"Don't plan too much in Siem Reap." A piece of advice given to us by G on our first day here, due to the ferocious rain and flooding. It extends to all of Cambodia though. We were supposed to check out this morning, once our Vietnamese visas arrived. But the only buses to Battambang leave in the early morning, between 7am-9am. So one more day and a night here, and we leave tomorrow instead. Not the worst place to be trapped for 24 hours. =)
The pace of life here is quite relaxed. There's a large ex-pat community, Westerners who have adopted SR as their hometown. From G, the manager of the guesthouse, to tour operators like Pete, or the arsehole from the Irish bar. A good standard of life here comes pretty cheaply, and no doubt a bit cheaper again when you know the right people and places.
Lazy day yesterday. Backed up photos to Flickr, made some public. Wandered downtown (wet feet) to do some yoga. Only one other person in the class. I'm not as flexible as I used to be. I don't really share Seb's opinion that we're "getting old", but I definitely do too little outside of cycling. Need to investigate a stretching program when I get home.
I went for a massage then. Supposed to be a legit place, but anything down a dark alley seems suspicious. Three blind lads were waiting though, $5 for an hour, +$2 for A/C. Wonder what's key for blind people to tell about denomination a note is. Good massage - Japanese style. Lots of pulling and stretching - I think he made every finger and tow crack. Spent most of the time in a near catatonic state, thoughts drifting in and out at a leisurely pace. Blissful.
After that we went (like big crap tourists) to a buffet with a show. Exactly as I expected really. Was hoping the show would be better, but surrounded by tour buses of Russians and Asians who have more interest in the food hampered our enjoyment. Cambodian dancing is very sedate - lots of standing on one foot and balancing - almost birdlike. Lots of subtle handwork too - hints of Indian or religious associations maybe.
Back to our hostel to get the bad news about the bus, sort it out, then a couple of whiskies to send us to sleep.
The pace of life here is quite relaxed. There's a large ex-pat community, Westerners who have adopted SR as their hometown. From G, the manager of the guesthouse, to tour operators like Pete, or the arsehole from the Irish bar. A good standard of life here comes pretty cheaply, and no doubt a bit cheaper again when you know the right people and places.
***
Lazy day yesterday. Backed up photos to Flickr, made some public. Wandered downtown (wet feet) to do some yoga. Only one other person in the class. I'm not as flexible as I used to be. I don't really share Seb's opinion that we're "getting old", but I definitely do too little outside of cycling. Need to investigate a stretching program when I get home.
I went for a massage then. Supposed to be a legit place, but anything down a dark alley seems suspicious. Three blind lads were waiting though, $5 for an hour, +$2 for A/C. Wonder what's key for blind people to tell about denomination a note is. Good massage - Japanese style. Lots of pulling and stretching - I think he made every finger and tow crack. Spent most of the time in a near catatonic state, thoughts drifting in and out at a leisurely pace. Blissful.
After that we went (like big crap tourists) to a buffet with a show. Exactly as I expected really. Was hoping the show would be better, but surrounded by tour buses of Russians and Asians who have more interest in the food hampered our enjoyment. Cambodian dancing is very sedate - lots of standing on one foot and balancing - almost birdlike. Lots of subtle handwork too - hints of Indian or religious associations maybe.
Back to our hostel to get the bad news about the bus, sort it out, then a couple of whiskies to send us to sleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment