Cambodia: Siem Reap with Meang

I officially started solo travel entering Cambodia, since Simon and the Spicy Laos gang continued to travel through southern Laos. It was nice to just spend my time leisurely, without having to keep up with people or try to follow an agenda. I planned to stay in Siem Reap for a couple of days, but it turned out to be 5. Although Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor Wat, there is not a whole lot to do in the city itself.

What was nice was meeting Meang, a manager at Prom Roth Guesthouse. Simon recommended this guesthouse, but after a couple email exchanges, the booking confirmation for my room slipped into my spam mail, so I didn't spend my first night there. On my second day, I checked out of my expensive hostel and wandered over to Prom Roth to see if there were any rooms available. Unfortunately, there weren't. Meang explained he was waiting for me to show up last night, but since I didn't, he booked the room for someone else. He felt so bad that he offered to help me find a guesthouse. And I don't mean just calling around to see what's open, but he took me on his motorbike and we looked at 3-4 hostels/guesthouses, before I settled at his friend's guesthouse. How nice is he?

After I got my stuff in, he asked what my plans were for my stay, and I told him I wanted to go to Angkor Wat at sunset that night. (You can enter the site from 5-6pm to catch sunset when you buy a pass for the next day.) He offered to take me that afternoon, since he was not busy. He said it's part of his job to show his guests around; not that I was even his guest though. I couldn't say no to such a super nice gesture.


Meang at Angkor Wat!

We went to Angkor Wat but didn't catch the sunset -- it was too cloudy. I figure I'll see nice colors the next day at sunrise. (I didn't. I'll talk about Angkor Wat in another post). Afterwards, we stopped by a local night "picnic" area. If Meang hadn't taken me there, there would have been no way I would have known about it. It was like a night market with a lot of food stalls. There was a section with "restuarants" -- bamboo mats lined along the road, where the cook would take your order, you sit on the mat, and they bring you your food when it's ready. I tried a banh cheu, a pancake/omlette with sprouts, eaten with a variety of herbs, and nohm banh jok, fresh rice noodles. It was a nice experience to see the local scene and eat local food on my second night there.


banh cheu

nohm banh jok


Over the course of my stay in Siem Reap, I would run into Meang on the street or over at his guesthouse when I was on my way to my guesthouse. It was neat to know a familiar face in a new city. And he treated me like I was a guest at his guesthouse, which next time I am ever in Siem Reap, I will stay at.