I was up and at 'em by the time I met Sam and in the lobby. As a sidenote, I learned a hard lesson about my wardrobe choices. I bought these linen pants before the trip on Etsy and they are really beautiful. The thing is that there's a whole procedure to putting them on which would be fine if I knew I wasn't going to be in a bathroom with nasty floors...a la bars and nightclubs..because you basically have to unravel them..almost like a sari, but pants. So while they are beautiful they are essentially useless for going out. Thank god I decided at the last minute to wear my jeans on the plane.
We walked a short distance up the street from the hotel where there was a little night market and some entertainment arranged by this really nice hotel that took up the whole street. It was really kind of cheesy though. I was starving, but Sam had a guitarist friend who was going to be a part of the entertainment for that night so we hung out until he came on. We also met up with one of his other friends from the night prior. The guitarist guy was pretty good..well better than I am at guitar which I don't know if that says very much. He sang 'House of the Rising Sun' which was pretty cool. It's kind of weird hearing it in a Cambodian accent though. After he finished we finally went off to grab some food.
We went to a bar that we went to the night before. I must say Siem Reap should be nicknamed Siem Cheap. Since Sam and Co. paid for my meals and beers the night before, it was only fitting that I should repay the favor that night. I had 2 cocktails and they both had 2 or 3 beers a piece. They shared a dinner plate and I had one on my own. Someone else also joined us and she got a cocktail as well. When I got the bill I wanted to die laughing. 11 dollars and some change total.
I think the cocktails were only 1.50. The beers were only .50. The food I think was only 2 bucks.
At the festival, I bought a tshirt for 6 bucks. Later at one of the clubs we had 2 big buckets full of beer and that was the most expensive at 44.00 total. However, it was Budweiser so not that big of a bargain from the American eye.
Also it seems everybody knows everybody here. I can't count the number of times we've walked into a restaurant or bar and Sam or one of the other guys went to greet some people already there or vice versa. And everyone likes to give each other cheers with their drinks...a lot. I feel like I've been clinking glasses nonstop since I got here...ok except when I was sleeping.
Now that bellies were full, we were off to work it off by dancing at a couple of Cambodian clubs.
You could tell hardly a foreign face, much less a black one, was seen in these places judging by the stares we received when walking into them. The first one was called Blue Sand. The lighting was completely dazzling. Different color lasers shooting out from all over the place. The guys felt it wasn't adequately exciting enough so we went to a different club called Club Hip Hop which is where we settled for the night. Mind you, I didn't hear one hip hop song while I was in there. It was cool though, as long it had a beat I was on the floor. One annoying thing about Cambodian clubs are the djs. They talk A LOT. Just as a song is about to reach a crescendo they add a little 'Oo oo' or sometimes their whole life story right into the microphone which not only nearly killed my eardrums, but interrupted my awesome Saturday Night Fever-like dance moves!
By 1am we were getting a little tired and my flight leaves at 945am which means I have to be out of the hotel by 7am. We hop on the motorbike and jet, but stop to get a little something to eat first.
It was good, but I think my stomach is now giving me a warning shot. It's a rumbling a little loudly so I might take some Immodium to try to head this disaster off. I can't imagine a more miserable situation than having a very upset stomach on a plane. So here we are. I took a 3 hour nap and it's nearly 6am. I'm about to take a shower and then later head to the airport to go to back to Thailand.
A short layover in Bangkok, then arrival in Chiang Mai for 3 days! I don't know if anything will top my time in Siem Reap, but I guess I'm gonna find out.
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| Pork on top of pork with pork blood garnish. Oh and something turnipy. |
