Today was largely a travel day.  We left the Luang Prabang hotel at 9 am and arrived at the Siem Reap hotel at 2:30 pm.  On the way we stopped at Pakse, Laos, exited the aircraft, waited half an hour in a lounge and then reboarded for the rest of the trip.  I’m not sure what happened in the meantime, but here we are.

Cambodia.  Angkor Wat.  FINALLY!  On Tuesday.  First we have to learn everything we can about the history, architecture of this collection of temples and current policy re environmental protection before we can view the actual monument.  Anticipation will make the eventual experience sweeter – at least that’s what I tell myself!  This evening our local guide Bros gave us a short history of Cambodia including a brief discussion of Cambodia’s civil war and Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime.  We then watched an excellent documentary on the various ancient temples in this area.  You might be able to catch it on YouTube – “Mysteries of Asia: History of Angkor Wat.”

Our hotel is quite lovely and quite new as are most hotels in Siem Reap.  In 2000, the population was about 80,000 people.  Now there are 250,000.  A doubling of tourist visits occurred between 2006 and 2007, and Cambodians have been rising to the challenge of servicing them ever since.  When we arrived at the hotel, a young women met us in the lobby with a glass of cold ginger tea that we sipped through stalks of lemon grass. Arrangements of lotus blossoms are everywhere.  The lotus stems and petals fold easily, and the staff of this hotel are making the most of this trait.

On my way to my room, I stopped by the bar, asked for a cold diet Coke (yay! finally!) and offered $3 US in payment.  The server handed me back the bills and asked for nicer ones.  I guess old US bills don’t spend as well here as crisp new ones!

Our first meal of Khmer cuisine this evening was delicious!  We started with chicken satay accompanied by a green curry sauce followed by a clear chicken and vegetable soup, then a selection of stir fried dishes featuring a nice (boneless!) white fish, beef and veggies.  Vanilla ice cream and fruit salad to finish.  This promises to be a yummy three days in Siem Reap!

During our time here we will be leaving the hotel early to visit the outdoor attractions and in the heat of the afternoon visit places like the Angkor National Museum with its air conditioning.  Good thinking, Road Scholar!