The plantation urban resort and spa, Phnom Penh, cambodia

Situated behind the royal palace in Phnom Penh, this hotel is a little bit of paradise! We arrived on a Tuk Tuk after a 5 hour journey via mini bus from Siem reap, and stepped through the entrance into a world of peace and tranquility! Such a contrast from the crazy street outside!
It’s obviously very new and very well cared for as everything is clean and shiny!

Rooms: our room was beautiful! It was a double with a pool view. It had a 4 poster bed with clean, new (and therefore attractive) mosquito nets draped over it. It also had a day bed by the window – just in case a couple falls out lol!
The bathroom was the first half of the room separate bus floating mirror and the sink stand – the toilet was in a separate room with a door so not quite all open plan!
The room also had balcony overlooking the gorgeous pool plus the obvious tv and mini bar etc.

Spa: I actually got to use the spa this time! I had a full body massage as a treat to myself on my birthday and it was lovely! The young girl who is was very polite and charming, she’d been working there for a year and definitely knew what she was doing!
Your greeted with the most delicious tea! No idea what was in it but it was very very good! Ginger, lemongrass, honey…. Yummy!
The hotel was offering a 30% discount at the time so it only cost $17.50 for the hour.

Food: oh my god the food was good! Breakfast was great, loads of choice and plenty of everything!
We had lunch twice because it was so good the first time, and we ate in the restaurant for dinner on my birthday!
The restaurant by the pool has a pizza menu and the general menu which is mainly western food with a bit of Khmer twist. Off that we’ve had the carpaccio – amazing, I had it twice! – the tuna, chicken and the lasagne. All delicious especially the tuna!
Then James had the chicken off the Khmer menu from the front restaurant by the red pool. It definitely a hit!
This restaurant is situated at the front of the hotel and is open to the public.

Pools: there are two!!
One is at the front of the hotel with the open restaurant and is tiled in red! Very cool! It’s surrounded by funky loungers and nice to sit by for an evening drink, however it’s busy during the day and seemed to have lots of kids in it one day! This didn’t matter though because the other pool is beautiful and quiet, filled with sensible gently floating adults! This pool is blue. It has some sunbeds in full view of the sun and others situated in pairs under wood gazebo type structure surrounded by lovely curtains! Some of these had pool steps running from them! They also doubled up as a nice place to have a drink in the evening!

Staff: all lovely and most spoke very good English! We had no problems at all!

Verdict: 10/10! Definitely worth a visit if you need somewhere to stay on Phnom Penh, it’s not cheap though!

Blue pumpkin, Phnom Penh, Cambodia,

This funky little chain cafe is brilliant for escaping the midday heat!
It was first opened in Siem reap where it now has 8 branches, before it spread over to Phnom Penh where it now has three! I’m currently sitting in the one by Sisovath key overlooking the river drinking the most delicious mango yoghurt smoothie ever! Unlike most Vietnamese lassis (which I am a big fan of!) this is made with mango mango sorbet so its like a healthy mango flavoured slush puppy!
On its way to me is the most delicious ice cream ever! I had in first in Siem reap and now I’m having it as a birthday treat! It’s cinnamon ice cream and it has biscuit like chunks in it! If you like cinnamon as a flavour, and ice with bits it like cookie dough then u’ll love this!

The cafe does all sorts of other delights such as pastries, shakes, sandwiches, tiramisu, pasta, dumplings…… The list is endless!!!

Not only is the food good but its a good cafe! It gives any unsold pastries to orphanages, it supports FAmily Care in Siem reap which is a project to provide improved eduction to impoverish children, and it gives all it’s used cooking oil to Naga Biofuels to be turned into friendly biodiesel!

Definitely worth a visit!

9/10

Fine restaurant and bar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia,

I hate to admit it but last night I’d just about had enough of the taste of lemongrass! It is in pretty much everything over here whether it I underlying or the main flavour and I needed a break! So while I was craving western, James was still after Khmer! Anyway we happened to hit upon te perfect place not far from our hotel – I will add the full address later!

Name: fine

Staff: very nice and friendly – one of the girls was absolutely stunning! A model agency would have a field day out here if they could get over the height issue!

Food: I had pasta pesto! It was just what I needed and really good! They had added mint to it which was lovely and I will that at home!
James had fish amok, a curry dish which despite being a little on the spices side was also very good!

Drink: the white wine is good! (House) and they have humongous glasses!

Menu: they have lots of dishes on it both western and Cambodian so I’m pretty sure that anyone would find something they wanted.

Verdict: good for a nice cheap meal! Yummy food and yummy wine! 8/10

Angkor Night market

Angkor night market I brilliant – although I may find it so because I’m a girl who loves to shop!
Once in Siem reap you can’t miss! Massive neon signs light the way!
You can buy anything here from tea and coffee to take home, to dresses, Cambodia pants, t-shirts, flip flops, postcards and dr dre beats!
It’s bright and vibrant and very busy but with a nice relaxed atmosphere! Remember to barter as there are some great bargains to be had!
My fave bit is the angkor recycle stalls! See previous post! I spent $20 on a purse, a clutch, a beach bag, a shopper and a wash bag! Ooo and an iPhone case! Very cool!
Also got two dress for $22 and 4 pairs of flip flops for $16!

Happy shopping!

QHR Golden Banana Boutique hotel

Not to be confused with golden banana resort or superior! Down one little alley there are (I think) 4 golden banana residences. They are part of the same chain but otherwise independent of each other – so you can’t use the others pool and if you eat in one that your not staying in you pay there, not via your room bill!

Room: our room was up a flight of stair and then split over 2 floors! The first floor had a tv, comfy chairs, a table and mini bar. The second floor was a very spacious bedroom and nice bathroom. The decor was rather bohemian and rather trendy with some bizarre painting of laughing men in pants which I think is meant to indicate the fact that the hotel is gay friendly!
Each room has a ceiling fan and there is aircon in the bedroom!
We had a balcony over looking the pool which was lovely and had a wicker chair swing suspended from the ceiling!

Food: hmmm. We had lunch at a member of the hotel chain next door. I had noodles and James had chicken Khmer curry. While it tasted good we were both ill that evening! One from one end and one from another!! It may well have been due to too much sun but I would still be weary!
Breakfast was nice! You choose off a menu which includes fried breakfast, omelettes, museli, pancakes and fruit. I had a pancake and so far so good!
However if you’re going to do a sunrise adventure through your hotel and therefore miss the allocated breakfast time, it would be nice to have some kind of replacement!

Facilities: the hotel had a lovely salt water pool with approximately 12 loungers around it. The situation is very pretty with some lovely pink flowered trees overlooking the pool. However this means if you are a sun worshipper like ourselves you may find yourself sun bed hopping to get out of the shade! Luckily for us it was quiet yesterday so it was easy!

There is a bar by the pool that is open most of the day until 10pm depending on how busy it is.

Staff: our hotel’s staff were friendly and most spoke relatively good English!! they arranged a Tuk Tuk to take us around angkor wat for a day no problem.

Problems: our main problem was with the water supply. Siem reap is experiencing a period of low water so the hotel had to shut down its water from 11am Til 3pm and again from midnight to 4am. This is fine and neither of us had a problem, it’s hardly the hotel’s fault! However what was annoying is that when the water was meant to be on it didn’t work up to our room! The pump had apparently broken and it took an hour to fix on the first night delaying us from exploring as we both needed to shower! The next day in the morning before our trip to angkor there still wasn’t any so it was a rather stinky couple that visited the sunrise! After a firm word with one of the better English speaking staff though it was sorted finally! I think having a bathroom on the 3rd floor was what caused the problem so the lower to the ground your room is the better off you’ll be!

Verdict: 7/10 only low because of the water problem really!! And the lack of loungers in the sun but that’s a really personal thing!

Triangle BBQ bar, Siem Reap

Had dinner here tonight!
Basically slightly upmarket street food! They cook it on the side of the street while you squeeze in on metal tables!

Food: I had noodle soup and a portion of pork chops. The soup was nice but a little bland compared to others I had. The pork was delicious but came as three ribs together which made for very messy eating!
James had stir fried frog! Very fiddly as lots of little bones – literally a smaller version of chicken! He enjoyed it tho! E also had a chefs special chicken kebab and a king tiger prawn! All looks good!
Other options included fried rice, beef an squid as well as catch of the day!

Drinks: yummy mojito and beer!

Verdict: 7/10 but good for a street food experience if you don’t fancy the rougher looking places!
Wear plenty of mosquito repellent! I got bitten a lot there for some reason!

Bayon temple, angkor thom, Siem Reap

The bayon temple is my favourite out of all the angkor temples!

It is part of angkor Thom and its four walls run north to south and east to west.

It has 37 towers and in its hay day each one had four giant faces carved on them keeping an eye over each compass point. Although it all the towers have all their faces today there are still loads and they are spectacular!

The half smiling (some would say smizing!) faces are possibly that of the hindhu king Jayavarman VII who had bayon built around 1190 ad.

It is a Buddhist temple but has many hindhu influences.

There are some beautiful carvings said to added at a later date by King Jayavarman VIII depicting things from fishing and chess games, to battles and a Khmer circus! These run along the southern wall.

Over all the temple is stunning with so much work and detail. Sometimes it’s hard not to realise that these temples weren’t just thrown together but are works of art in their own right and in their parts. At this temple it isn’t!

Angkor Wat at Sunrise

So this is my second time watching the sunrise over angkor. To be fair, if you’ve done it once then it doesn’t really need doing a second time, but if you haven’t been before you should!
Most hotels organise cars, TukTuk, or bikes that you can hire to get you aroun angkor – we paid $23 for the day but and extra $3 for the sunrise I make up for the early start!
We were collected at 5am and taken to get our tickets which cost $20 for a one day pass – if you purchase a ticket after 5.30pm it can get used the next day as well, handy if you arrive in time for sunset!

We were dropped on one side of the moat that surrounds angkor wat an walked across the bridge in the dark, following the odd torch light of other tourists and guides.

To get a good seat in front of the lake you need to be there super early! As the sun comes up, the three towers of angkor are silhouetted against the sky and reflected on to take. You can get some brilliant photos but you need to be there around 5 I would say to get a good spot, also torches as other cameras flashing (!) may disrupt your photos!

We watched until it was light enough to see around and then wandered around the temple itself! The best time as everyone else is still watching the sunrise and its blissfully peaceful!

For me the real magi happens at about 6.40. By this time we had seen the temple and had walked back across the moat! The sun had appeared as a bright pink orb above the buildings and the reflection on the lake was beautiful!
So if you value your sleep I would say you could have another our and still see a spectacular, colourful sunrise!

QBaR (Quick Bar Review) island Bar, Siem Reap Night market

Just a quick one! Having a lovely cocktail in the Island Bar in Siem Reap’s night market!
I first came here a few years ago and remember propping up the bar with my good friend Polly. I’m now lounging here on valentine’s day with my relatively new husband! It’s lovely! A complete escape from the craziness of pub street.
The music is chilled and the light very cool!
It’s literally on a little island! Well it has a tiny moat surrounding it that you cross over bridges to get to the bar.
Well worth a visit for a mid shop break and a breather!

QHR Bunwin Boutique, Siem Reap

This lovely hotel was where we stayed on our first night in Cambodia! We were collected from the airport by TukTuk which was a brilliant way to start off in Cambodia! Our driver spoke brilliant English as did all of the other members of staff! We arrived in the dark and walked through a jungle like courtyard to the reception which was bright and airy despite the heat!

Rooms: our room was fantastic! So my lovely lovely husband has been in charge of booking for Cambodia as his treat for my birthday and valentine’s day! He did very well indeed! Aparrantly it was just a deluxe room and not a suite but it was massive! Huge bed, nice bath in the corner with a table and chairs by the window! The shower was lovely and surrounded by pebbles making it look very quirky!
Everything was well thought out in its design from the shiny concrete floor to the hidden aircon unit!
It was all spotless as well!
AND for the first time on our Honeymoon we had rose petals on the bed and in the bath! Woop!

Staff: the staff were all lovely and very helpful! They spoke fantastic English too and looked very smart in their uniforms!

Food: at breakfast we had a choice of continental breakfast with museli, fruit, yoghurt; English with egg sausage bacon and ham; or Asian. Each breakfast came with a basket of pastries and toast including chocolate croissants! Yum!

Facilities: the pool was a black tiled affair, very sleek! There seemed to be limited sun loungers but the hotel seemed quiet so we ha no problems getting a pair but I would advise getting up early and securing some!

The hotel also provided us withdrew transfers to and from town which was amazing a we were quite far out from the craziness of pub street! We were dropped off in a Tuk Tuk and picked up in a stripped down jeep!

The hotel also recommended AHA and booked dinner for us!!

Finally a really nice touch was providing us with a phone when we went out so we could call for a pick up or if we had any trouble!

9/10! Only lost out as I think more sunbeds should be out! Otherwise perfect!