On our way to Angkor Wat, Cambodia- February 26, 2011 to February 28, 2011

After our brief stay, the next morning we headed back to Saigon airport for our 1 hour flight to Siem Reap(the city closest to Angkor Wat). In the airport we requested to seat in the front to avoid the long visa line in Cambodia (thank god we did). Our adventure that day began after all three of us got thru security- my mother then got pulled aside for what- Her insulin and needles. It turns out in Asia they don't like you carrying this medication on the flight with you. Instead they want you to check it in- if asked what to do if your bags get lost or sent to wrong place they answer back IMPOSSIBLE. Imagine airlines that never loses bags- that would be a perfect day. Any way we ended up spending half-hour explaining this to the chief security guard (while he was being a jackass). He even refused to give us his name so after a lot of negotiations a scared crew (the 6mm full sealed needles and 2 insulin pen may jump out at them) agreed to take our stuff on board the flight and give it to the gate agent in Cambodia.  All we said is THANK GOD we left Vietnam.

NOTE: In North America they teach you to carry all your medicine with you, in this part of Asia they suggest only what you need on the flight- like I said before planes never lose bags and are never delayed. Our fear in Asia is finding a safe source to buy the insulin and needles since my mother needs them to live.

After landing in Cambodia we were excited that would get into the line right away (from their government website we had filled out our visa forms), too late they changed the forms- so most of our flight crowded 4 tables to rewrite these forms. I smartly waited in line while my dad completed our forms therefore minimizing our time. In fact we ended up being one of the first 10 people from our flight out and see our guide, Kim San. We would end up spending the next few days with him, while he ensured we saw all the sites with limited people.

During our time there we stayed at the beautiful La Residence d'Angkor owned by the Orient Express. A nice hotel away from the loud city noises of Siem Reap. The food in Cambodia overall was nice but nothing special. We ended having 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts during our stay. Cambodian food is similar to Thai without the heat.

Our first dinner was at our hotel:

We started with a small tasting- a tried ball that was just okay.

My starter was a soup, papaya salad and mango salad. The salads were nice and soup interesting. Beautifully presented. The only problem is I like a bit more heat when eating food similar to Thai.

My main course was a chicken curry and rice- hidden under the leaf. It was beautifully presented again but not as spicy as I love but wonderful.

As they took so long I enjoyed my dessert in my room so didn't get a chance to take a picture. It was fried bananas and coconut ice cream and a perfect way to end a hot day.

The rest of our meals consisted of two lunches both wonderful and an okay buffet dinner while watching the traditional show. Sadly, the show and food was a bit too commercial for my taste.

By the end of our 2nd morning there we had seen all the sights and managed to convince bangkok airways to find an extra seat. The had 2 seats free on that flight but thru my dad's wonderful negotiation skills we got an additional one and were able to reach Bangkok earlier. Originally we were supposed to land in Bangkok at 7pm but now would reach by 3:30pm.