Kampong Phluk Floating Village

20th Nov 201819th Nov 2018Leave a comment

My second visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia was at the end of October, which meant rainy season!

My Asia trip was booked mainly on impulse and a strong curiosity at the time to see more of the world that simply couldn’t wait, but maybe if I’d known it was going to be rainy season I wouldn’t have chosen to visit at this time. However now I’m glad I did… It’s less busy off peak, and the rain wasn’t so bad that it ruined my experience, but the main reason I’m glad I went around this time was I got the chance to visit the floating village of Kampong Phluk just outside of Siem Reap!

This was an incredible experience, which I would highly recommend to anyone travelling to the area around the rainy season!

I booked on a day trip with a lovely girl I met in my hostel (Lubd) room. Because only 2 of us wanted to go on that day we paid quiet a lot, but the price was for the boat, and could of been split across as many as around 8 people I believe.

After a tuk tuk ride, we boarded a larger boat to the village, then moved on to little rowing boats to look around the village.

The rowing boats were peaceful, and the colours on the houses and in the trees beautiful.

Rowing through the trees reminded me of that scene from Pocahontas when they’re travelling through Grandmother Willow’s branches!

I think the photos say it all:

Five Reasons Why You Must Stay at Lubd Siem Reap Hostel

19th Nov 201819th Nov 2018Leave a comment

Hostels in general don’t have a good rep. This is understandable having come across a few of the nastier ones on my travels, but overall I’d say that I’ve been lucky and hostels are almost always nice (and sometimes even nicer than a hotel for half the price!)

The Lubd in Siem Reap is one of these hidden gems. I called this home for 14 days and here is why you must stay if you’re passing through:

1 – The amazing staff
Travelling on my own might of felt daunting, but I felt safe and welcome throughout my stay. Everyone’s happy at work and seem to enjoy their jobs. អរគុណ 🙂 xx

2- The Superb swimming pool

pool_by_night-final-size
This image is taken from their website (because apparently I forgot to take any!)

Not the usual grotty hostel watering hole that leaves you feeling like you need to shower off the weird coloured water… this pool is beautifully clean and inviting, surrounded by sunbeds for sunny days and even has a poolside bar!

3- The clean, innovative dorm rooms

Here was my little bunk, decorated with cards from the school children

I chose a girls only 10 bed dorm for my stay.
-The bedding and towels are changed almost every day, and the whole place is super clean! – extremely important in shared rooms.
-You each get your own large locker with a small rail to hang your clothes above, so no more ‘crease effect’ clothing.
-There are steps instead of ladders up to the top bunk, and because the beds are so spacious up there it felt like a little room.

4 – The lovely clean bathrooms

– The showers were so much better than my one at home! With large waterfall heads and plenty of room in the cubicles to dry and dress without getting all your things soaking wet in the process.
– There’s also large lit mirrors over each sink in the island in the middle, so you can do your make-up and get ready if people are sleeping in your dorm and you don’t want to disturb them.
– The toilets are very clean – always good to know when booking a hostel on a whim.
– There’s washing machines and dryers so you can do your own washing.
TOP TIP: If you’re a little cheeky like me and need to be careful with your budget, save the tokens meant for drying and instead use the hangers from above your locker and hang your clothes in the warm bathroom overnight to dry. You can then save the drying tokens for an extra wash later on! (Obviously be mindful not to go overboard with too much clothing!)

5 – The delicious food

Not the cheapest food, but it’s convenient and very tasty. My favourite was the stuffed aubergine, and because I was always in such a rush in the morning before going to teach I’d order the cereal, which comes with fruit and a drink.

Here’s an extract from my diary on the day I arrived at the hostel:
Got a tuk tuk to the hostel called Lubd Siem Reap. It’s probably the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in! (Kosta in Bali is a close second) It’s super new and spotlessly clean! Other benefits include:
-They change the bedding and towels every day
-Free drinking water
-Free games
-Great pool with pool bar
-Washing machine
-Nicest showers ever!!
The workers are all really super friendly too. My bed is at the top, but instead of a ladder they have steps up to your bed and I love it because it feels like my own little room! Ironically it’s opposite the other hostel I went to last time I was in Siem Reap, so it’s a shame I didn’t move here then!

Check out their website and Instagram @lubdsiemreap for more photos and reviews!

My Art Gallery Trail in Siem Reap, Cambodia

10th Nov 201812th Nov 2018Leave a comment

Siem Reap is steeped in ancient history, famous for its beautiful temples.

Angkor Wat is covered in incredibly intricate detail, and inspires hundreds of people each day. The locals love this temple and even after visiting many times, they still see the beauty in the structure and decoration. Khmer people seem to really appreciate the power and beauty of all visual arts, which is something I loved about their country.

I come from an artistic background (although sadly life and work has slowly squashed the hours I used to spend drawing and painting) so when I found myself with a day off teaching I decided to use Google maps and create my own art gallery tour.

Here’s a list (taken from my diary of the day) of where I ended up:

1 – Khmer Kids Art Gallery – This is where they teach children art and then sell their work. I met one of the artists, who has this really distinct style of using multiple blending of colours to show form and depth through natural forms.

2 – One Eleven Gallery – This was quite a small international gallery with work from this artist called Christian Develter who takes inspiration from the face tattoos of Myanmar tribes women. The curator working in that gallery was an Australian called Danny.

3 – McDermott Gallery – Lastly after hitting a few wrong turns, and a few gallery duds I ended up here. This was purely photography work from the artist John McDermott, who’s work focuses heavily on Angkor Watt, a lot of which was depicted in black and white.

At the end of my stay in Siem Reap I found the most amazing art shop and school called Colours of Cambodia. Here I bought a beautiful watercolour painting, and was lucky enough to meet the young artist.

Art is a therapy for the heart and mind, and it seemed like a stronger possibility you could make a living purely as an artist in Asia than in England, where most artists have another job to support their income. Everywhere you turn in Cambodia there’s colour and life and hope. Even the mud on the ground is so rich it looks like it could be used to paint with.

I’d love to find somewhere to do an art holiday (maybe in Asia) some time soon! So if anyone has any ideas of places to visit, or any organised trips or retreats that include art and/or yoga let me know, as I haven’t found any that inspire me yet!

Also don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for updates on new blog posts and photos from trips! x

My top 5 places to eat in Siem Reap

3rd Nov 20183rd Nov 2018Leave a comment

First of all can I just say how much I LOVE Siem Reap – there’s SO much to do and see, and the people are beautiful and welcoming.

The first time I visited was part of a group tour, where we were only given a couple of days to go round Angkor Wat and see a couple of things. I quickly decided I wanted to come back and explore further, so a month on and I was back as a solo traveller ready to teach English in a village Primary school (& of course try and eat my way through as much Khmer food as possible!)

There’s tons of places to eat and drink in Siem Reap, but here I have looked back through my diary and have picked out my personal top 5 from my visit (+ some fun extras):

1 – SPOONS

WOW WOW WOW
I went with a couple of the girls from my hostel as a treat dinner, as I’d wanted to go for ages, and it did not disappoint.

Before we ordered, they gave us each a large spoon of chicken curry, and it was literally amazing! Unfortunately it wasn’t actually on the menu to order as a main, which is probably a bit of a missed opportunity, but I guess it’s a gimmick to go alongside the name of ‘Spoons’.

I had the chicken with coconut sauce and it was so delicious! The décor of the restaurant was really nice too.

Spoons is run by a company called EGBOK (Everything’s Gonna Be OK), the company train young adults in the community in hospitality and catering, opening up more opportunities for employment in the future, so it’s a delicious mouthful that also makes a difference. Check out their website for more information.

I should also probably mention Haven at this point – a restaurant with a similar motive of empowering those less fortunate to train and find employment for life. I did visit Haven and it was really nice, but didn’t blow me away for taste like Spoons.

2 – ARTILLERY

This one’s for the health bunnies out there. A little on the expensive side, but if you want to be nourished then this is the place to go. Artillery is a nice quite place with friendly staff, so I can imagine it would be a great spot to hang out if you needed to get some work done, or just read your book in peace.

I went twice, and would highly recommend their Courgetty with a mushroom and cashew nut sauce, which was delicious.

One downer = the chocolate slice was just a TAD too healthy for me.. not recommended if you’ve got a sweet tooth.

3 – BANLLE

This sweet vegetarian restaurant is set within a garden. I went for lunch and ordered the brown rice burger and pistachio ice cream – which were both really good.

4 – DAM NAK NEAS

A busy local’s restaurant near the river, I went here on my own for dinner and didn’t feel out of place at all. Meat is cooked on a BBQ to give extra flavour and the menu is pretty extensive with something for everyone, including frog intestines and eel. I decided to stay within my comfort zone that evening and ordered the chicken BBQ skewers and rice.

5 – FOOTPRINTS

If you’re missing your Sunday morning home comforts, this one’s perfect for brunch. A cute little café set off from the main town on the other side of the river. I ordered the Eggs Florentine.

The café is filled with books from UK donors (including Cambridge University), which give a warm cosy atmosphere. You are very welcome to read or even buy these books, with all sales helping to generate grants for local communities.

& if you’re still not full…

For desert: try Project Y, a pay by weight frozen yoghurt place. I got a tub of coconut, Nutella and chocolate flavours with Maltesers, honeycomb and chocolate sauce for $5.50. It’s expensive but at least it’s for charity!

For drinks: visit the G Green Sky Dining. The rooftop makes this place feel special, but it won’t break the bank, and if you’re a girl they’ll even give you a free cocktail during happy hour!
I also had frogs legs tempura and spring rolls here, but would probably only recommend this place for drinks no dinner.

For the experience: You can’t leave Siem Reap without trying at least one insect from the market. I noticed there’s a few insect eating tours around, but there’s literally no need to pay for something that’s already free and accessible to everyone! I had a mini snake, and it was actually pretty good! Just keep a bottle of water to hand, to wash down those cricket legs!

Shore to Surface

Tag: Siem Reap