Siem Reap, Cambodia: Part 3

The final few days in Cambodia have been pretty chill. The day after Marshall’s crazy evening he wasn’t feeling so hot (gee, I wonder why). He had major stomach issues (if you know what I mean) and felt really cold with the chills and then he’d get really hot even with the air conditioner on full blast. He sucked it up all day and then finally went to the pharmacy to get medicine to make him feel better. While he was there the pharmacist checked his temperature to make sure he didn’t have a fever and luckily he didn’t. Meanwhile, I spent most of the day playing in the pool with Tyson and hanging out in the lobby so Marshall could have some quiet time to himself to rest. Of course, the staff were more than willing to help with Tyson so I brought my laptop out to the lobby to research on the computer while they entertained him for a little bit at a time. It’s adorable when he knows we’re about to let him out of the room. He’ll run and grab every toy he can see and fill up both hands to the brim. He gets annoyed when he can’t carry all of them, but that doesn’t stop him from trying over and over.

We did briefly get out of the hotel for a few minutes to go get some coffee from Costa Coffee and hit up the market on the way back to get more fruit. I have eaten so much fruit while I’ve been in Cambodia, it is crazy. I’ve had a whole papaya, two mangos, and two bananas just about every day. I guess my fruit craze is better than my daily frappucinos back home (not to say I won’t go back to that habit when I get home, I just haven’t had as much access to them while abroad – they’re just so good!)

The next day was just as chill as the day before. Marshall still wasn’t feeling 100% and spent a good chunk of the day/night between the bed and the bathroom (fun times). So I hung out with Tyson in the pool and the lobby again. The best part about hanging out in the lobby is the Michael Bolton and Kenny G jams in the background. We did get out for our daily market run in the morning and then in the afternoon we went on a search for flip flops since the ones I’ve been wearing for the past few days were funky colored and about 3 sizes too small.

Every time we leave our hotel for a walk the tuk tuk drivers parked (everywhere) ask ‘you need tuk tuk?’ We always politely say no, then they ask “maybe later?” We say no again, then they ask “maybe tomorrow?”. Just about the same thing happens as you pass any massage parlor (which happens every third shop or so). There’s actually shirts you can buy in the market that say “No tuk tuk, not later & not tomorrow” and “No tuk tuk, no massage, no money” for tourists to wear while they walk around…wonder if it works. We thought about buying one, but then realized the shirt would cost around the same as the tuk tuk ride so it would be a wash. Anyway, after searching through market and only finding jippy, straw-like flip flops I thought I would be stuck wearing these hideous flip flops until we got to our next stop. Then all of a sudden behind the market I see a women’s boutique, and sure enough they had just what I was looking for. Yay!

Today was our last day in Cambodia and we wanted to do something fun since we’ve spent most of the last couple days hanging out at the hotel. We planned to go to the Cultural Village first thing in the morning and when we were about to walk out the door at 8am the receptionist said that they don’t start any of the shows until noon so it wouldn’t been too exciting if we went in the morning. Since we were already ready to go and had a couple hours to kill we walked over to Costa Coffee again. While we were in there we met a lady that was originally from Australia but moved to Cambodia six years ago. She happened to have a son the same age as Tyson so they were playing together while we drank our coffee. I mentioned that we haven’t been able to find a hotel that had a crib here and asked her what babies slept in. She said they actually sleep in hammocks for their naps and in bed with the mother during the night. Although I have enjoyed cuddling with Tyson the past week I’m hoping the next place we go has a crib so he doesn’t get too used to sleeping in bed with Mama and Dada.

The lady we met at Costa Coffee mentioned that there was a small children’s playground at a restaurant right next to the coffee shop so we followed her over there to check it out. This is the first playground we have found in Cambodia (of course we found it on our last day). Tyson was in heaven. He was climbing the stairs to the top of the slide and then sliding down all by himself. After a while four more kids showed up so he was enjoying playing with the other kids. Once he wore himself out we headed back to the hotel for his nap. On the way back we passed a murky fish tank that people put their feet into and the fish bite off their dead skin. These things are everywhere in Cambodia. They’re like back alley, unsanitary, dirty fish tanks and for some unknown reason tourist think it would be a good idea to stick they’re crusty mosquito bitten feet into them. It’s not like the fish eat the fungus and corns off other people’s feet and then touch your feet with those same lips. Nope, no chance of that.

After Tyson’s nap we jumped in a tuk tuk and headed over to the Cultural Village (about the size of a small zoo but instead of animals it had smaller replicas of the major landmarks in Siem Reap). At first we thought they were closed because there was literally one car in the huge parking lot. We walk up to the ticket counter and they were actually open. When we walk in it was like a ghost town. We were starving so we headed straight to the restaurant but the gate in front of the restaurant was closed. So we walked back to the entrance and asked if the restaurant was open. She said it was open but we had to go through a different gate. We walk back over the restaurant and go through the other gate and into the restaurant which once again was completely empty. There were probably 100 tables in the restaurant and only one other table was taken. They didn’t think it was worth turning the ceiling lights on for just two tables and there wasn’t much light coming through the windows either since it was cloudy and sprinkling out. It was a pretty bizarre lunch that’s for sure.

After eating we start walking through this park and maybe came in contact with four people the entire time, half of which were employees. It felt like the place was closed but we had secretly snuck in the back door. As we’re going through this place we start to realize why it might be dead (other than the fact it was sprinkling maybe). The grounds look like they cut the landscaping out of the budget about 10 years ago and there were random characters sprinkled around the place (like Tom and Jerry just sitting next to the sidewalk and a headless superman that you’re supposed to climb up and stick your head on top of) next to actual sculptures of legitimately interesting things in Cambodia. Just strange. We had actually planned to stay a little longer to see a dancing show but decided not to stay any longer and we cut through the middle of the place to head straight for the exit. All in all, we’ve learned a lot about the culture here and feel blessed to have the opportunity to see it with our own eyes.

To end our last full day in Siem Reap, we decided to walk down to Pub Street for our last dinner. We thought about trying somewhere we hadn’t been but ended up going to a place we went to last week (Red Piano) since it’s on the busiest corner which makes it the best for people watching and the food is good. Unfortunately, people watching on Pub Street is not all fun and games. There are some locals who hang out in this area that try to get money/help from tourists walking the streets. As you walk around there are several different types of beggars, most of which have a terrible story or visually striking reason why you may feel compelled to give them money. And some people do.

Other beggars; however, don’t seem to be in the same dire situation. For example, we were at the restaurant this evening and Marshall took Tyson for a little walk while we waited for our food. We’ve seen a pack of kids (6-8 yrs old) running around these streets who look very well fed and likely live here or their parents are working nearby. It’s obvious they know these streets like the back of their hands and act like they think they own the place (it’s their backyard after all). We’ve seen those kids terrorizing mannequins in stores, jumping on people’s bikes acting like they’re driving away, and chasing dogs around the alleys. They always seemed to find each tourist at their most opportune time to ask them for money. One of the older boys came up to Marshall when he was carrying Tyson and asked him for money and Marshall politely said no. You gotta understand, this was the third day in a row he’d asked him for money and before the word is out of your mouth the kid darts off to the next person. A few minutes later, he came back to him and said ‘Ok no money, I want milk’ and Marshall said no again. Then as they were walking back to the restaurant to eat the same boy approached him, but before he could ask anything Marshall said ‘no kid, sorry’ and as he passed him the kid turned around and slapped Marshall on the butt! Good game??

Tomorrow we’re excited to take a two hour flight to our next destination.

Next stop: Singapore, Singapore