Phnom Penh to Siem Reap…….our first day and a beauty of a sunset

December 11 th

Another transfer day, the morning is sunny and already quite warm. Good breakfast, cram the gear into a tuk tuk and we are off to the Central Cambodian Post Office to meet the postal minibus which will take us and 13 other passengers to Siem Reap. The journey is supposed to take 5-6 hours and cover 320 kilometers and we anticipate getting there by 15:30.

We had bought our tickets online a few months ago so I check at the Post Office to make sure all is good while Annie guards our stuff…

…our reserved seats are actually honored > important as the best seats are two together, the balance being 3 across. Depart on time, the road, well it is actually a road with real pavement, two stops enroute….one of which allowed us a few minutes to chek out a stand selling delectable insect snacks….click pics to enlarge:

…no dramas en route as the driver is very good and we arrive in Siem Reap at 15:15. Total cost for us both 28 CAD. The drop-off is at the Siem Real Post Office and as our hotel here offers pick-ups from the airport etc. we had e-mailed them our estimated arrival time and presto, they were there waiting for us: first they (there is a driver & chief officer of greetings) draped Khmer scarves over our heads in welcome and handed us cold towels from a silver bowl as well as  cold coconuts >>> this is the way to travel !! Seven minutes later we are the hotel:

…..check-in, more welcome drinks and a snack, envelope with freebies and all is great…..a lovely hotel, but we are done…..no touring tonite, dinner and to bed.

 

December 11 th

A good night’s rest, an excellent buffet breakfast and time for some exploration of the town as we head down our “street”….

A bit of a siesta after lunch, but not too much rest for the wicked as at 16:45 our driver/guide > Mr. Sam arrives and we are off to Angor Wat to buy our tickets. This is strategic move as we will be going for the sunrise tomorrow and by getting the tickets this afternoon we can save some time getting to Angor Wat and thereby secure a slightly better viewing position……bear in mind that Siem Reap attracts over 4 million visitors per annum (Lourdes > 5 million).  Having bought our tickets in record time we head for Pre Rup for the sunset…

Pre Rup is a Hindu temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built as the state temple of Khmer King Rajendravarman and dedicated in 961. It is a temple mountain of combined brick, laterite and sandstone construction with an outer enclosing wall of 127 by 116 meters (417 by 380 feet). Click pics to enlarge…

…a pleasant sunset..

….then back to the hotel, dinner and an early night as next morning is fast approaching. We can see that the hotel staff as part of their turn down service, have taken good care of  Moosie in our absence…