There are rules to visit Angkor Wat: a) you need to dress modestly and wear something that covers your shoulders and knees b) Always carry your ticket. The security asks to see the ticket at every site. So, don’t drop it or leave it behind in the car when you step out. c) Visit the places by car/ tuk-tuk/ motorcycle/ cycle. The temples are quite a distance from each other, and the weather isn’t great for walking. You may want to retain your energy to explore the sites. Also, the most transacted currency in the country is US Dollars.  In fact, you’ll find most restaurants, spas, and stores mention the price in USD. While giving you your change, they’ll ask you if you want it in USD or Cambodian Rial. Small change is generally given in local currency. I’m not sure I told you all this in my earlier post on Angkor Wat.

Anyway, after an entire day of exploring the temples, we decided to take it slow the next day. A late breakfast at the hotel followed by shopping around the city center which was a km away from Viroth Hotel. Siem Reap is a clean city with good sidewalks, so walking isn’t a problem. There are cycle-rickshaws everywhere, so if you’re tired, you can easily hop onto one.

Passing by cafés and restaurants, we reached the bridge that leads to the city centre. Across it is a Buddhist temple. Entrance is free to the temple. Buddhism, like Hinduism, came to Cambodia from India. When the country was attacked in the 12th  century, the king’s son converted the country to Buddhism as he felt the Hindu God’s had let them down. At the time, the country followed Mahayana (big vehicle)  Buddhism. The guide told us that it’s less rigorous than  Theravada Buddhism, which is currently followed in the country. Mahayana is followed in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, and Malaysia while  Theravada Buddhism is followed in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. It claims to adhere more closely to the original Buddhist teachings.

The temple we saw clad in gold and painted in red was in stark contrast to the temples in Angkor Wat which were made of black stone. We were surprised at how spotlessly clean it was. As per legend, the temple was built in dedication to a Siem Reap monk who used to travel to a city called, ‘Long Vek’ to stock up rice and then return to Siem Reap. The sculptures outside the temple depict the monk’s story.

From the temple, we walked to the market. There are traditional stores selling artifacts, paintings, and clothes, and stores selling chic, bohemian clothes, and accessories. There’s a lot of good stuff. A lot of brands have their manufacturing hubs in Cambodia. In fact, it was once where the garment industry thrived, but with cheaper cost of labor in Bangladesh,many companies have moved there. However, with the current situation in Bangladesh, I’m not sure how many will continue here.

Thankfully, the weather was not too bad. So, we managed to catch a few steps before stopping for coffee at Eric Kaiser, the French café. 100m away from the Café was Artisans, a store that sells handicrafts and textiles made in Cambodia – silk scarves, lotions, soaps, and home decor. It’s one of those luxury stores dedicated to local handicrafts.

There are a lot of dining options in town. You can eat local and international cuisine. Again, if you choose to eat local, you can choose between eating in a restaurant or on the street, the Cambodian way. We chose to eat at a Greek restaurant. The interiors were done up beautifully in blue and had a lot of quotes by Confucius, mosaic work, and lanterns hanging to create the complete Greek vibe. And the food was delicious. The only thing missing was the sound of the blue waters of the Aegean sea in the background.

After lunch, we returned to the hotel to rest for a while before heading out in the evening to explore the night market.

The street we had walked on earlier in the day transformed at night. It was unrecognizable. There were food trucks everywhere and open spaces around the river  with tables and chairs which had begun to get filled when we stepped out at 7.00 p.m. The place was abuzz with activity. We turned a corner, and entered a street with stores selling all kinds of packaged meat. I haven’t seen anything like it before. However, I’m certain they must be a staple in S.E. Asia.

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying the music on the street while dining at an open pizzeria. It allowed us to observe Pub Street by night. Little children walked into the restaurants selling their ware. Nobody bought any as the government requests tourists not to encourage any form of begging so the children go to school. As the night got darker, ladies-of-the-night stepped out looking for business. After a while they disappeared and the street returned to what it was earlier : buzzing with people who’d come to dine, listen to music or just sit down with a drink. After being in Dhaka where my freedom had been restricted to the club, friends’ homes and where the driver picks us up from the door and drops us to the door, I wanted to make the most of our 5 days of freedom. We took a rickshaw back to the hotel at midnight and the place was still buzzing.

On Day 4, we signed up for an afternoon cooking class. Ben, our teacher picked us up from our hotel at 12.00 p m. And took us to the venue by rickshaw. The place was an hour’s drive from the hotel. The landscape of Siem Reap is very much like that of South India- it’s green wherever you look. Paddy fields, lotus farms and cows grazing form the landscape. Lotus silk, made from lotus stem, is the most expensive silk because weaving it is a labour intensive job. To make 25kg of silk thread, you need 100 tonnes of lotus stem!

Ben took us to a local market to buy the produce.

We learnt to make banana flower salad, chicken amok, pumpkin coconut cream dessert and we did it all without any modern equipment. All we used was knives, mortar and pestel, a chopping board and hands. Despite being from the South of India where we use a lot of coconut milk in our cuisine, I have never squeezed the milk out without a mixer.

I don’t have a picture of the banana flower salad because I was extremely hungry and gobbled it up before clicking a picture. We put it in a lettuce leaf and had it as a wrap.

I guess I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been hungry (I’m not great to be around when there are mice in my tummy). It was around 4 p.m. by the time we had the lettuce wraps. Also, it was the first time I was cooking on firewood- let’s say I got in the way of the smoke and it made my eyes burn and water and that made my liner run down my face (it wasn’t a pretty sight). I’m not sure if it was uncomfortably hot or it was just me being hungry, because my husband was the epitome of calmness (his mother would have been proud) and looked totally in control. I, on the other hand, looked hassled by the end of it (my mom would be nodding her head disapprovingly). I’m not proud of it, but I was glad to be back in the rickshaw. I’m glad, though, we went, because we learnt to cook three yummy Cambodian dishes which will be a pleasure to make in my own kitchen. And now hubby will have to help (as he’s the expert).

It rained on our way back to the hotel which was a good thing because it became cooler. It allowed us to go for a walk the next morning before we left to the airport. It was a perfect ending to our holiday because we got to see the palace (from the outside), flower stores outside selling lotus flowers (they’re used for prayer) and how the city appears on a holiday morning.

And with this ended our holiday in Cambodia. I hope you enjoyed travelling with me/ us. These are not the only things you can do there. If you’re the adventurous sort, they rent quad bikes that you can go on (one of our friends visited the week after us and the family went quad biking). Also, you can visit the APOPO centre. It’s where they train African Giant Pouched Rats to detect landmines (Cambodia is one of the most landmine affected countries in the world). The name of the rat is a misnomer. They don’t look anything like the name would have you believe. They’re small and cute. We did not go there because we did not know about it, but our friends did. You might want to check that out, too. There are other touristy places that one can see in Siem Reap- we saw 7 temples but there are many more that you could see if you’re interested; also, there is the botanical gardens; silk worm farm; lotus silk weaving; waterfall at Phnom Kulen peak and a host of other interesting activities.

I’m linking this post to Thursday Doors challenge, hosted by Dan Anton and Jo’s Monday Walk.

P.S. I was supposed to write this post last week but the last month’s been pretty crazy with bathroom tiles being replaced. There’s been a lot of noise with the drilling, tiles cutting, endless dust and workers moving around the house. The work got completed today, so, here I am.