Slang's Anti-Singularity
  • Slanghome
  • Slangblog
  • Slangpuzzles
    • CurrentPuzzles
    • ScholarPuzzle
    • PastPuzzles

In the land of the Khmer

10/30/2022

0 Comments

 
​After a bit of sticker shock going from $1.60 bowls of great Pho on the streets of Danang, to seeing a Burger King meal “deal” in the airport for ten times the price, I’ve made my way to Siem Reap, Cambodia. A couple of things about the flight, first. It was the shortest and least crowded international flight I’ve ever been on. There were a total of 16 passengers on an A320 for a 70-minute flight. Also, why the fuck does it matter what my carry on weighs?! It’s going on the plane regardless. Making me check (at no additional cost) my main bag because it weighs more than 7 kilos, is fucking ridiculous. My small bag weighs nearly the same, and didn’t get a second glance.

First impressions of Siem Reap, since I’ve been here for all of about 14 hours, and about half of that asleep, is it’s nice. It’s a lot quieter than the cities I visited in Vietnam, the motorbikes are not quite as ubiquitous, but there are more tuk-tuks – either individually three wheeled, or a trailer pulled by a motorbike. It turns out, that was the method of my hotel shuttle. The temperature was pleasant in the late evening, and riding in relative comfort in the open air for the 15 minute ride was pretty amazeballs.

I checked into the hotel – a very small, boutique ⭐️ ⭐️ job located in an alley – and dropped my stuff and headed out for a beer. My hotel is not far from the main tourist streets that are crawling with bars, restaurants, and yes, tourists. This is the kind of hotel with physical keys on large fobs that you leave at the desk when you go out. Old school, and I like it. A less-desirable aspect of the hotel is a dearth of available power plugs. I’ve a desk and no plug anywhere near it. On the positive side, there are plugs on both sides of the bed, so both charging stuff and watching stuff is a go at night. The shower seems to have adequate hot water, but I haven’t pushed it yet. I also haven’t decided if I am going to stay here for any longer than the three days I originally booked. It’s quiet, and in a pretty decent location, so the tea leaves in the empty cup are leaning in a positive direction.

As soon as I got to a likely bar along Pub Street, I grabbed the $0.75 drafts of Cambodia brand beer and engaged in one of my favorite pastimes: people watching. I find it truly amazing just how much time and effort some people go through to get photos of themselves. Y’all should be glad I don’t have the penchant for doing that, otherwise this blog would be a paean to myself. Ain’t nobody want that.

Also of immediate and interesting note to me is the ATMs only will dispense USD for my card. Huh. The restaurants and stores all take USD for 4000/1 (the official rate is currently about 4135), and dispense change in Riels. I guess I can afford to eat the difference. Today I’m going to spend walking around and checking the surroundings, and probably will go for one of the amazingly inexpensive massages. I thought it was cheap in Vietnam, but here a 1-hour massage is $5. Even a bad massage would be relatively ok at that price. Coffee is $1.00 for an 8-oz Americano. It’s back to the kind of coffee I, as an American, am used to. The super strength, differently flavored Vietnamese coffee is in my past – except for the packets of instant I brought along as an emergency supply.

I’ve got a dawn bicycle tour of Angkor Wat scheduled for tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to that.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Just a guy out exploring the world. Former world-class never-was endurance runner.

    ​Hit me up, and we'll catch a beer or coffee in your town.


    Follow @slang4201

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    July 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    June 2015
    August 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    March 2011
    October 2010
    July 2010
    January 2009
    December 2008
    October 2008

    Categories

    All
    2011
    Alfama
    Alternate Energy
    Android
    Angela Sullivan
    Angkor Wat
    Animals
    Antiques
    Apple
    Ash Canyon
    Astronomy
    AT&T
    Australia 2022
    Bailout
    Battery
    Bicycling
    Biometrics
    Books
    Brisbane
    Broome
    Cairns
    Cambodia
    Canary Islands
    Carrier Iq
    Carson City
    Cascais
    Centennial
    C Hill
    C-Hill
    Christmas
    Climate
    Clothing
    Coding
    Colorado
    Columbus
    Cramps
    Curiosity
    Dad
    Dardanelles Lake
    Darwin
    Dell
    Dick's Lake
    Dilbert
    Diving
    Eagle Lake
    Earworms
    Eating Problems
    Eclipse
    Economy
    Ecuador
    Education
    Eldorado Canyon
    El Valle
    Energy
    Errors
    Espionage
    Europe 2019
    Evi
    Fallon
    Family
    Fontanillis Lake
    Food
    Gamboa
    Garmin
    Geocaching
    Goals
    Google
    Google Earth
    Grouse Lake
    Hiking
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Hoi An
    Inov8
    Investing
    Ipad
    Iphone
    Iron Mountain
    Katherine
    Kuala Lumpur
    Lanzarote
    Legislatures
    Lisbon
    Mac
    Malaysia 2022
    Market
    Market Drop
    Mars
    Mctarnahan
    Medicine
    Microsoft Word
    Motivation
    Mountain Biking
    Moving Minutes
    Music
    Nevada Day
    Nfc
    Ohio
    Olympics
    Openoffice
    Opportunity
    Panama 2018
    Panama 2022
    Paper Airplane
    People
    Perth
    Playa Coronado
    Politics
    Portugal
    Prison Hill
    Privacy
    Puts
    Puzzles
    Quito
    Race
    Rant
    Reno
    Retrospective
    Roosevelt
    Running
    Running Dynamics
    Saddest Cities
    Safe & Sober
    Science
    Scuba
    Shoes
    Shopping
    Sicily
    Siem Reap
    Sierra
    Sierra Canyon
    Sintra
    Slangsploration
    Snl
    Soccer
    Software
    Spasms
    Spirit
    Sullivan Canyon
    Svn
    Tahoe
    Tahoe Rim Trail
    Taormina
    Taxes
    Technology
    Transit
    Travel
    Trees
    Vba
    Velma Lakes
    Venus
    Verizon
    Vietnam
    Violin
    Watches
    Weather
    Wolframalpha
    Words
    Wrestling
    Writing
    Xkcd
    Yawbe
    Yoga

This is ALL MINE, I tell you! copyright 2010-2022