Gill Oriental: Siem Reap

So we arrived in Siem Reap in the pouring rain after a 10 hour bus ride that was supposedly only going take 5 hours...anyway, upon arrival in a monsoon at 9pm, we found a tuk tuk who took us to Ivy Guesthouse, which looked so nice on the internet and was well spoken of in the Lonely Planet as well as Travelfish. Well...it was disgusting, revolting, beyond anything I have experienced. There were cockroaches coming out of every corner of the place. They were in the basin, coming out of the drain, under the bed, scurrying around on the floor...I couldn't sleep, so early the next day we looked for a new hotel and we found a divine place, so clean, so nice, so divine...and it was down this little alley and it is called the Neth Socheata Hotel...I was very happy!

They say you are not a real backpacker until you have had food poisoning, traveled for at least 20 hours straight, had a runny stomach for 2 weeks, slept in a cockroach infested place, been caught in a monsoon while traveling and been bitten by bed bugs...I checked all except the bed bugs...I mean I have to draw the line somewhere!

The street outside the hotel.

Dude with a bit of the Naga...they are all over the show here must be symbolic of something!

Walking the streets of Siem Reap.

The restaurant street - all the streets are labelled, restaurant alley, bar street, night market street...so lucky because there so many nice bars you may get a little lost or forgetful!

Walking down one of the alleys.

Welcome to Dr. Fish Massage, No Piranha! Hahahahahahahahahhaha...

Thank God, otherwise there would be a shaizer load of tourists walking around with no feet!

You shove your feet in there and the fish such all the dead skin off your feet. Its the worst sensation in the world! The dude who does it, says "don't be scared, just kiss, just kiss" WHATEVER, they suck HARD!

One of the suave lounges / bar / restaurants around Siem Reap.

They have this place called The Blue Pumpkin, mentioned in an earlier blog, which serves western food...YAY! Yogurt and rye bread and croissants and salads and divine pistachio and dark chocolate ice-cream!