our mornings were spent at the temples, but on hot afternoons we usually relaxed here with our books, going for an occasional swim and enjoying the massages, drinks and refreshing snacks like ice cream and fresh coconuts that were brought to us.
We were particularly impressed by the benevolent management of the hotel which seems to be very concerned with the welfare of its employees. At an outdoor meeting we overheard management talking about the importance of wearing a helmet when riding a bike, and of saving money for the future; a bonus was announced and there was a birthday cake for one of the employees - they brought slices around to the guests who were sitting at their rooms or by the pool. It was also announced that they were trying to set up a health service for the employees. It all sounded very caring.
That first morning we spent some time with our guide going through our itinerary for the next few days and adjusting it to our satisfaction, before having lunch in the hotel restaurant - the food here was pretty good too.
We explored the town on foot from the hotel, though we found it best to get a tuk tuk back.
The walk into town along the Siem Reap River passes Wat Preah Prom Rath Buddhist Pagoda, a Buddhist monastery established in 1915. It is very peaceful inside its extensive grounds, though it does have some odd, even gruesome, sculpture!
Nearby is the old market - markets are usually fascinating and this one was really interesting.
As well as at our hotel, we had some very good food in Siem Reap, notably at Kroya and Chanrey Tree.
Chanrey Tree is a lovely, contemporary Khmer restaurant with lots of lush planting and statuary. Caramelised pork ribs and a roasted Khmer chicken were particularly good.
At Genevieve's I had Thai chicken cakes with a spicy dipping sauce and prawn tempura with a home-made tartar sauce- both excellent. A tender duck in tamarind sauce was also very good. I ambitiously tried the hard shell crab cooked in a ginger sauce. I found it incredibly messy to eat, though the waitress was very attentive bringing finger bowls and damp towels. The crab meat was sweet but it was just so difficult to get at.
Kroya was the restaurant of our hotel's sister property, just across the road. It features outdoor tables where the diners sit on swing seats - we declined these! We ate here a couple of times and all the food was good but the Khmer tasting menu was outstanding: first a vermicelli salad with pork belly and grilled chicken served with a small cup of flavoured rice wine, then a really superb seafood rice cake with coconut lime sauce. The main dishes were all served together, the red mullet with Khmer red curry sauce and roasted spiced pork chops with sweet chilli sauce were the standout dishes - fantastic flavours!
The Artisans Angkor store has a huge range of Cambodian products with the laudable aims of supporting Khmer handicrafts and teaching local people, especially in rural areas, the necessary traditional skills. Beautiful silk products in a vast range of colours, stone carvings, woodwork, paintings and much more is on offer - it's impossible not to be tempted by something.
We arrived in Siem Reap during the three day Water Festival. The celebrations had been cancelled in Phnom Penh but here they were in full swing so after lunch we headed for the river, guided by one of the hotel employees to the hotel's patch on the river bank. The hotel's boat had done very well the previous day in the heats and the final was this afternoon.
The Water Festival marks the end of the monsoon and, in Phnom Penh, the reversal of flow of the Tonle Sap River. It also coincides with a full moon so there is also a Moon Festival with more rural connections to do with the harvest.
The river banks were twenty-deep, everyone waiting for the races to begin. As usual there was plenty of food on offer, from sellers on foot wandering up and down among the crowds to roadside stalls. Lots of grilled meats as well as a wide variety of fruit.
The first races were for children, each in a flattish, woven boat using a thick stick to propel themselves through the water.
Then came the adults, two boats racing against each other in several heats. There were both male and female teams of about two dozen in each boat. The hotel team got beaten, but I believe they had done very well.
In the front half of the boat the paddlers are seated, in the rear half they stand.
The seated paddlers work very hard and fast, the standing paddlers are slower but dig deeper. All great fun!
Neither of us like circuses, but this one has no animals and is run by Phare Ponleu Selpak, a non-profit Cambodian association working with vulnerable children, young adults and their families to improve their lives through art schools, educational programmes and social support. So it's a worthy cause and one very deserving of support.
The youngsters are basically acrobats but they endeavour to tell a story in a very innovative way using minimal props. The band were great too!
