You look beautiful in white (Siem Reap, Cambodia)

For the sake of simplicity, dear reader, I have decided to combine the next three days. Also because nothing really happened. The attraction of Siem Reap is the temple district. As you would be aware, we had visited three of the temples and didn't feel the need to visit any others. It's a bit like cathedrals in Europe; one can only visit so many before peak cathedral is achieved. It became evident that after 3 temples, we were up to pussy's bow and Ta Promh would be our last.

Thursday

The trickle of departures continued until there was only one couple left, besides us. For whatever reason, we had not spoken with them, so I am unsure as to when they joined the tour. All that meant was, we were on our own. Excellent. No alarm clocks. No FOMO. No organised tours. We were at leisure. Decisions needed to be made.

We turned up for a leisurely breakfast around 9am. The discovery of the 'double espresso' a while back had proven to be a boon. A minimum of two is required to kick-start the day. Along with the obligatory French pastries and fresh fruit.

The lake at the hotel.

Over breakfast, we discussed visiting the Angkor National Museum, a short stroll from the hotel. However, we did not believe the museum would have much more to offer than the actual temple sites. Perhaps with 3D models being the exception. That was something we could see on the internet so the museum was ruled out.

The old markets sheltering from the sun.

Today's excursion would be to the old market. We organised a tuk tuk. He dropped us at the markets for $2USD and offered to wait. An offer we should have accepted. Instead, we negotiated a time for him to come back to meet us.

For that special room.

It is, reputedly, not as good as the night market, but we'll never know. Certainly, it didn't measure up to the market we visited in Phnom Penh. The layout was as challenging as a Sydney cycleway. One avenue looked promising and then abruptly ended at the rear of another stall or was simply blocked. An ordered, sequential attack proved to be impossible, so I went random, which seemed to reflect the markets themselves. There were the usual souvenir style things on offer, shirts, scarves, silk products, carvings, cigarettes - by the carton. Each stall appeared to sell the same goods.

Luckily this stall faced the open street. Very aromatic.

Then we wandered into the produce section. Not just fruit and veg but also meat and fish. In the open. Unrefrigerated. Butchered before your eyes. Well, the fish at least and larger cuts of meat were cut as ordered. Not since I visited the offal room at an abattoir, had I felt such a need to breathe through my mouth; being careful not to ingest the flies that were attracted by the smell.

Don't breathe too deeply.

Looks hygienic enough.

Out into the sun, fresh air and humidity. We wandered Pub Street and Cheers Street and soon realised we had exhausted the old market precinct and we still had a lot of time to kill. In this heat, there was only one option, dear reader. Beer. We found a comfortable seat in the shade at one of the bars and had a couple of draught beers to while away the time. Four beers, about middy size, $3USD

Real Ray Bans, not fake.

As we were watching the very limited passing parade, I was approached by a man selling "genuine" Ray Bans. They were retailing in shops for $45USD. Yeah right. But for me $35. My disinterest brought about an immediate discount. $25. How about $10 I enquired? Eventually he settled for $12, without the 'authentic' Ray Bans case.

I wonder what's in this street?

Back to Mr Narin, our tuk tuk driver, and back to the hotel. We had intended to dine at Mahob, a local Khmer restaurant recommended by our guide, but as we were about to leave to check out the restaurant, it started to rain lightly. We decided not to risk it and, back in our room, the light, unforecast rain turned into a tropical thunderstorm. Good decision to abort the exploration. We dined at the hotel instead.

A beer lost in translation. It has the great taste of ...

Australia was playing South Africa in the World Cup semi-final that night. Despite having about 10 sports channels, not one broadcast the game. We were forced to stay up to date online through an app.

Friday

There was no alarm to wake us and we were pleased to see Australia had won their World Cup semi-final. Breakfast was not only leisurely this morning, it was unnervingly quiet. There were very few people around. Excellent.

The Chef's Walk near the breakfast terrace.

Today would be a first for me. We have stayed at many 'resorts' over the years, but they have always been a base for exploring the local area. Consequently, we have never done the poolside thing. In fact, I have always found such behaviour questionable. Now we were joining the common people, gathering our things and heading for the pool.

It is a very large pool. It has 2 spa areas, a children's pool (sadly), a swim-up bar area and an island. The pool is surrounded by lounges and umbrellas and plenty of shade. Predictably, we chose the less populated side and enjoyed the relative quiet. For a while. A number of people arrived on the other side of the pool, some 25 or 30 metres away. As expected, they began talking to each other. I was tempted to join in the conversation because I could hear every word, as if they were next to me. Nationality? Oh come on, dear reader, you know the rule, choose the nationality of your prejudice.

Thankfully, they didn't stay the distance and we were once again left in peace. Time for a refreshing G&T, at the pool bar, in the water. Another first. We swam up to the bar and ordered. Such a refreshing drink.

We dried off quickly as the sun ate into our shade. Time to decamp and shower to rid ourselves of the chlorine smell.

Dinner was at the highly recommended Mahob, which means 'food' in Khmer. Although they do the hot stone cooking, we decided to stay with their traditional menu. Arriving around 5pm was a good idea because the mosquitos were still hiding in the shrubbery and the restaurant was devoid of diners. We had deep fried spring rolls, chicken satay skewers, morning glory in garlic and chilli, prawn fried rice and tamarind fish, accompanied by a French grenache/syrah. All for $57USD. The food was fresh and flavourful. If we were staying longer, we would have probably returned to try the stone cooking option.

A question, dear reader. How do you know when you've stayed too long in a restaurant? Answer: when you've heard the playlist more than once. Yes, we did. And a pretty average playlist it was, which inspired today's title. You look beautiful in white by Shane Filan from 2017. I'd never heard it before and would be happy never to hear it again. If I was a betting man, and I am, I would wager it has been played at wedding receptions the world over. Lionel Richie's Stuck on you was another featured favourite.

Saturday

And so dawned our last full day in Siem Reap. The established pattern was followed. As with yesterday, the change in weather meant slightly cooler temperatures and lower humidity, so we breakfasted on the terrace. Overnight there had been an influx of tourists and the restaurant and terrace were far more crowded. There was a table of four, near to us, who spoke so loudly that I now know the entire personal history of one woman. Her divorce, what it cost, how they found their new home, the fact that her granddaughter lived with her for 5 years and how her son needs to learn how to manage his money, after two years of her picking up the tab for his overspending. And no, I wasn't eavesdropping. She had no volume filter and just wouldn't shut up.

Huge lilies.

Finally they left. Yay. I finished my second coffee and we went to change and head back to the pool area. Once Jayne was settled, I grabbed my camera and went in search of local wildlife. The hotel is also a self-proclaimed bird sanctuary and there are photographs of birds sighted in the grounds. Probably I should have risen earlier if I wanted to photograph the birds. Still, I managed to capture a few.

Flower on a ginger plant.

Being more aware of the sun today, we selected chairs that would stay shaded longer. Happily they were also on the opposite side of the pool from the growing crowd. We followed the usual pattern, blogging, resting, swimming, drinking a G&T and finally, disappearing to our room to remove the chlorine from our skin.

A Sunda yellow-vented bulbul.

So, I wasn't going to document this, but, whatever. Today by the pool I sneezed. I know. Exciting right? And in doing so, put my back into spasm. Oh yeah. Not a major spasm, I've had significantly worse, but enough to cause inconvenience and restrict my ability to move freely. I now move like so many other of the geriatrics here. Jayne has a theory that I do this deliberately, immediately before we fly. She must keep a tally sheet. Apparently I did it before this trip, before the Perth-Broome-Darwin expedition and prior to flying to NZ in February. I don't keep track; no-one wants to remember pain.

A zebra dove, just like home.

Dinner will be a local affair. I have exhausted my US currency, have no more cash to convert and I don't really want to withdraw more because it is doubtful we will find a use for US currency in the near future. 

A lizard friend from the pool deck.

To mark our final night in Cambodia and over three weeks of eating delicious Asian food, we made the move back to the Western Menu. Pizza for me and a cheeseburger, fries and salad for Jayne. Salad, as a side with a cheeseburger. Weird. I continued my quest to eat a pizza in every country I have visited. This one was more than acceptable - parma ham and rocket on a thin base.

Tomorrow the alarm is set for 5:30am for the early trip  to the airport. There will be one final post, if for no other reason than I haven't published many pictures of flowers. Hopefully the Singapore Air experience on the way home will be as faultless as it was getting here.

Until next time.