3 December 2023
We left Kep with its gorgeous sunsets, stupendous seafood, our little Casa Kep bungalow, green hillsides and construction activity and took a taxi to the airport at Sihanoukville. We had decided to fly to Siem Reap, rather than taxi & bus via Phnom Penh because this was the end of a 3-day national Water Festival and we thought it would be best to avoid the capital. Luckily we had been warned about the road from Kep to Sihanoukville Airport and allowed 4 hours for the 100 kilometre journey! Wow - the worst road I've ever been on! Deep ruts in the red dirt surface, dust, trucks, bone-rattling! But we made it with time to spare. There are only four planes a day from this airport so no queues to contend with.
Cambodia Angkor Air turboprop plane was half full and we only got a cup of water on the 70-minute trip. It was interesting looking out of the window. So much of the Cambodian landscape is flat rice fields but there are also extensive areas of forest with no evidence of roads and houses. Our pilot was in a hurry so we arrived half an hour early. Siem Reap has a brand new airport 45 km outside the city. It only opened in October this year so shuttle buses and taxis are only just getting established. Even the guy guiding us over the tarmac to the arrivals building seemed unclear where to go!
Fortunately, Roy and Veasna now have a car so they had kindly offered to pick us up and deliver us to our hotel. Lovely to see them.
An extraordinary "small world" event happened as we checked into our hotel. An elegant young Cambodian woman passing by looked at us and said "hello!" with a big grin. We both knew we knew her face but couldn't think who she was. She reminded us. It was one of the twin girls from the Seagull Restaurant in Kep who used to serve us every evening when they were teenagers. They had excellent English and always told us that their ambition was to marry wealthy westerners. Sure enough, both had succeeded and here was Nani staying on holiday in a hotel in Siem Reap with her Canadian husband. Congratulations Nani and Ying!
Next day we wandered round central Siem Reap. It's a lovely city nowadays with tree lined walks along both sides of the river. Very cosmopolitan with all sorts of shops, restaurants and bars and a relaxed atmosphere.
On the Thursday Roy and Veasna drove us to Battembang to see their brand new house. This has been nearly a year in construction and they are due to move in this weekend. Siem Reap to Battembang is a 3-hour drive each way but we were keen to see their new home and they were keen to show us. It's very cool and spacious down a lovely green peaceful lane. We wish them every happiness.
On Friday, after a quick coffee, we left Roy and Veasna to their packing and preparations for the removal trucks and made our way back to the airport for the 1-hour flight to Luang Prabang.
Good to be settled back in the Greenhouse Studio where we can relax.
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| I'm not a great doggie person but I make an exception for Ben, Clyde and Uhuru, who were the resident dogs at Bacoma. We last saw them 4 years ago. I'm sure they remembered us! They now live with Dara at the stunning little house he has built near Kep. |
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| It's a single-room wooden construction with huge covered open verandahs all round and a beautiful garden. I'm truly in awe of the design. So clever |
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| That's the one enclosed room in the background. |
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| Back at Casa Kep we were treated to a full Thankgiving Dinner, complete with turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Kate's friends came down from Phnom Penh to join us |
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| We snuck into the grounds of the King's Palace. It's still abandoned and empty but the grounds are immaculate. |
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| The light over the Gulf of Thailand at dusk is just amazing. Ever changing |
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| Especially at sunset |
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| Our last 3 days coincided with the national Cambodian Water Festival. The streets and beaches were full of families on holiday |
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| We had a farewell meal with Dara at the Crab Market |
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| One of the surfaced sections of the road to Sihanoukville Airport |
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| I bet they wish I had a shorter name! |
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| Central Siem Reap is very beautiful |
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| The remains of the Water Festival were being cleaned up. Offerings had been floated down the river |
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| Roy and Veasna took us to an amazing restaurant called Urban Tree Hut. Absolutely delicious food with beer. Total of $24 for four people! |
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| We did our best to do the "selfie" pose! |
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| Roy and Veasna's new home in Battembang |
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| Siem Reap big wheel was built just before Covid. Opened this week |
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| More peaceful Siem Reap riverside |
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| This boy let the monkey groom him. Euggghhhh! |
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| Now we're back in Luang Prabang. Our house is on the right-hand bank. Sadly, a roadway is to be built along there apparently |
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| A beer on the banks of the Mekong at sunset. One of life's great pleasures. Despite rampant inflation in Laos, homegrown produce like BeerLao is still cheap for us at just over £1 a big bottle. Anything imported is horrendously expensive. Five years ago there were 10,000 kip to the pound. Now it's 26,000 and rising |
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