Siem Reap, Cambodia part 2

I really enjoyed my time in this city. There was a lot to explore and it seemed to be a bit of a foodie city as well. 

A sign I saw while waking that was so typical and wonderful, SE Asia always trying to speak but more often writing... in English. 

My friend Sasha from the USA who has taught English in Cambodia for several months told me to be aware of a few things. 

The main one was the young girls on the streets who pretend to have babies and ask you for food and milk from the stores. IF you fall for this and buy it for them, the girls will sell that product back to the stores once you leave, making a profit. Also, those babies aren't theirs! They have borrowed them to make you think they are even more in need! 

One of my first nights in Siem Reap I was approached by one and for a split second I forgot about the warning I was given. All of a sudden it hit me and I told her "No." She came back to me again and I hit her with the truth! I told her "No, because..." basically just telling her what I was told about her and she WAS NOT happy! She actually growled at me and stomped off! 

Another warning I was given was to be aware of the

little boy who yells F' you! 

Seriously! He's about 8 or 9 years old and he walks around the main streets, usually not begging for anything. However he walks right up to you and gets right up in your face and yells "F' you!" It's so obnoxious and unreal! 

This shirt design is the newest fad in the Asian clothing market. It's pretty funny too, right!? "Lonely Traveller" and a picture of an elephant traveler taking a selfie of itself. 

Back to the topic of this place being a food city... On my last night in Cambodia Sasha, Olivia and I went to this restaurant called Haven. It was amazing! A little expensive but so good!

Entrance to Haven. An outdoor restaurant.

I split a few things with Sasha before the main course came. 

Delicious! Calamari appetizer we ate with an equally great salad that I forgot to photograph. 

And then a pumpkin burger on a homade bun. Words can't describe how delicious this was and the picture definitely can't explain it either! Way to go Haven for making such an amazing last dinner for me! Wish I could have had another meal here but reservations are strongly recommended here. A reason why I only ate here once. 

The second hostel I stayed at in Siem Reap was my favorite. 

One Stop Hostel at night. There are 2 locations of this hostel in SR and this is the newest one and where I called home for my last few nights.

My dorm room.

Rooftop pool (usually pretty empty) with a great view of the city. 

They have a kitchen inside where they will cook you meals for a small price. There's refillable water for a fee less then buying another bottle. Better for the environment too! The staff was friendly and the wifi and air con worked good and strong. This hostel was so new they didn't even have an address yet. 

On my last official day out of the country I decided I didn't have much left I needed to do in the city. I did miss the circus which I heard was worth seeing. I was planning to go but one night they were fully booked and then the next night they were closed. The circus relocated to a new spot so they closed to move. The night I flew out they had seats available but I wouldn't have made my flight.

The Cambodian circus is similar (from what I understand) to cirque du soleil the touring French Canadian circus. Tickets for general seating was around $18 and VIP seats were around $35. If you ever make it to Cambodia make a point to book this show right away, in advance. 

Another beautifully colored alley way along my travels. This was just outside of sister srey cafe. 

Sasha and one of the servers at sister srey cafe.

Since I had nothing to do on my last day in Cambodia I made it a cafe day! Literally! I ate breakfast, lunch and an early dinner. 

Homemade Toast with avocado, tomato, feta and a side of pesto. Simple and anyone could probably make this but it was really good here. 

Believe it or not this is stuffed French toast! I thought they accidentally served me a sandwich. It was a savory French toast with a tomato chutney on the side. 

And my last meal there was a detox salad with 2 power balls (energy balls) and a side of house made sweet potato fries! You can't go wrong with these sweet potato fries. 

I went back to the hostel and waited for Mr. Moon to pick me up at 9pm. He agreed to deliver me to the airport for the best price I was able to find. 

He pointed out to me his home as we neared the airport and then he took me directly to my terminal. It was exciting but bitter sweet to finally be leaving for the USA. There was a long layover in Shanghai China ahead of me but the USA was right around the corner. 

Mr. Moon weeks later found me on FB and has kept in touch with me. 

I made a few friends at the airport including a Cambodian lady. She was making her first ever airplane trip. She was probably in her late 30's and a nurse. She didn't speak freak English but she was drawn to me for some reason and asked me many questions about flying. Cambodians don't often leave the country they aren't paid enough in their jobs to make travel easy. I helped her along and on the plane we oddly enough sat across the aisle from each other. 

Once we were

in China I had to make the decision if I was actually going to venture out into the city. My layover was 14 hours but I had just got word from a friend living there that the air pollution was high! So high they were even leaving to go to the country for the weekend. So I stayed in the airport and helped the Cambodian lady until we had to part ways at a certain gate. She was heading to Bejing to see a friend studying there for nursing. 

The layover in shiamghai was dreadful! First of all the majority of the workers were rude and didn't smile. China doesn't allow Facebook or anything google on anyone's computer or cell phones. So I didn't even have those things to distract me. I talked with some guys about thailand and they bought me some dim sum while we talked travel and I have them tips. Another guy from the Cambodian plane bought me breakfast at starbucks an visited with me. He said it was a gift for being so helpful to the Cambodian lady. 

I went into the bathroom before my flight to brush my teeth and this happened...! 

My travel tooth brush broke! It was in my mouth and just snapped! The Chinese ladies around me all heard it and looked with a bit of a smile. Of course they didn't  say anything to me because the majority of the Chinese people didn't speak any English. Wouldn't even try to talk to me. 

Sigh...

14 hours passed by and I made my trip to Oahu, Hawaii! Hello USA! It's been awhile!