Trip on the lake

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Hail the sunshine! We wake up once again with the crow of the rooster. If you want to move around in Cambodia, don’t expect to stay long in bed. Most buses/cars/boats will be gone (except for touristy destinations of course). Since the only boat to Siem Reap leaves at 7 am, we do not have much choice. This time, the tuk tuk to bring us to the harbour is right on time and we choose to enjoy the 7hour ride from the roof of the small boat. Weird thing: foreigners stay usually at the roof whereas all Cambodians stay inside. The early morning temperatures and the pleasant breeze makes you want to go back to sleep…but there are great vistas over the villages. Around 10 am, we’re under the blazing sun. But the trip is really nice. The river is narrow and there are many houses all around. It reminds us of our trip in Borneo. Life around rivers in this part of the world is has a special atmosphere. Hygiene is obviously at the minimum with people taking baths, washing their clothes and cooking utensils in the river…and when nature calls, it calls them to the river too. Fish from the same river constitute the main source of protein.

After all those hours under the sun, we arrive at Siem Reap where a car is here waiting for us. We check in at a superb boutique hotel, and enjoy the swimming pool and our first western rice-less meal since we got to Cambodia.

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Tip of the Day

Trip on the boat takes 7 hours. Costs 15 usd per person. All boats leave at 7 am.

Don’t forget sunblock and a hat! Bring some food and lots of water since the boat only stops once where you’ll be able to buy some food and drinks.

We stay at HanumanAlaya hotel; a superb boutique hotel, www.hanumanalaya.com. Since Angkor is a world class site, we want to enjoy it at its best and chose a hotel full of character. It is a traditional wooden home lovingly decorated with Cambodian antiques and handicrafts. It costs 80 usd for a deluxe double room including a generous breakfast. It has a small swimming pool which is great after trips in Angkor and free access to the nearby Sofitel’s huge swimming pool. We warmly recommend this place to stay whilst in Siem Reap. Book ahead. Because we’ve stayed more than 3 nights, we are offered a massage, as well as one 4 courses generous dinner!

A trip by tuk tuk from the harbour to the city (15 kms) costs 1 usd. If you’ve booked your hotel in advance, free pick up usually is provided.