Siem Reap, Cambodia: Where Everyone Knows Your Name (November 2013)

We spent a large portion of our trip touring cities... some dirty, some cleaner than expected, some saturated with tourists, others only occupied by locals. Although we weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived at our next destination, one thing we could always count on was a night market. Siem Reap was no different, and has what we considered the best night market in all the land.

After dropping our bags off at The Yellow Hostel, a quaint, family run establishment catering to both backpackers and the average traveler, we walked about a mile to the downtown area. Siem Reap is the most touristy city in Cambodia due to the availability of commercial hotels, accessibility and of course the ancient Angkor Wat temple complex. We hadn’t spent a lot of time around tourists in Cambodia, so we were a bit surprised to see so many visitors. The city is small but vibrant and full of life. Pub Street was commonly recommended to us as the hot bar scene, so we decided to check it out. As we wandered over we passed the Night Market, filled with merchants and shoppers, bartering for common souvenirs and unique treasures alike.

We finally made our way through the maze like market and over to Pub Street. Various music was pumping into the street. Thanks to the colorful and clever name, Angkor What was our first pick for the night. As much as I love to travel, I love the feeling of being at home, which I usually define by the comfort of a neighborhood, local coffee shop and running into good friends. After this trip, I’ve come to realize that you can have the comforts of home anywhere in the world. Mid-conversation with a lovely German couple, we look up and see the group of Brazilian guys we met in Halong Bay, Vietnam! We had no clue they were going to Cambodia next! It was the first time, and not the last, that we ran into new friends along our travels. Again, moments like this that you know you’re in the right place.

It was great catching up with them, and we took their advice to be sure to experience Angkor Wat at sunrise. At this point it was getting late and although the bars were still bumping, we said goodbye to our Brazilian friends and headed back to the hotel. We spent a couple days in Siem Reap, touring Angkor Wat and shopping at the markets… oh and overcoming my fear of pedicures by jumping feet first into a bath of skin eating fish. I’ll admit I was freaking out at first, it felt worse than the regular pedicure I despise so much, but after a bit of time I overcame my urge to scream and run away. I don’t think I’ll be jumping back in anytime soon, but I’m proud of myself for lasting about 15 minutes.