March 2019
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After a whirlwind first day of travel, flying to Asia, and exploring Hong Kong, you would expect to have some down time to recover. Unfortunately for us, we had an early 8 AM flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Sleepy and jet-lagged, we took the hotel shuttle to the airport and indulged in some preflight lounging. Forrest Magic #2: access to the first class Cathay Pacific Lounge! Forrest and I (sorry Ryan, only one guest permitted) were able to enjoy a wonderful breakfast and grabbed some treats to go, before meeting up with Ryan at the Centurion Lounge (both Forrest and Ryan are Amex holders, so we could all go in).📷Hash browns breakfast cheers Comfortably full, we made our way to the other side of the airport to board our flight. Thankfully, we had Forrest to expertly guide us through the massive airport using trams, escalators (of course), and a bus. Once boarded, the guys quickly realized that they had forgotten to book my ticket into Thailand (our next destination), an essential requirement for arriving in (and leaving) Cambodia. While using his Thai sim card, Forrest was able to quickly book my flight while we were taxiing (thank goodness).📷Landing in Siem Reap, Cambodia The moment we deplaned in Siem Reap, the humidity and heat hit us like a pile of bricks. From the plane, we were shuttled over to the immigration/baggage claim area (a very walkable distance at 200 feet), where we discovered that Cambodia standardizes on the US Dollar to simplify transactions. After paying $35 apiece, our visas were purchased and our passports were stamped (really a page large sticker is applied) and we were on our way.Outside the airport, we went to the taxi kiosk to procure a ride to our hotel. Using the official taxi window, we thought we would have better luck obtaining a safe, hassle-free ride. (Narrator voice) It wasn’t.Our driver started out very nice, but he quickly tried to guilt us into hiring him for tours. He was rather aggressive, got caught in lies about owning a phone, and even used roundabout side roads to get us into town. When we arrived at our hotel we were very thankful to say goodbye to him.The hotel Forrest booked, the Park Hyatt Siem Reap, is hands-down AH-Mazing. Forrest Magic #3: sweet-talking (emailing) the general manager into giving us a suite, private plunge pool included.📷Personal Pool 📷AC goodness After taking in the ridiculousness of our room, we headed out in search of some food. Walking about a block away, we found TryMe – a nice restaurant with local curries and fish dishes. Never one to turn down a good curry, I had the Khmer curry with tofu, and the boys tried the Amok fish, Lok Lak beef, and a local curry that started with an M (we just can’t remember the name of it).📷Forrest approved walk to lunch 📷Khmer curry…..yummm Following our yummy meal, we headed back to the hotel. Forrest, who had already been traveling for the past week, was in desperate need of laundry services. So while the boys went to drop off clothes at a local laundromat, I took a refreshing dip in our private plunge pool. Upon the boys return, they quickly changed into swimwear and joined me in the pool. The rest of the day involved making plans and reserving a private driver for our upcoming tours (a non-aggressive one that came highly recommended).Come dinner time, and still relatively full from lunch, we set out to pick up Forrest’s clean clothes and to grab dinner. But first, happy hour!📷Mint mojito, Hemingway daiquiri, St. Germain’s G&T 📷Hotel Courtyard After happy hour, we chose a great restaurant literally across the street from the laundromat – the Golden Pumpkin. We enjoyed some noodle dishes, fried chicken with cashew, and some sticky rice with mango.📷Fried veggie noodles……also yummm Tired and stuffed, we went back to the hotel and promptly passed out, knowing tomorrow was going to be a very early day.
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