Friday, March 29, 2013
0900
Siem Reap Residences
Its hard to believe that we've only been in our apartment for a week. It feels like we've been here our whole lives. Every day the landlord brings a new pressie - chairs for the balcony, cushions for the kitchen, beautiful plants. The best surprise was getting our Wi-Fi hookup installed a day early. It was like Christmas in March!
On Wednesday we made a run for the border, unfortunately there was no Taco Bell there, to fix our Visa issue. It's a 2 hour car ride to Poipet. When you arrive you go through the Cambodian departures office, where they give you an exit stamp in your passport, then walk to the Thailand border. Its maybe a half a mile? Lots of little shops along the way, along with two casinos. When you get to the Thai border you stamp in at customs, then cross the street and stamp out and make the walk back to Cambodia. Reapply for a Visa, then go through Cambodian customs for your entry stamp. We timed it to get to the border in between the tourist busses, so we'd miss the long lines. Fortunately everything went smoothly and we crossed back and forth within about an hour and a half. No lines, no hassle. So now we can stay here for up to a year, and not worry about leaving the country and coming back.
That was our big excitement for the week. The rest of our time has been filled with new friends and good food and revelry. Neighbor Remy taught me the trick to downloading torrents, so I've been catching up on my crappy tv shows that I miss from the US.
Through the magic of Skype and FB, I've been able to keep up with all the doings back home. And although its not as good as being there in person, its really helped to alleviate any homesickness so far.
Having Remy here helps too. The three of us are trying so hard to learn Khmer and communicate with the local people that we find ourselves speaking broken English to each other. We sound ridiculous, but its a good laugh.
And because I always push the issue, I can't finish this post without the usual plea for visitors. The rainy season is coming soon, but May - July is a great time to visit. Hint, hint. :)
xx
-R
0900
Siem Reap Residences
Its hard to believe that we've only been in our apartment for a week. It feels like we've been here our whole lives. Every day the landlord brings a new pressie - chairs for the balcony, cushions for the kitchen, beautiful plants. The best surprise was getting our Wi-Fi hookup installed a day early. It was like Christmas in March!
On Wednesday we made a run for the border, unfortunately there was no Taco Bell there, to fix our Visa issue. It's a 2 hour car ride to Poipet. When you arrive you go through the Cambodian departures office, where they give you an exit stamp in your passport, then walk to the Thailand border. Its maybe a half a mile? Lots of little shops along the way, along with two casinos. When you get to the Thai border you stamp in at customs, then cross the street and stamp out and make the walk back to Cambodia. Reapply for a Visa, then go through Cambodian customs for your entry stamp. We timed it to get to the border in between the tourist busses, so we'd miss the long lines. Fortunately everything went smoothly and we crossed back and forth within about an hour and a half. No lines, no hassle. So now we can stay here for up to a year, and not worry about leaving the country and coming back.
That was our big excitement for the week. The rest of our time has been filled with new friends and good food and revelry. Neighbor Remy taught me the trick to downloading torrents, so I've been catching up on my crappy tv shows that I miss from the US.
Through the magic of Skype and FB, I've been able to keep up with all the doings back home. And although its not as good as being there in person, its really helped to alleviate any homesickness so far.
Having Remy here helps too. The three of us are trying so hard to learn Khmer and communicate with the local people that we find ourselves speaking broken English to each other. We sound ridiculous, but its a good laugh.
And because I always push the issue, I can't finish this post without the usual plea for visitors. The rainy season is coming soon, but May - July is a great time to visit. Hint, hint. :)
xx
-R
3 comments:
What's the weather like there May-July? That's when I'll be attempting to get acclimated to an average of 110+ every day! Oy!
its high 90's every day now, I can only imagine it will get worse. and high humidity. I can handle it okay when the humidity is lower, but the two together and I swear i'm melting.
we went to the border the other day, and it was screaming hot. felt like my shoes were melting on the sidewalk.
and dude... you live in the desert! did you ever expect that in your life??
Not sure if I expected it but I've wanted it for a long time! :)
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