Tag Archives: siem reap

Blue pumpkin, Phnom Penh, Cambodia,

17 Feb

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

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Angkor Night market

16 Feb

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!

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QHR Golden Banana Boutique hotel

16 Feb

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!

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Triangle BBQ bar, Siem Reap

15 Feb

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!

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QBaR banana leaf, pub street, Siem reap

15 Feb

Just a quick one!

The bar: banana leaf

Location: pub street, Siem reap

Drink: passion fruit mojito

Verdict: delicious!!!!

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Bayon temple, angkor thom, Siem Reap

15 Feb

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!

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Angkor Wat at Sunrise

15 Feb

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!

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

14 Feb

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!

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QHR Bunwin Boutique, Siem Reap

14 Feb

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!

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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!

IMG_1681 IMG_1684 IMG_1686Facilities: 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!

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Angkor recycle

13 Feb

Right. This stuff is amazing!
I have my friend Georgia to thank for introducing me to it via her very cool elephant purse! I have been lusting over getting one for at least a week and it was first port of call after dinner!
Except it didn’t stop at the purse! I’ve ended up with a shopper, a beach bag, a purse and an I phone holder! In going back tomorrow for a kindle and ipad case and a wash bag! I love it so much! It’s such a great idea recycling old cement bags etc to make really cool quirky accessories or is crazy tourists!
The quality on all of them is good too (so says engineer husband!) – although I wouldn’t over load the bags, but lets face it for $6 a beach bag I think it’s worth it!

The company was started by Ms. Yung in 2007. Basically local use the pesticides that come in most of the materials used and then chuck away the packaging causing lots of waste and pollution. What Ms. Yung decide to do was to buy the waste packaging from them to make bags etc from. This supported the locals by providing money and jobs, but has also cut down on pollution!

Now that is cool!

http://www.angkorrecycled.org/About%20Us.html

This is their website for some reason I can’t link it ATM but will try again later!

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