donutland: Cambodia : Coconuts, Crocodiles, One Creepy Night

Tuesday 01.05.2007 (Day 1)

Woke up at 3.30 am to catch the flight to Siem Reap which is due for departure at 6am!

Just a quick 2 hr 10 mins later, we arrived in cloudy Siem Reap and we were whisked away to our hotel, just 15 mins away from the airport.

For 3 nights, we stayed at FCC Angkor (a recommendation by cousin Sonia), a nice boutique hotel at the French Quarter, off Pokambor Avenue. It was really pretty! Clean, modern, elegant yet casual with excellent service staff who speak good English.

Although we had a lil hoo-ha on our first night (we think the room we stayed at was haunted having heard loud noises overhead when we were situated on the highest level - eek!) and we changed rooms on the second night onwards, our stay at FCC was a pleasant experience.

:: sleepy heads having brekkie @ FCC ::

As we arrived early, our room was not ready for check-in. We then made our way to the Old Market to check out the sights and sounds of Siem Reap. Consisting of low rise shophouses, the Old Market resembles Holland Village (esp at night) with its wide array of pubs and eateries and the expatriate crowd. In addition, the place is peppered with massage parlours offering foot reflex sessions at US$6/hr. An interesting service was the 4-hands massage at US$10/hr. Imagine 2 pairs of hands kneading you at the same time - how shiok is that?!

Our staple beverage was none other than the country's prized beer - Angkor Beer!!!

A wonderful brew, easy to drink and cheap too!

We had read many reviews about The Dead Fish Tower at Sivatha Blvd that we had to check it out. The exterior is so cute! With the clock tower resembling a cuckoo clock, the lil moto carpark sign and the lil figurines outside the restaurant ...

There are live crocs inhouse too! According to one write-up, with the crocs lying around, it is a tough place to navigate when drunk ...