Hello everyone! We haven’t had the time to blog every night so we are going to do an update of what has been going on here in Siem Reap over the past few days.
Wednesday
Leah left off on Wednesday before we went out to celebrate for (other) Sasha’s birthday. Before Sasha and Victoria got home we went to a bakery across the street and got a chocolate cake. While the cake itself had a good texture the icing was pretty much just whipped butter. Though there are so many amazing different types of food here cake isn’t something we would go out of our way to buy again. We actually ended up eating the cake after our game of Yatzee at V&A before we left to get dinner. After Sasha blew out her candles and we dug into the cake like vultures we went to Charlie’s, an American style bar. It was really awesome and we ended up running into Jeff, Jill and Henry, three teachers visiting Siem Reap from Thailand who are staying at V&A during their school vacation. Henry and Jeff are from New York and Jill is from England. They are all really cool people. They came along with us to paint the town and celebrate Sasha’s 21st BIRTHDAY (less of a big deal in Siem Reap as it is in the states but we still had a great night)!
Thursday
Nothing too exciting happened during the day on Thursday, we just went to Cafe Central for lunch and then did our first grocery shopping in Siem Reap! We bought some Nutella among other things, which is sadly really expensive here (about $5 a jar), so we are going to have to really treasure it. When we got home from the store we relaxed in our room for a bit and then ended up going to Trivia Night at Ivy with Sasha, Victoria, Jeff, Henry and Jill. Our team name was, “Next Question” and we came in second place! But to be fair most of the teams had two people and we had seven. Every week a different NGO or non-profit is sponsored and they get to talk about what they do and people can donate money. This weeks was a school from a poor village that offers families food and medical care and schooling. It was a really great night; we enjoyed awesome food, played trivia and supported a great cause! We will definitely be going back to Trivia Night next week. Maybe we will try to get a JWOC team together, all the scholarship students are so smart!
Friday
Friday we went to school in the morning which was great as usual! Nesa was out so Leah and I were in charge of the library. At first we were a little worried about how this would go but it was so easy with these kids. They all played with each other so well and always cleaned up after themselves. After lunch at our local spot we had to say goodbye to Pat, which was really sad but we know that it wasn’t a permanent goodbye. Unfortunatley we didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Jane. Leah will see Pat and Jane when she goes to Davis and I will see them when I visit Leah! We really enjoyed getting to know these to amazing women and can’t wait to stay in touch with them.
After our goodbyes we met with Liz and Neath, two staff members of JWOC, as well as Makara who is the director of the Journeys Within Tour Company in Cambodia. Makara took us on a tour of the squatters village behind JWOC where many of the students who attend the school live. As I talked about in my last post it was really eye-opening going to the village but especially interesting to have Makara telling us more about the village. We saw some kids that had just left JWOC who called out to us, “Teacher, teacher!”
When we were walking home from school we talked about going to bed early but when we arrived at V&A Valek, Andy’s wife, told us that she was going to Savon’s house warming party. There was no question that we would go. We changed and were ready to go see Savon, who we have become good friends with over the past two weeks. Andy told us that it would be a short Tuk Tuk ride but it actually ended up taking a while. We followed Valek on her motorbike (she is so cool) but we had to get out and walk on the road to Savon’s house. The party was great and her house was beautiful with marble floors and walls; we got to meet all her friends and family. We were dancing on the dirt roads for what felt like hours but it was so much fun. It was great that we were having such an awesome time while experiencing Khmai culture. I even learned a traditional Khmai dance and was doing that with some people for a bit! There were a few really cute babies there too! But by far the best part of the party was seeing Savon and her father-in-law together. They both have such wonderful spirits and were dancing, smiling and laughing. Her father had the warmest smile and he had KILLER dance moves for days. Every time people would try to imitate his moves, which no one could do as well as he did, he would switch things up and blow everyone away with his moves. We hope that we will get to see Savon’s friends and family during the rest of our time here.
Saturday
Today we didn’t have to go to school until noon because there aren’t many kids in the library on Saturdays. As I said, Nesa was out yesterday and will be out until Monday because she is graduating! Raya, another scholarship student, is also graduating in her class. We are so proud of both of them and we know that everyone at JWOC is too! When we got to JWOC it was lunchtime so there were no students there. This was kind of nice for us because we got to talk with some of the scholarships students. One of the students, Kimchhay, taught us the Khmer alphabet. There are 55 letters altogether but they look so interesting and beautiful. We are really enjoying getting to know all of the scholarship students and everyone at JWOC; they are all so amazing. Tomorrow we will go take a tour of the squatters village with another scholarship student who will tell us about all the projects that JWOC has done in the village.
No pictures for this post sadly but we will make sure to get some for our next post!
Love,
L&S
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
The Last Couple of Days…
ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ!
Time to catch up on the last couple of days (AGAIN, lol sorry!)
Sunday
I know Sasha already wrote about Sunday-day, but after she finished the blog, we ended up going to the Cambodian Circus with our friend from upstairs, "other-Sasha". She had two free tickets along with a 20% off voucher for any additional purchase, so Sash and I split the last ticket for only $7.50 each (they are usually $18 a pop). That might seem high, but the Circus is actually a non-profit that gives Cambodians from impoverished backgrounds free education and training. All of the money made each night is used to give the same opportunity to other young Cambodians or sent back to the families of the performers.
After 8 years of high intensity training, the performers were simply incredible. Within the insane tricks, there was also a story told about a disabled man who wasn’t accepted by anyone. The show took us through his relationship with gods, curses, and fitting in. Both Sasha’s and I were left speechless at the end of the show, wanting nothing more than to go again and again.
Their great work has also been appreciated worldwide, giving many of the performers a chance to travel! This show is actually traveling to the USA (not sure where) and France next year!
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| How?? We don't know.. |
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| Just jump roping fire |
Monday
Monday morning we both woke up super tired. I could feel myself getting a little sick, so I drank vitamin C and told myself it is all in my head. Playing with children is difficult when your tired and feeling icky, but their smiles and energy made it way easier.
We had lunch at the local place down the street again (the name is in Khmer, so we will continue to call it “the local place”). After ordering the same plate of $1 noodles in our horribly pronounced Khmer, the woman smiled and said, “same, same.” She brought her baby (I’m guessing around 4-5 months) by our table later on and damn she’s so cute! We can’t wait to continue eating there and build a relationship with the family, who lives right above the eating area:) (reminds me of Nick’s!!)
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| Finally remembered a pic! |
Pat joined about halfway through our lunch and we ended up sitting for a while learning all about her marathon running and the two times she has biked across THE ENTIRE USA… needless to say we have a new role model.
After lunch Sasha worked with Kea, one of the scholarship students who just got promoted at JWOC, to record attendance into a database. I stayed in the library with Nesa and made snakes out of pipe cleaners and beads with about 40 children. It was mayhem but such a blast. From 4-5, David had me observe an older, but less advanced English class taught by a newer teacher who needs assistance. It was really awesome. She let me lead the class in some activities and used me a lot as an example for pronunciation. I will be helping with Teacher Nga with this class for the rest of our time here at JWOC:)
Later that night Jane and Pat treated us to dinner at a fabulous non-profit restaurant called Haven. Monday was its first night open after closing for a couple of weeks to train new students. The food was absolutely incredible (I got veggie curry, something I could really go for again right now actually!). We started with a pomelo salad (soooo good!) and finished with rice dumplings in an incredible coconut-milk and ginger sauce.
Jane and Pat should write a book. Their experiences living in China and Japan as well as traveling to what seems like every country in the world make my mind swell with jealousy. We also talked about the Davis Farmers Market and life in California-- a life I can’t wait to start next year (hopefully with frequent get togethers with Jane and Pat who are only 20 mins away)!
Even though we have just met them, we’re so sad that they are leaving on Saturday:(
Thanks for an awesome dinner, Jane and Pat!
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| Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of all four of us, but Jane snapped one of us two |
Tuesday
Tuesday’s are usually our days off, but JWOC will be closed on Thursday for ទិវាប្រកាសប្រើរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញ (Constitutional Day), so we decided to head in since we didn’t need/want 3 days off. Our morning started as usual— playing, reading, and jumping rope with the children in the library. After our local lunch and coffee, Sasha did more work with the database and I got the pleasure of assisting three classes. One kindergarten, one 8-10 English class, and lastly Nga’s English class. It was amazing. I mostly just observed and corrected homework since teaching is still so new to me, but as time goes on I will be doing more and more. I already knew so many of the kids from the first two classes that day, which was icing on the cake. I think I might find my calling in the next couple of months… but who knows!?
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| Some pics from the library |
We got home just after 5 and went up to other Sasha’s room, where we just kind of bummed around and hung out for a while. At 8 we all realized we were hungry for dinner so we went into Old Market/Pub street for more of Il Forno’s pizza (I don’t know why but I’m craving pizza like everyday, ugh! I think I miss Nick’s a little…)
Wednesday
Sasha and I woke up at 11 today and have literally been in and out of sleep since (it’s 5:30pm). We left our room only for breakfast. Pathetic, we know, but we will take sleep when it comes, and it feels greaaat. All the locals nap, so why can’t we?
Today is other Sasha’s birthday, but she won’t be home until 8-ish. I’m sure we (us three and Victoria) will all do something fun tonight to celebrate:)
Love and miss you all back home, of course, but Siem Reap is starting to feel more and more like home away from home as we make friends, learn our way around, and (slowly but surely) learn some of the beautiful language!
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| Five of the 9 cats here at V&A |
Love,
Us
Monday, September 21, 2015
Catching Up
ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ and good morning to everyone back in the US!
So we know that it has been a couple of days since we posted - sorry! Saturday was a very relaxed day and Friday was a busy day so we will only really be talking about yesterday, Sunday, but will include a brief update on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday we rode bikes to school which was very nice because both Leah and I really liked riding bikes here. Maybe something about knowing that there are people speeding all around you who aren’t the best drivers gives us an adrenaline rush. When we got to school we played with the kids and then went outside to jump rope. It had been so long since Leah and I jumped rope and it took us a few tries to get the hang of it. The kids were so adorable and taught us how to count to 20 in Khmer (even though we still only know 1-3). After this we had a meeting with Nesa on the talent show; she had so many great ideas including a skit done by the kids on the environment! School was great and so was our lunch which was only $1 each and really delicious.
On Saturday we just relaxed pretty much all day. After we walked the 20 minutes to get to school we were planning crafts in the incredibly hot art room for about 20 minutes then walked back home. I ended up taking a six hour nap after we found out that we didn’t have to go to school because no kids go to JWOC that day. For dinner we got DELIVERY PIZZA - a concept that in the U.S. didn’t make me this excited but in Siem Reap made me and Leah very happy girls.
Yesterday we went to school and played with all the kids in the library. Every other week there are classes that take place in the library and yesterday Nesa was teaching a science class. Leah and I were so impressed by the fact that the lesson was in Khmer as well as English. We can’t imagine how difficult that is for Nesa and the children but that just shows the passion for learning on both sides. Because we couldn’t really add anything to this lesson we went to Peace Cafe for lunch. Leah got a peanut butter shake and spring rolls and I got a lime juice and a noodle soup. When I ordered the soup I wasn’t expecting the soup to be spicy, but dang was that thing HOT! And of course I got this on the hottest day that we have been here so I got some delicious coconut and chocolate ice cream to cool my mouth off. We took four Tuk Tuks because it was too hot to walk the distance. When we got back to school we played a game of Sorry with two of the scholarship students. One of the things that we are so excited about for the next five months is to connect with the staff and students because everyone here is so nice and friendly.
In the middle of our game I ended up leaving with another scholarship student, Chamreou, to go advertise. At first I was confused about what this meant but I later realized that we were going out into a village to tell children about JWOC and the art class that would be offered in the afternoon. It was really eye opening seeing this village and the people that are living there. Just to see how little these people have yet they are still so positive and motivated; it really made me think. Many young children ran around naked and none of the children had toys to play with but the smiles across their faces as they ran around in the hot sun was heart warming. Although I couldn’t understand the conversations that Chamreou was having with the parents she told me that some of them said that their children could not attend school because they needed to stay home and help around the house. I also saw two children who came to art class last week which was the first class at JWOC that Leah and I attended. The kids, who are brother and sister, were helping to wash their families Tuk Tuk, but they still made it to JWOC in time for the 2:00 art class. Leah and I were so happy to see them. Seeing this made everything that JWOC is doing so real and concrete and made me realize just how amazing it is. You can really tell how many great people there are working there who want to help make a change in people’s live and how passionate they are about educating others. I am so honored to be a part of such a fantastic non-profit and I am excited to spend the next four months of my life here with everyone who makes it such a great place. That’s it for today, before I get too cheesy and emotional :)
Love,
L&S
So we know that it has been a couple of days since we posted - sorry! Saturday was a very relaxed day and Friday was a busy day so we will only really be talking about yesterday, Sunday, but will include a brief update on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday we rode bikes to school which was very nice because both Leah and I really liked riding bikes here. Maybe something about knowing that there are people speeding all around you who aren’t the best drivers gives us an adrenaline rush. When we got to school we played with the kids and then went outside to jump rope. It had been so long since Leah and I jumped rope and it took us a few tries to get the hang of it. The kids were so adorable and taught us how to count to 20 in Khmer (even though we still only know 1-3). After this we had a meeting with Nesa on the talent show; she had so many great ideas including a skit done by the kids on the environment! School was great and so was our lunch which was only $1 each and really delicious.
On Saturday we just relaxed pretty much all day. After we walked the 20 minutes to get to school we were planning crafts in the incredibly hot art room for about 20 minutes then walked back home. I ended up taking a six hour nap after we found out that we didn’t have to go to school because no kids go to JWOC that day. For dinner we got DELIVERY PIZZA - a concept that in the U.S. didn’t make me this excited but in Siem Reap made me and Leah very happy girls.
Yesterday we went to school and played with all the kids in the library. Every other week there are classes that take place in the library and yesterday Nesa was teaching a science class. Leah and I were so impressed by the fact that the lesson was in Khmer as well as English. We can’t imagine how difficult that is for Nesa and the children but that just shows the passion for learning on both sides. Because we couldn’t really add anything to this lesson we went to Peace Cafe for lunch. Leah got a peanut butter shake and spring rolls and I got a lime juice and a noodle soup. When I ordered the soup I wasn’t expecting the soup to be spicy, but dang was that thing HOT! And of course I got this on the hottest day that we have been here so I got some delicious coconut and chocolate ice cream to cool my mouth off. We took four Tuk Tuks because it was too hot to walk the distance. When we got back to school we played a game of Sorry with two of the scholarship students. One of the things that we are so excited about for the next five months is to connect with the staff and students because everyone here is so nice and friendly.
In the middle of our game I ended up leaving with another scholarship student, Chamreou, to go advertise. At first I was confused about what this meant but I later realized that we were going out into a village to tell children about JWOC and the art class that would be offered in the afternoon. It was really eye opening seeing this village and the people that are living there. Just to see how little these people have yet they are still so positive and motivated; it really made me think. Many young children ran around naked and none of the children had toys to play with but the smiles across their faces as they ran around in the hot sun was heart warming. Although I couldn’t understand the conversations that Chamreou was having with the parents she told me that some of them said that their children could not attend school because they needed to stay home and help around the house. I also saw two children who came to art class last week which was the first class at JWOC that Leah and I attended. The kids, who are brother and sister, were helping to wash their families Tuk Tuk, but they still made it to JWOC in time for the 2:00 art class. Leah and I were so happy to see them. Seeing this made everything that JWOC is doing so real and concrete and made me realize just how amazing it is. You can really tell how many great people there are working there who want to help make a change in people’s live and how passionate they are about educating others. I am so honored to be a part of such a fantastic non-profit and I am excited to spend the next four months of my life here with everyone who makes it such a great place. That’s it for today, before I get too cheesy and emotional :)
Love,
L&S
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Nothing but Delicious Food.
ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ!
Arriving at JWOC with almost ten minutes to spare, we took our time signing in and greeting the children playing all around us. At 9, we met David in the office, where he let us know that Nesa was not coming in today because she had a family celebration. We later found out from two of the scholarship students that she was at a celebration much like a birthday, but for old people. They said that in Cambodian culture, as a family member gets older, the parties get bigger at better as they wish them more healthy years to come (Grandparents and Auntie, I think we should bring this ritual home with us!!).
Because Nesa wasn’t there, the library and classes were a little chaotic (she is JWOC’s MVP), but that almost made them more fun. We spent the first half of the day just simply playing and getting to know the students. I started the morning completing a puzzle with a little girl who I remembered well from the kindergarten class we observed a few days ago, while Sash joined the circle of boys playing with Lincoln Logs near the door. The puzzle was actually really tricky (as all are for me... I am not my sister), taking a solid 20 minutes to complete. I looked back over at Sash by the time we were finished (minus the four pieces that were missing), and she was covered with children shoving books at her.
*LESSON OF THE DAY*
If you grab one book with one student, expect to be surrounded by kids of all ages holding books of all sizes (and languages!) in roughly 10-20 seconds. And make sure to sit comfortably, because you will be there for while.
As the morning went on, waves of different ages came and went as their classes started. The library is sometimes used as a classroom, but is mostly there as an “activity center” full of games, toys, stuffed animals, and books for children to use in between classes, since most of these children have very little to nothing at home.
One of the things that touched both Sasha and I right away was the cleanliness and organization of the library. You would think that a space open as a free-for-all play area to children of all ages would look like a tornado hit after just a few minutes. But no, each and every child (even the really little ones as young as 3) put everything right back in its place as soon as they are finished using it. We were also really impressed when we noticed that the teachers sweep every hour, even though everyone is required to wash their hands and take off their shoes before going inside.
Anyways, as the day continued the kids felt more and more comfortable around us and vice versa. We spent the morning reading, puzzle making, piggy back giving, and (a favorite among all ages), pressing plastic animal figurines into pin art, reenacting the sound the animal makes and having the kids tell you the English translation— pig, rooster, dragon, and the all time favorite, dinosaur.
At 11, there was a pre-K class in the library. We sung songs, read a story (Sash and the teacher alternated sentence by sentence reading aloud in English and Khmer), and crafted a drawing of a carrot using our hands as the leafy top and then drawing an orange triangle underneath. It was adorable.
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| They never smile for the group picture, but every other second of the day they are grinning. |
By the end of only three hours, Sash and I each had our own followers— kids who had taken a special interest in us and who we had become closer with. Mine consisted of three little (trouble making) boys and one little big eyed girl who had just lost her two front teeth.
When the library cleared out as the kids went home for lunch, we met with David and Pat in the conference room to start planning JWOC’s Got Talent. We put together a solid list of rough plans and are feeling super good about what’s to come. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you all updated on any potential live streaming or video sharing:)
Then it was time for our lunch. Pat introduced us to a local place only 5 doors down from JWOC, where we learned how to order fried noodles in Khmer. Each (very generous) serving was $1 and just simply delicious. For dessert, we shared an iced coffee with condensed milk. Again, simply delicious, just like literally every other thing we have consumed during our time here.
After lunch we returned to JWOC, where there were a lot less children than before. The afternoons are quite slow compared to mornings. Sasha took the time to a photograph tour for you all to see, while I sat in the corner and read to a group of about 6. The kids were older, and I was asking them to teach me some Khmer words in each book we read. I learned 1-10, all the colors, and some animals (I mean, I didn’t retain any of it, but I tried!). Every time I attempted to repeat what they said, they would all look at each other and burst into laughter. They would then repeat themselves slower and slower until I (kind of) got it. I was quite embarrassed, but the kids were really enjoying calling themselves “teacher” and laughing at my pathetic ear language.
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| Me and my fav little afternoon guy |
The day trickled on and by 3:30 there was really nothing for us to do, so we left for our journey home half an hour before scheduled. When we got back to V&A we just relaxed for a while and caught up on blogging and journalling.
By the time we were thinking about dinner it was beginning to get dark and the temptation to eat at the villa was strong. However, we fought the ease of staying in and decided to wonder off to try something new. Somehow, we mutually agreed we were in the mood for noodles (even though we both had them for lunch). Victoria, the Northeastern student staying here recommended a place called 8 Boat Noodle, located right outside of the Old Market and Pub Street. We walked there in about 30 mins, and boy are we glad we did. For only 2,500 reils a bowl (that about 30 cents), we got 6 different bowls of noodles (each only a few bites). We were trying to honor the name and get 8, but we were just so full. Needless to say, we were (again) very satisfied with our meal.
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| 4,000 riels = 1 USD |
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| She's (slowly) starting to know how to use chopsticks! |
Since we were so close to the main part of the city, we decided to splurge and look for a place to get some dessert. We ended up stumbling into a cafe we immediately recognized as one Andrew had suggested a few days earlier: Cafe Central. Hearing the live tune of “Brown Eyed Girl” being played by a bald guitarist, we popped a squat in the deep, comfortable couch against the rustic brick walls. We each ordered a cappuccino and scoop of ice cream, me chocolate and Sash vanilla. It was heaven, truly giving Peace Cafe a run for its money.
Sitting for probably about two hours, this journey to satisfy our sweet tooth ended up being a real memorable moment in our travels so far. It was almost surreal— sitting in a beautiful cafe, watching the hustle and bustle of a beautiful, foreign city out the wind next to us and having a heart to heart about sappy things you all could care less about. It was peaceful. It was awesome.
When the musician stopped playing, we decided it was time to head home, so we made our way to the counter to pay our bill. We ended up chatting for a few minutes with the musician, whose name I will admit I forget (I have simply just learned way too many in the past week). It turns out he’s been living in Siem Reap for five months now and plays at Cafe Central every day except sunday. If the amazing food/drink wasn’t enough to bring us back, he certainly was.
We took a quick, $2 Tuk Tuk home where we now sit in the dark, Sash sound asleep and me typing with my eyes becoming heavier and heavier.
With love,
Us
Bike Riding and Getting Gyped
ជំរាបសួរ មិត្តភក្តិនិង គ្រួសារ,(Hello friends and family in Khmer),
We were exhausted from the awesome, action packed day that we had yesterday that when we got home we were too tired to post.
The day began with very little promise; it was raining out. The forecast for Siem Reap calls for rain for the next week (this seems a bit strange because the country is in the midst of monsoon season and it very rarely constantly rains). However it rained all day Tuesday and was actually kind of chilly. We are pretty sure this doesn’t even begin to compare to the weather that everyone back home in New England is beginning to feel with fall right around the corner.
Anyway, I woke up around 8:30 but Leah slept in until around 11 so we had a late breakfast and a very relaxed morning. It was really nice not having to set an alarm but to wake up when we felt rested because this was our “weekend.” When we were eating our breakfast Andy, the owner of the villa was around so we asked him for some ideas of cool things to do during the day. He is really nice and gives us great suggestions on what places are good, where the locals go, and places that not many tourists know to go to, which we like. This is so helpful for us being such new solo travelers and we don’t know what is good in Siem Reap. We really appreciate all that he has done for us and look forward to getting to know him and his guests better over the next five months. We could immediately tell from everyone’s reaction, including his employees, what a great owner and nice person he is when he returned from his mother country, London, for his “second honey moon” with his wife. Andy suggested that if we were looking for a relaxing day a great idea would be to bike to Pnohm Kron, a temple in the country side that can be a beautiful place to watch the sunset. We hadn't been out on bikes yet and the weather wasn’t too hot so we decided that we would go for it! The bikes cost $1 to rent for the entire day and Andy was nice enough to pump all the tires up for us.
We left the villa and turned onto National Highway 6, pretty much the busiest main highway. Because we were going into town we had to turn left, which sounds a lot easier than it actually is. The larger roads here are really interesting because there is a two lane road for cars in the middle and then on both sides of that road there are four lane roads for Tuk Tuks, motorbikes and regular bikes. It was only a bit terrifying at first when motorbikes were driving all around us but once we got the hang of it we felt so bad ass. Feeling very accomplished that we actually made it into town alive we decided to take a break while we were ahead and walk around to find some lunch. At first we sat down at The Red Piano, a nice looking German restaurant in the middle of the Old Market. But after looking at the menu we realized that it was a little out of our price range; about $6 for an entree, obviously considered a deal in the U.S.. Ah, how Cambodia has changed us. Leah had remembered that Pat recommended an excellent Italian restaurant to us just the day before. Il Forno, a hidden gem in the Old Market, literally nestled away in an alley behind other restaurants. I know, this sounds kind of odd to walk into an alley to go to a restaurant but that is part of what makes this place so great. Because of its “secret” location it was very quiet and peaceful. I assume that most tourists don’t know about this place unless they loose their way or have a recommendation. We only looked at the menu for a minute because we went in prepared to order a pizza. Only a week in and we have been craving Western comfort food. Another added perk to this restaurant was that they served us cold water. At first we were questioning drinking the water because you have to be so careful about the water here but today we aren’t sick so KNOCK ON WOOD! The pizza came out pretty quickly because we were two of four patrons in the restaurant. When the server put the pizza in front of us the belief that we weren’t very hungry went right out the window. We immediately dug in and it was just what we wanted. I think we might go back tomorrow night.
*Side note* - When we were touring the Angkor temples we ran into a couple from the Philippines. We were both trying to find our Tuk Tuk drivers who said that they would meet us in the same location. They told us about a restaurant that they had recently been to called “The Happy Pizza” that served really good pizza and if you asked for the pizza “extra happy” they baked marijuana into the pizza. They said that they were insanely high all night, which we thought was really funny. On Trip Advisor we found that there is a whole block of pizza places that compete to serve the “happiest” pizza. Just a few names of these fine establishments include Happy Herb’s Pizza, Happy Special Pizza, Ecstatic Pizza, you get the point. Pretty much all of these restaurants have close to 5 stars, (I wonder why), with reviews like “makes you happy after 30 minutes” or “paranoia overload.” With this in mind we decided to ditch the happy pizza, everything here is too new to add that to the mix, and try Il Forno. We’re glad we did!
After lunch we were off for the country side, taking National Highway 6 until it turned into a one lane road. Although we were happy to have the wind in our hair and be on the bikes the beginning of the ride was nothing special. A lot of bikes and cars around us and trash in the brown river that ran next to us. We saw a lot more poverty in this part of Cambodia but Leah was saying that these people are still considered the better off ones in the country. When the amount of motorbikes and cars began to decrease the ride became a lot more relaxed and the lotus flowers and rice paddies came into view. There were these really cool restaurants along the 7 km ride that overlooked the rice paddies and had hammocks so that you can watch the sunset. When we finally got to the stairs of the temple our legs were tired and we weren’t sure if we could make it up the 100 or so stairs so we bought a coconut (yes a whole coconut for only $1) for the hike up. There were some kids playing on the stairs and even some mountain goats. Leah was really pumped about this.
When we got to the stairs there was an Angkor guard waiting. Andy had told us that sometimes there were guards waiting and if you didn’t have a ticket you could try to bribe them. While we went in with the intention of bribing the guard with $2 we chickened out when we saw how intimidating he was. So we decided to walk to the other side to get a great view of the village.
After our bike ride home we decided to stop in town to go to the Night Market and Pub Street. It felt so different at night than it did the first time we went to the market, which was the day that we arrived so we were tired and cranky. The Night Market was alive and bustling. We looked around for a place to get a small bite to eat and ended up going to a place that served fried rice in half a pineapple. Although we could get a better tasting fried rice at the hotel the presentation was excellent. All the restaurants had happy hour which meant 50 cent beer! I got a beer and Leah got a margarita; both tasted great!
We decided that we weren’t quite ready to end our amazing day so we looked around the shopping vendors. It is really interesting to see all of the vendors set up next to each other selling a lot of the same stuff. Basically what happened was we were looking for really cool printed pants that we have seen all over. The first place that we went to the woman offered us two pair of pants for $14 at first. As we were walking away she bargained down for us to both for $8 and then both for $6! Even though we didn’t really like the patterns it was a great deal but we still walked away. The next vendor we went to the woman eagerly greeted us and showed us what styles and patterns she had. We really liked them so we asked how much they were. She started off at $18 - way overpriced. We tried bargaining down to both for $10. She was not happy about this but agreed. Then Leah told her that the other woman offered us two pairs for $6 so she should give them to us for $8. She got kind of mad that we were being so wishy washy but she reluctantly gave them to us for $8. Then we walked around a bit more and the other vendors started the bargaining at 2 for $8, so we knew that we got ripped off. It took us a while to get over it but now we understand that that was kind of like an initiation so we are more ok with it and we are happy with our new pants!
After dinner and shopping we got a delicious banana and nutella pancake from a street vendor - our first street food! We are very excited to have more street food during the rest of our time here! Then we biked home, talked with some of the other guests, showered because we were so sweaty from our ride and fell right asleep. It was a great day!
Before we end this post, we wanted to thank you all for reading our blog and following our adventure. Yesterday we made it to 1,000 page views! It really means so much to us that you all have been consistently reading our posts!
Love,
Us
We were exhausted from the awesome, action packed day that we had yesterday that when we got home we were too tired to post.
The day began with very little promise; it was raining out. The forecast for Siem Reap calls for rain for the next week (this seems a bit strange because the country is in the midst of monsoon season and it very rarely constantly rains). However it rained all day Tuesday and was actually kind of chilly. We are pretty sure this doesn’t even begin to compare to the weather that everyone back home in New England is beginning to feel with fall right around the corner.
Anyway, I woke up around 8:30 but Leah slept in until around 11 so we had a late breakfast and a very relaxed morning. It was really nice not having to set an alarm but to wake up when we felt rested because this was our “weekend.” When we were eating our breakfast Andy, the owner of the villa was around so we asked him for some ideas of cool things to do during the day. He is really nice and gives us great suggestions on what places are good, where the locals go, and places that not many tourists know to go to, which we like. This is so helpful for us being such new solo travelers and we don’t know what is good in Siem Reap. We really appreciate all that he has done for us and look forward to getting to know him and his guests better over the next five months. We could immediately tell from everyone’s reaction, including his employees, what a great owner and nice person he is when he returned from his mother country, London, for his “second honey moon” with his wife. Andy suggested that if we were looking for a relaxing day a great idea would be to bike to Pnohm Kron, a temple in the country side that can be a beautiful place to watch the sunset. We hadn't been out on bikes yet and the weather wasn’t too hot so we decided that we would go for it! The bikes cost $1 to rent for the entire day and Andy was nice enough to pump all the tires up for us.
We left the villa and turned onto National Highway 6, pretty much the busiest main highway. Because we were going into town we had to turn left, which sounds a lot easier than it actually is. The larger roads here are really interesting because there is a two lane road for cars in the middle and then on both sides of that road there are four lane roads for Tuk Tuks, motorbikes and regular bikes. It was only a bit terrifying at first when motorbikes were driving all around us but once we got the hang of it we felt so bad ass. Feeling very accomplished that we actually made it into town alive we decided to take a break while we were ahead and walk around to find some lunch. At first we sat down at The Red Piano, a nice looking German restaurant in the middle of the Old Market. But after looking at the menu we realized that it was a little out of our price range; about $6 for an entree, obviously considered a deal in the U.S.. Ah, how Cambodia has changed us. Leah had remembered that Pat recommended an excellent Italian restaurant to us just the day before. Il Forno, a hidden gem in the Old Market, literally nestled away in an alley behind other restaurants. I know, this sounds kind of odd to walk into an alley to go to a restaurant but that is part of what makes this place so great. Because of its “secret” location it was very quiet and peaceful. I assume that most tourists don’t know about this place unless they loose their way or have a recommendation. We only looked at the menu for a minute because we went in prepared to order a pizza. Only a week in and we have been craving Western comfort food. Another added perk to this restaurant was that they served us cold water. At first we were questioning drinking the water because you have to be so careful about the water here but today we aren’t sick so KNOCK ON WOOD! The pizza came out pretty quickly because we were two of four patrons in the restaurant. When the server put the pizza in front of us the belief that we weren’t very hungry went right out the window. We immediately dug in and it was just what we wanted. I think we might go back tomorrow night.
*Side note* - When we were touring the Angkor temples we ran into a couple from the Philippines. We were both trying to find our Tuk Tuk drivers who said that they would meet us in the same location. They told us about a restaurant that they had recently been to called “The Happy Pizza” that served really good pizza and if you asked for the pizza “extra happy” they baked marijuana into the pizza. They said that they were insanely high all night, which we thought was really funny. On Trip Advisor we found that there is a whole block of pizza places that compete to serve the “happiest” pizza. Just a few names of these fine establishments include Happy Herb’s Pizza, Happy Special Pizza, Ecstatic Pizza, you get the point. Pretty much all of these restaurants have close to 5 stars, (I wonder why), with reviews like “makes you happy after 30 minutes” or “paranoia overload.” With this in mind we decided to ditch the happy pizza, everything here is too new to add that to the mix, and try Il Forno. We’re glad we did!
 |
| They deliver! It may have been better that we didn't know this. |
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| Look at that delicious pizza!!! |
When we got to the stairs there was an Angkor guard waiting. Andy had told us that sometimes there were guards waiting and if you didn’t have a ticket you could try to bribe them. While we went in with the intention of bribing the guard with $2 we chickened out when we saw how intimidating he was. So we decided to walk to the other side to get a great view of the village.
 |
| Rice patties on a dull, gray day |
 |
| GOATS!! |
After our bike ride home we decided to stop in town to go to the Night Market and Pub Street. It felt so different at night than it did the first time we went to the market, which was the day that we arrived so we were tired and cranky. The Night Market was alive and bustling. We looked around for a place to get a small bite to eat and ended up going to a place that served fried rice in half a pineapple. Although we could get a better tasting fried rice at the hotel the presentation was excellent. All the restaurants had happy hour which meant 50 cent beer! I got a beer and Leah got a margarita; both tasted great!
 |
| Cheers! |
We decided that we weren’t quite ready to end our amazing day so we looked around the shopping vendors. It is really interesting to see all of the vendors set up next to each other selling a lot of the same stuff. Basically what happened was we were looking for really cool printed pants that we have seen all over. The first place that we went to the woman offered us two pair of pants for $14 at first. As we were walking away she bargained down for us to both for $8 and then both for $6! Even though we didn’t really like the patterns it was a great deal but we still walked away. The next vendor we went to the woman eagerly greeted us and showed us what styles and patterns she had. We really liked them so we asked how much they were. She started off at $18 - way overpriced. We tried bargaining down to both for $10. She was not happy about this but agreed. Then Leah told her that the other woman offered us two pairs for $6 so she should give them to us for $8. She got kind of mad that we were being so wishy washy but she reluctantly gave them to us for $8. Then we walked around a bit more and the other vendors started the bargaining at 2 for $8, so we knew that we got ripped off. It took us a while to get over it but now we understand that that was kind of like an initiation so we are more ok with it and we are happy with our new pants!
After dinner and shopping we got a delicious banana and nutella pancake from a street vendor - our first street food! We are very excited to have more street food during the rest of our time here! Then we biked home, talked with some of the other guests, showered because we were so sweaty from our ride and fell right asleep. It was a great day!
Before we end this post, we wanted to thank you all for reading our blog and following our adventure. Yesterday we made it to 1,000 page views! It really means so much to us that you all have been consistently reading our posts!
Love,
Us
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