Cambodia Travel Diary: Day 4 at Siem Reap

Day 4 was our last day in Cambodia! This day was a very relaxing one since we had no activity scheduled. It's our last chance to shop for souvenirs and some food to bring home from the supermarkets.
 

We walked around shops near the Old Market and saw a couple of interesting ones. I chanced upon a Tous les Jours store there and got curious on how different it was with the ones in Manila. The store itself had a similar look, but they have this cute fresh fruit cake we don't have here.

For our last lunch, we went back to The Brothers Bar & Restaurant! It's a new bar and restaurant in a traditional Khmer wooden house. They serve an extensive range of Asian, Western, and Khmer cuisine. They have free WIFI that actually works, and live music during the evening.

 

European Set II ($5.00)

Greek salad served with Samosas

Blue Fettuccini: Fettuccini pasta with creamy blue cheese sauce

Dessert of seasonal fruits platter

This time, I ordered a different European Set. Samosas weren't available, so they had me trade it with Royal Spring Roll (fried mixed vegetables and minced beef in rice wrapper with spicy sauce). I'm not complaining at all. :D The Royal Spring Roll was good, the pasta had a sharp cheese taste, and I also liked the fresh fruit platter. This meal costs just P236 when converted to PHP as of press time. OA sa sulit! ♥

Spanish omelet ($2.00)

Omelet with fried potatoes and onions served with bread
 

The rest of the dishes I wasn't able to note the names and prices, but everyone was happy with their orders.
 

Tall glasses of shakes range from $1.20 to $2.00 only.

The Brothers Restaurant
Telephone no.: 012-460097, 093-811810
Address: King’s Road Angkor, Old Market area
Open: 9:00AM - 12:00PM 
 

While walking around, Panda and I saw this Manulife clock and we just had to take a photo. I used to work for them before I went back to school this year.

 

Before heading back to the airport, we thought of having a quick dinner to combat hunger during our 3-hour flight. I remember Siem Reap International Airport having limited food choices, so we dropped by Pub Street again for the last time. Not everyone in our group has tried Khmer Family Restaurant, so we had dinner here. It was a wrong decision since their service was extremely slow, they got our orders mixed up, and the staff weren't even nice. Also, the WIFI was creeping at a glacial pace. After dining at The Brothers twice, this restaurant was already pushed towards the expensive category, since they don't give value for your money. It's the same price or even a bit pricier than my European Set meal above! Not recommended. So much for being our last dinner, we should have gone to The Brothers or Blue Pumpkin again instead. :/

 

Goodbye, Pub Street!
 

This trip has gave me a lot of realizations. Here are my honest feelings, and I don't mean to offend:

• I'm not really into temples/ruins. They're almost all the same to me. LOL
• Siem Reap is ideal only as a stopover during your Asian tour, 1-2 days tops.
• Four full days at Siem Reap is more than enough. It's the provincial side of Cambodia, so there's nothing much to do here. I've already seen what I intended to, so it's very unlikely that I'll go back there.
• During the trip, I've encountered few very kind people, particularly in host in King Boutique Hotel and the waiter in The Brother's Bar and Restaurant. Some were normal and okay, but there were a lot of shopkeepers whom I felt were rude and were just after my USDs. Once you ask the price, they'd assume you're going to buy and some would get angry when you don't purchase.
• Break your USDs into small denominations, so there will be less chance of you getting change in Cambodian Riel. It's very hard to use and manage because USD 1.00 = 4027.71 Cambodian Riel.
• There's nothing much to buy here. Case in point: Pashminas and scarves excited me while I was at Siem Reap, and I don't even care about here in Manila.
• Next time, I'll think before I book a plane ticket.
• I enjoyed last year's trip to Bangkok, Thailand last year more.
 

So this ends my Cambodia Travel Diary series. I've got #TopeTravelandTours to thank for arranging our trip and itinerary!

Love,
Helen
 

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