Still suffering from the jet lag effects, I just happened to be awake at about 3am when staring at my phone I received an email from Cambodia Angkor Airlines, the airline we are taking in a few hours to Siem Reap where Angkor Wat is located.  Strangely, it was from an actual real person with another real person copied on it.  The message was, “Mr. Davis, We are sorry, but your flight has been cancelled from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.  If you’d like we can put you on the later flight of if that is not possible, we will refund your money.  An Piya.”  Wait, what?  Number 1, oh no this screws up our plans.  Number 2, a real person got in touch with me to let me know they screwed up our plans?  Number 3, they’re actually going to give me a refund???  I don’t need more evidence that we are not in America anymore.  There are only two flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap so not a lot of choices.  Pho Bang, the driver from Chapter 1, who picked us up at the airport was scheduled to return us to the airport at 8am.  I wrote him right away and asked him instead of taking us to the airport could you take us to Siem Reap, a mere 5 hour drive.  A few hours later, I received his response, Yes, of course.  We are good with the price (very fair since we had little choice) and drive to Siem Reap it is.  Think about it. It’s like getting a cab to go to the airport in New Orleans and then telling the driver, why don’t you just take me to Houston?I write back An Piya to say we can’t take the later flight and immediately he/she writes back and says, “I’m sorry you cannot change the flight. I’ll initiate a refund.”  About an hour later An Piya writes back, “Mr. Davis, the refund has been processed.  Please check your credit card and let us know that you received your funds.” (This is my favorite airline I’ve never flown and likely never will.)  Sure enough, a credit shows up on my account and I write back to confirm.  

One last breakfast buffet and many hand clasped bows and thank yous from the Raffles staff, Pho Bang greets us promptly at 8 and we are off.  

The drive is not particularly interesting though we did pass a few beautiful temples and Pho Bang stopped twice to buy some snack food from the peasants on the side of the road.  The first stop was for lotus pods.  You dig into them and dig out the seeds.  Kind of tasted and had the texture of uncooked edamame.  It was interesting and ok, but didn’t blow me away.  

The next stop was cooked sticky rise that’s sweetened with something indistinguishable, stuffed in a bamboo shoot and then grilled over an open flame. Hot, sticky, sweet and delicious. Lisa was hesitant. Why fear an unknown food sold on the side of the road somewhere in Cambodia by a conical hat wearing old woman with no teeth? I ate it all.

We arrived in Siem Reap and headed for our hotel.  Siem Reap, unlike Phnom Penh, is orderly, non-chaotic by Phnom Penh standards, must have some degree of zoning (in Phnom Penh you can find mansions next to used tire shops), and a general degree of prosperity that we have not seen.  We’re staying at the Amansara part of the Aman chain of hotels mostly in Asia but opening globally.  Aman hotels cater those who want to vacation but who also want privacy.  Hence, there’s no name on the dark green solid metal gate where you enter.  You have to know of the hotel’s existence so adoring fans of guests can’t find you and clamor for autographs.  I would be happy to give my autograph to adoring fans, but all anyone wants is my signture at the bottom of a credit card receipt (there have been many autographs so far on this trip).  We are met by the staff with the hand-clasped bows and once again, there is no reception area, just an outdoor very fancy picnic table.  Sit and enjoy a cold lemongrass tea while we wait for the general manager to come and are handed a cold, wet towel to clean our hands and wipe off the 95 degree sweat from our faces.  (This towel thing appears to be a thing not just at Amansara but generally in SE Asia.  Whoever is in the white washcloth business is making a fortune.) The general manager?? Sure enough the manager, MJ from South Africa, shows up to tour us around the hotel.  MJ has landed the dream job of hotel gigs and he knows it.  His job is running a paradise and apparently money is no object to achieve paradise standards.  Blond hair, on the shorter side and a bit stocky, he’s dressed in street clothes, no tie, no jacket, nothing that says “I’m the GM of paradise.”  Just a regular guy who could be someone your kid met in college who works in tech. In his basement.  MJ though is a charmer and it’s clear why he landed this job.  He runs a well-oiled machine where the customer is king or at least a friend of the king.  Service is everything and the place is spotless.  There must be at least a half dozen human sweepers around the joint doing nothing but sweeping.  One was even sweeping the grassy area.  After we’re finished with the greetings and the tour of the property that included the restaurant (you can have any meal at anytime day or night), the library (beautiful with more photos of Jackie O with the King and looking like no one has ever stepped foot in there except the sweepers), the spa (oh, yeah!), the pool area and finally our room! 

 

I love how many “complimentary” services come with our room, like we’re not paying for it in the exorbitant amount we’re paying.  You get “free” laundry, “free” breakfast, “free” lunch or dinner,”free”private tours of Angkor Wat, “free”tuk-tuk driver and my personal favorite two “free” Negronis in beautiful bottles that you hated to even open, but, of course, we did.  I will say that the tuk-tuk drivers came in handy.  They’d take us wherever we wanted to go and then just wait for us no matter how long it took.  The room was large and came with a full outdoor deck with 10 foot walls so no one could possibly spy on you.  

The problem is that it’s so hot, the deck really isn’t much of an option.  I remind you it’s February.  Lisa decides to chill in the room and I take off for a massage, which was wonderful.  At one point I had to look up because I was sure this little Cambodian woman massaging me was part octopus.  It felt like four people were working on me.  I was relaxed and the little kink in my lower back disappeared.  All good.  After a bit more chill, we asked for a tuk-tuk to take us to dinner.  Two more cold towels and we were on our way to Wat Damnak, in my view the best meal on our trip.  When you go to Siem Reap, you must eat there!  Lisa had the regular set menu and I had the vegetarian set menu. The cost, $48 per person for a meal that would have been $250 per person in the states.  I had to stop at Miss Wong’s for a nightcap. Cool place, but mostly empty.

That’s Miss Wong in the background.

 We got back to the hotel, sank into our comfy bed and fell asleep knowing that we had to be up at 4am to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat. Yes, you read that right, 4am.  I don’t get up at 4am for anything except catching airplanes and that’s only when I cannot get a better flight.  Lisa doesn’t get up at 4am even to catch a flight.  We make an exception and what an exception it turned out to be.