Siem Reap
Fried tarantulas, dried scorpions, chicken fetus and snakes on a stick? I bet that’s not exactly how you expected this post to start off. My apologies if you’re reading while enjoying a nice dinner, lunch or mid-morning snack. In Siem Reap we expanded our culinary palates, if you can stand to classify these critters as such.
The famous Pub Street of Siem Reap is home to a lively night scene, fresh market nearby and a handful of pop-up carts that grotesquely display tarantulas, scorpions, bugs and snakes, if this type of late night drunchie tickles your fancy. Or you are a curious traveler, like ourselves. We weren’t quite sold on the street-side snacks given there’s no way to tell how long they’ve been sitting around for. So instead we opted to check out Siem Reap’s Bugs Café, just a short walk away from Pub Street.
Bugs Café is owned by a chef who believes in getting your #gainz through non-traditional protein. I’m talking scorpions, mealworms, ants, spiders, if it’s “edible,” it’s what’s for dinner. The café ensures quality critters, sourced in a clean manner and incorporated into normal dishes so that at times you don’t even realize you’re eating an insect! In our opinion, eating bugs at a Trip Advisor rated establishment might be safer and keep us from stomach troubles later on (panicked runs to the toilet or God-forbid a hospital visit). In hindsight the street-side bugs were most likely OK since we met people who had lived to tell their crunchy story, but when traveling in the long-haul, we decided to play it safe rather than be sorry.
We ordered a Spicy Papaya and Emperor Scorpion Salad and were delighted when this presentation was delivered to our corner nook table.
Crunchy, earthy and just plain weird is the best way to describe the tastes and textures that filled our mouths as we took our first few bites. It’s not that the scorpion was bad per se, it’s simply that the scorpion shell is so hard it is not very enjoyable to eat. Regardless, we chowed down because our mamas taught us to finish what’s on our plates. Overall we had a pleasant scorpion-eating experience and if we ever go back to re-visit, we’ll opt for the fried ant spring rolls, yum!
Now, you must be thinking, “aren’t you guys bored with temples already?” The answer is yes but no. Each temple we visit is unique in it’s design and history, as was the case with our experience in Siem Reap, northern Cambodia.
Angkor Wat at sunrise has always seemed like a far off fairytale, some bucket list item I’d be able to cross off when I’m old, retired and blessed with wealth to travel the world indefinitely. For those of you who have bucket lists, I’m sure you can relate. Ever since seeing photos of the magical scene – the wispy clouds waking up with a sleepy pink glow, settled slightly above the pointed peaks of the immense ancient temples, as the sun rises the clouds transition to a brilliant red-orange. I’ve been fixated on making this scene my reality, a stamp in my passport, a plethora of photos on my iPhone and now one of the many blog posts that exist on the interweb.
Although Angkor Wat refers to one specific temple, the term is typically used to encompass the entire, absolutely massive compound of temples which spreads 402 acres total. With an area that large to cover, we knew we’d need at least 2 days to cover the ancient real estate.
In order to make the most of our time, we split the exploring up in two parts. Day 1 would be the “small loop” route and day 2 the “big loop.” Our thought process was, why not save the best for last, since the epic Angkor Wat temple at sunrise is included in the big loop.
Wasting no time, we rented cheap bikes from a local rental shop. There are plenty of shops since Siem Reap is essentially only a town of tourists. In (be)hindsight we’d recommend upgrading one step above the cheap-o bicycles just for the comfortable seat, your back side will thank you!
For entry, tourists have three ticket options: 1 day ($20 USD), 3 day ($40 USD) or 1 week ($60 USD) passes are available. Tickets are not sold at an entrance point to the ruins site.
Be sure to purchase tickets at the office off the main road on your way to the temples. We made this mistake and had to bicycle back almost 2 miles in blistering humid heat to purchase our entry passes…rookies.
Now let me tell you, biking is one of our favorite activities but while wearing temple-appropriate attire with shoulders and knees covered, it can be a bit laborious in the heat of Southeast Asia. I wore shorts while biking around and threw on a pair of elephant pants just prior to entering each temple. I like to call this my power move, Sean just calls it tedious. Regardless, it was easy, breezy and 100% worth the costume changes.
The “small loop” runs seventeen kilometers and includes the major temples of Angkor Thom, Ta Phrohm, and Banteay Kdei. Some smaller temples we saw were the Baphoun, The Terrace of the Leper King, The Terrace of the Elephants, the Twelve Prasats, Spean Thma and Sras Srang.
Each temple that was built became grander and more elaborate than the temples built by the previous generations.
On the second day we took on the challenging twenty-six kilometer “big loop” is an extension on our first day but includes a few epic temples such as Preah Khan, Preah Neak Pean to the Eastern Mebon. And of course, Angkor Wat. We like to think we saved the best for last.
That morning, we set our alarm clarks for the lovely hour of 3:45 am in order to bike the 10 kilometers To beat the crowds and catch sunrise above Angkor Wat. As we pedaled our hearts out through the pitch black of the night, a few tuk tuks passed us with fellow tomb raiders bumping along in the back.
We rolled up to the Angkor Wat complex just shy of 5 am (yawwwnnn) and locked up our wheels. Almost immediately we were greeted by a local Khmer man who called himself Mr. 007, a nickname derived from his food stall next to the temples #007. He kindly walked us to the temple, cracking jokes along the way and showed us where to sit for prime photo ops. We promised to come have a coffee at his shop after the sunrise, which we made good on later. Despite arriving at the ridiculous hour of 5 am, tourists were already flooding in to the viewpoint area. Fortunately we snagged a front row seat at the pond, our feet basically in the water. Within twenty minutes there were over 300 people surrounding us, elbowing and shoving for the money Instagram shot. By 7 am the sun had fully risen and we stood up and stretched our achy behinds to begin our final day of temple running.
One thing we were not prepared for, nor expecting, was the presence of mass tourism. I’m talking hoards of tourists flocking to the temples via double decker charter busses. There are tuk tuk taxis, scooters and bicyclists by the thousands that come for a bit of temple running on a daily basis. People from all over the world come to visit this magical site that were once bustling hubs of worship in ancient daily life. Here are a few shots we were able to snag in-between dodging selfie sticks and patiently waiting our turn for the perfect Kodak moment.
After 2 long days biking and templing, our bellies were hungry and our mouths parched. A quick Google search informed us that low and behold, there was a craft brewery nearby, Siem Reap Brewpub. Without hesitation we pulled on our party pants, slipped on our sandals and beelined for the hops. Not able to choose just one, we got a tasters set. Post sipping the last drop of each beer, we headed to Pub Street aka Party Central for a night of fun with our favorite travel couple, Roger and Wendy!
Pub Street is known for a rowdy time and the best part is the plethora of carts that line the streets, offering $1.50 mojitos and other cocktails!
There are a few bars worth popping in to such as Angkor What? but, don’t waste your money buying a drink here when they’re a quarter of the price in the street! Each bar cart also has it’s own DJ station (laptop with YouTube access) where you and your friends can rock the tunes all night long. You can time lapse and party hop your way down the street since one cart will be blasting T-Swift, the next heavy metal tunes and yet another keepin’ it classic with 80’s throwbacks.
Aside from our scrumptious scorpion salad, we also had a few other local dishes. Including, but not limited to chicken fetus, yes you read that right. Otherwise known as pong tia koun, a Khmer favorite!
Many of our dinnertime adventures follow a similar pattern. Stroll around and take a few laps until we can evaluate the restaurants serving up that evening. Mostly we look for the largest amount of locals eating at a given place and pull up a seat. Our logic is if the locals are eating it, must be good. Usually this works out in our favor, yet at times we get stung by a foodie culture shock. One particular spot in Siem Reap we chose to eat at was cooking what appeared to be hard boiled eggs. Khmer people were tapping the top with miniature silver spoons, peeling a small circle, and scooping the goodies out from the inside. Wanting to fit in, we ordered a couple eggs and followed suit. A short 30 seconds later, Sean had opened his egg first and to my surprise in a low, somewhat shocked tone says to me, “oh god babe, it’s a baby chicken.” I looked at him in horror, not wanting to crack open the egg any further, but hoping that if I did, perhaps his was only a fluke and mine would not contain a fetus.
I was wrong. And here’s proof:
On a more tasty (and philanthropic) note we visited Haven Restaurant, at the suggestion of my good friend Guiliana’s sister. Her sister, Maria, lived in Cambodia during her time in the Peace Corps and had many wonderful ideas for us to explore while we were in the country!
Haven’s motto is, “Where helping tastes good” and they are a local Siem Reap restaurant dedicated to helping disadvantaged young adults secure a better future. It’s a short 15 minute bike ride outside of the main downtown area and worth every pedal push in the heat!
We’re happy to say our time in Siem Reap ended on a tastier note than it started. And it wouldn’t be a proper #TwoTravelToLive adventure without a little bit of local brewsky and our trusty sidekicks to wash it down.
And just like that, our time in Cambodia came to a close. Another country in the books, and many more to look forward to!
“I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime ‘associates,’ food, for me, has always been an adventure”
― Anthony Bourdain
