Saturday, March 23, 2012
my own bed
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Its been a whirlwind of a week. After the first few days of drama (fueled by a bit of jet lag and heat), thing quickly settled down as we settled in to this new world.
Sunday night we went to dinner with the newly formed "Siem Reap food club". 6 of us tried "Dakshin" indian restaurant for the first time and it did not disappoint. Beautiful restaurant, just off of the craziness of Pub Street. All of the entries were good, but the Butter Chicken was the highlight for me. The best I've had (and I've had a lot!).
Afterwards Dave went back to the hotel, and I went to meet up with an old facebook contact from the US, who is in Siem Reap right now. Remy was in a band that I followed a bit, and now he lives in Cambodia working with different musicians. As it turned out, he was also apartment shopping, so we agreed to share any good properties that we found.
Monday morning, Dave and I went out with a local realtor to see what was available (scroll to read the synopsis), After being a bit underwhelmed by the first two choices, we got to apartment number 3 and it was love at first sight. Just a bit outside of the business of the city, and right next door to one of our favorite restaurants "Touich". Its a brand new property, and not everything is completed yet, but its finished enough for residency. We opted for a two bedroom apartment on the second floor. Our bedroom balcony faces east, so we get a beautiful sunrise every morning. Yesterday we were surprised to see a hot air balloon way off in the distance. It was gorgeous. Hopefully that will become a regular sight!
After viewing the apartment and meeting with the owners, there was no question this was the place for us. We agreed to a short lease ( 6 months), with the understanding that we can extend if we choose to, or, if things arent as golden as they seem here, we can move along.
The rest of Monday and Tuesday were a blur of shopping and shenanigans in preparation for move in day on Thursday. Tuesday night our driver, Thai, invited us to his home for dinner as a thank you for hiring him. Thai and his wife and their three children live in one large room, and their neighbors family live in the room next door. Their landlord lives in a separate house about 50 feet away. It was a special night for everyone as it was the first time that "Barang" (foreigners) had been to their home. We had lovely roasted pork and duck and many, many beers. While the adults had their party, the kids had control of the cameras. These are some of their photos....
Our driver Thai and his kids
Uncle Remy serving cake
The kids checking out the fridge (and secretly stealing my chocolates!)
This morning I slept late and when I got up I was surprised to see not only Dave and Remy in the living room (we are pretty much sharing all of our spaces now) but also our friend Kimleng who we'd met the last time we were here. He's a local photographer that gives tours to tourists. We've kept in touch with him since, discussing a childrens photography project that he wanted to start. Dave and he had made plans to meet up this morning, and when Dave explained where we live it was a surprise that he knew the area so well. It was an even bigger surprise when we found out that he lives RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! Once again, it feels like we were meant to chose this place.
-R
my own bed
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Its been a whirlwind of a week. After the first few days of drama (fueled by a bit of jet lag and heat), thing quickly settled down as we settled in to this new world.
Sunday night we went to dinner with the newly formed "Siem Reap food club". 6 of us tried "Dakshin" indian restaurant for the first time and it did not disappoint. Beautiful restaurant, just off of the craziness of Pub Street. All of the entries were good, but the Butter Chicken was the highlight for me. The best I've had (and I've had a lot!).
Afterwards Dave went back to the hotel, and I went to meet up with an old facebook contact from the US, who is in Siem Reap right now. Remy was in a band that I followed a bit, and now he lives in Cambodia working with different musicians. As it turned out, he was also apartment shopping, so we agreed to share any good properties that we found.
Monday morning, Dave and I went out with a local realtor to see what was available (scroll to read the synopsis), After being a bit underwhelmed by the first two choices, we got to apartment number 3 and it was love at first sight. Just a bit outside of the business of the city, and right next door to one of our favorite restaurants "Touich". Its a brand new property, and not everything is completed yet, but its finished enough for residency. We opted for a two bedroom apartment on the second floor. Our bedroom balcony faces east, so we get a beautiful sunrise every morning. Yesterday we were surprised to see a hot air balloon way off in the distance. It was gorgeous. Hopefully that will become a regular sight!
After viewing the apartment and meeting with the owners, there was no question this was the place for us. We agreed to a short lease ( 6 months), with the understanding that we can extend if we choose to, or, if things arent as golden as they seem here, we can move along.
The rest of Monday and Tuesday were a blur of shopping and shenanigans in preparation for move in day on Thursday. Tuesday night our driver, Thai, invited us to his home for dinner as a thank you for hiring him. Thai and his wife and their three children live in one large room, and their neighbors family live in the room next door. Their landlord lives in a separate house about 50 feet away. It was a special night for everyone as it was the first time that "Barang" (foreigners) had been to their home. We had lovely roasted pork and duck and many, many beers. While the adults had their party, the kids had control of the cameras. These are some of their photos....
As we were making friends and plans, Remy was making his own plans for moving. I had shared our apartment information with him and he, too, fell in love with the property. So now, he's our next door neighbor. We all moved in on Thursday and its been a big party ever since.
Last night we invited Thai and his family over to our home for dinner. I'm not sure how they managed it, but he brought his whole neighborhood in one Tuk-Tuk. The kids had pizza for the first time and it seemed to be a big hit. They peeked in all of the corners and cabinets and had a great time jumping on the beds. The highlight though, was the bathroom and bathtub. I'm not sure if they even knew what the tub was, but they were all screaming and laughing when they saw it.
After pizza everyone filled up on yummy chocolate cake. I got to play Aunt Rhonda to a whole new group of kidlings... candy and chocolate milk and goodies for everyone. My guess is they're all sick this morning after filling up on crap food, but they are their parents problem now. ;)
This morning I slept late and when I got up I was surprised to see not only Dave and Remy in the living room (we are pretty much sharing all of our spaces now) but also our friend Kimleng who we'd met the last time we were here. He's a local photographer that gives tours to tourists. We've kept in touch with him since, discussing a childrens photography project that he wanted to start. Dave and he had made plans to meet up this morning, and when Dave explained where we live it was a surprise that he knew the area so well. It was an even bigger surprise when we found out that he lives RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! Once again, it feels like we were meant to chose this place.
-R
7 comments:
Thanks for keeping us up to date on your adventure. Enjoying your posts. So where will you cool off if no pool? :)
Pools are easy to come by here. Every big hotel has one and usually if you have drinks or dinner you can swim as long as you want to.
And we're fortunate enough to have really, really good air conditioning.... its been quite hot the past few days, but inside has been nice and cool.
Sounds absolutely perfect, if there is such a thing :) Love the photos and can't wait to see more.
So wonderful, great to hear you're doing well! And you inspired me not only to move but start my own blog too, haha, so let me know if you'd like the link :)
Michelle, link it up!! of course i want to hear about your new life. <3
Here ya go! http://artsyaz.blogspot.com/
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