Homan and I got on bus to Siem Reap. It took 5 hrs. It dropped us off about a mile from town. So we had to take a Tuk-Tuk.
There was commotion as to which one we would go with. Our hotel in Phnom Penh (that we disliked) phoned a Tuk-Tuk to pick us up, and take us to a partner hotel in Siem Reap. We eventually declined that one because we figured it would take us to an equally dislikable hotel. We went with the nice, teenage Cambodian boy who spoke perfect English.
I’m surprised at how well Cambodian people speak English. They could be making lots of money online as virtual assistants, website developers, or any other telecommuting profession. I haven’t seen them in the outsourcing market though. I’m not sure what’s holding them back–maybe infrastructure or government problems?
Homan and I told our Tuk-Tuk boy to take us to the Mandalay Inn. He suggested we not go there since it was run by Burmese people.
I don’t care who runs it! It’s got free wi-fi, a rooftop gym, great service, and well-priced rooms according to the Lonely Planet.
All Tuk-Tuk drivers get commissions for referring customers. I understand his motivation. He was a friendly, well-mannered boy. So, we patronized him for awhile.
He took us to a guesthouse that claimed it had wi-fi. I got out my laptop to verify. No connections were found. They lied to us. Also, I saw a lot of locals there playing pool but no travelers–a bad sign. It’s probably a poor value for what you get (no wi-fi and a lot of noise).
Ok, we looked at your place, boy. Now please take us to the Mandalay Inn.
“Oh. Well, I have another one for you. You’ll like it. It’s closer to the town center.”
No, thanks. We want to go to the Mandalay Inn.
“Oh but you will like this one.”
Sigh. “Ok, fine. Then we go to Mandalay.”
We looked at the second place. It was a poor value. Then we repeated the process again. He insisted on one more place.
Finally, he conceded and took us to the Mandalay Inn. It was an amazing inn at a bargain price, as the LP said. The boy tried to sell us his services for driving around Angkor Wat. He said it was too large an area to walk or bike. We knew it was too big for walking, but we thought we could manage on rented bicycles. It was only 6km to Angkor Wat from Siem Reap.
We rented bicyles and rode out to Angkor Wat. We wanted to buy our tickets in advance for tomorrow. We had about an hour before the booths closed.
It took longer than expected. The roads were in poor condition for the first few kilometers. It also started drizzling and then raining. We weren’t dressed for rain.
We got to the outside of the temple before it started to pour. Unfortunately, we missed the ticketing gate somehow. We must have gone on a back road (that might explain the poor surface). And the ticket office would be closed already now. It was a waste of time, aside from the exercise.
“Do you need a rain coat,” a boy asked me. “Only one dollar.”
“No thanks.” It’ll clear up, I thought. Homan and I decided to wait ten minutes before buying ponchos.
Ten minutes passed and the rain hadn’t let up. “Ok. Fine. We’ll take one each,” I said. We bought ponchos more so to protect our cameras.
We rode back, had dinner and such. We were pretty tired. Sunrise is the big draw at Angkor Wat. You have to be there at 5am to get the best possible views. We didn’t commit to each other on rising early tomorrow. If it happened, it happened.
