Day 14 - Phnom Penh

Another tour day.  We started off with a buffet breakfast at the Patio hotel.  After breakfast, we met our driver.  The same service that drove us from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, would also be driving us around today.  The first stop was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.  The second was the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek Genocidal Center.  We spent three and half hours at Tuol Sleng.  I didn't have the attention span for the Killing Fields so I went back to the hotel.

I got a 90 minute massage back at the hotel.  After which I took a walk around the block.  There is a lot squeezed into this block:  Hotels, bars, restaurants, stores, apartments, etc.  I wonder how many of them do business because they're so hidden away.

I stopped at a restaurant in a hostel, across from our hotel, for lunch.  (I always try to check out restaurants outside of where I am staying.)  It was called Feliz.  It was nice.  Good food and drink.  Reasonable prices.  Good service.  I finished just in time to meet kumi returning from her tour.  Of course, she was hungry, so we went to Feliz...  I had another drink.

Day 13 - Siem Reap/Phnom Penh

Travel day.  We checked out of Anantara Angkor and headed up to Phnom Penh.  We hired a private driver.  This was a convenient and much better way to go.  I think the actual drive from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh takes about 5 hours.  But since we had our own driver, we could make detours.  One stop was the Preah Tis Bridge.  It's one of the few Khmer empire era bridges to haved survived to the modern day.  Another stop was at the Sambor Prei Kuk temples.  They were out of the way, but still interesting.  A few stops and hours later, we arrived in Phnom Penh.

The difference between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is huge.  Traffic is crazy.  (Stop signs are more of a suggestion than a rule.)  A lot more buildings packed together.  We were staying at the Patio Hotel & Urban Resort.  Although it is in an alley, it is a nice hotel.  Excellent views from the restaurant and pool.  Though if you have a fear of heights, you may not enjoy it as much.

Day 12 - Siem Reap

War museum and Buddhist temple/mini killing fields

Day 9 - Siem Reap

Today was Angkor Archeological Park day:  Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, etc.  We left the resort at 0500. The plan was to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.  A quick stop at the ticket center then off we went.  (Interesting note:  They take your picture as part of the park ticket so it can`t be reused by someone else later.)  We did arrive before the sun rose, but unfortunately, it was cloudy and raining.  It was still a nice view though.  The rest of the day we just visited different sites in the Park.  The Park is huge.  There is a lot to see and do.  We spent over 8 hours here and still did not see everything.  But we did manage to get in a rowing boat tour at Angkor Thom.

If someone was only going to do one day at the Park, I recommend starting early in the morning. You would have a chance to see sunrise at Angkor Wat.  There are less people.  The temperature is cooler.  Also, plan accordingly.  Bring backup batteries or portable chargers for phones and cameras.

Day 8 - Siem Reap

This was supposed to be a mellow day.  We started out with the Anantara breakfast buffet.  While at breakfast, the Anantara Angkor social media representative stopped by our table and introduced himself.  He also gave us recommendations for things to do and places to eat.  One of the places he recommended was APOPO.

The APOPO Visitor Center in Siem Reap is an information center highlighting the recent history of conflict in Cambodia, the impact of landmines on local communities, and it gives the opportunity to meet and see the HeroRATs in action...  Yes, rats.  They use well trained rats (trained to the cost of 6000 euros each) to find landmines.  These are big rats, but they don't weigh enough to set off landmines. It was actually very interesting.

After APOPO, we went to the Angkor National Museum.  As far as museums go, this one is very nice.  The layout is well organized with a defined path of which way to go through the museum.  The combination of ancient artifacts displayed with current technology worked well together.  The optional audio tour added a very nice touch.

We decided to have an early dinner after the museum.  We got a Tuk Tuk outside the museum and had the driver take us to Jungle Burger.  I normally never eat burgers while traveling because there is so much other stuff to eat.  But this place was recommended by Anantara social media guy, so we went.  It was great.  Gourmet burger, fries or potato wedges, and a beer (I don't drink beer so I opted for something else) for around $7.00.  I had the Mushroom and Creamy Black Pepper Sauce Burger.  kumi had the Blue Cheese and Bacon Burger.  BTW, the Bob Marley Burger is no longer on the menu.

Our Tuk Tuk driver was waiting for us when we were done.  We had him take us back to Anantara just in time to get my complimentary happy hour drink.