Siem Reap, Cambodia

Getting to Cambodia was a bit rough.  We took a four-hour redeye to Bangkok and then had six hours in the world’s coldest airport lounge before our short flight to Siem Reap.  When we finally arrived, we spent nine days in Siem Reap and didn’t go much further than that.  

As has become one of our traditions, we started with a food tour.  This time we did it by tuk-tuk which helped entice the kids who have been less enamored with four-hour walking tours.  We purposefully did a morning one with morning food—noodles, soups, meat and rice—as opposed to an evening street tour which tends to include lots of insects.  Realistically, our family is not eating tarantulas, yet…   For everyone, the top hit was pancakes with coconut cream and second went to a noodles in broth dish that an intern “fixed” up for us.  One surprise for us was that Cambodians add lots of sugar to all of their foods, even savory dishes.   

Seeing Angkor Wat was on my (Johanna’s) bucket list so that was a priority.  Dennis and I obsessed and watched all kinds of videos about avoiding the peak crowds.  In the end we decided to do the shortest tourist circuit because that was the most realistic for our kids.  Then, on the way to the temples at 5am, the guide advised us that it was the spring equinox and around 20,000 visitors were also expected to be there for the sunrise.  Oops, we missed that part in our planning.  We decided to watch the sunrise from a nearby temple and wait for the crowds to clear out.  Then we went immediately to Ta Prohm, the temple famous for being overtaken by tree roots—and being featured in the movie Tomb Raider—to experience it without the crowds.  We did everything in reverse and finished at Angkor Wat which worked out perfectly for us.  It all lived up to the hype.  We were also really happy that we were able to walk around Ta Prohm in the quiet with birds instead of crowds and the kids loved finding ancient chambers where you could pound your chest and it would echo.  

We did a couple other things that were big hits in Siem Reap.  One was going to Apopo Visitor Center, an amazing organization that trains African Giant Pouched Rats (or, as they call them, “heroRATS”) to detect landmines.  We watched a demonstration of the rat’s skills, learned about the history and scope of landmines in Cambodia, and had an opportunity to cuddle with the rats.  We immediately searched to see if we could get one as a pet in NYC (answer: most likely not).  To stay on theme with unicorns, death, and genocide, we also went to see Phare Circus, where the talented performers are graduates of a free vocational school started by refugees returning after the Khmer Rouge.  We even got special backstage passes to go behind the scenes where the magic happens before the show!  It was wonderful to meet all of the people that make the show happen, try on costumes, and see the performers warming up.    

And then there were the craftworkers!  At Artisans Angkor, we took a tour of their workshop and learned about the skill required to create the traditional Cambodian crafts, along with the work being done to revitalize those same industries. On our last day we took a deeper dive; the kids took a traditional rattan weaving class in a nearby basketry village with some women who had a great sense of humor but also very demanding expectations for quality control.  Still, everyone agreed it was a super relaxing activity and the kids got to take home their own keychains.

In our spare time, Dennis and Dev played a lot of foosball (and even played a match or two against the hotel staff); the kids went to the spa; and we went swimming—and did math—in the pool (see video).  Mira also learned how to fold the lotus flowers that were everywhere at the hotel and Dennis took a couple more motorcycle riding lessons so he’s feeling much more comfortable driving in an emergency situation.  And, admittedly, we also watched lots of fun tv and hung out in the air conditioning doing math problems.  

Next stop:  Hoi An, Vietnam