We're up early ready to leave Battambang after just one night. We don't have time to eat breakfast before the bus comes so we buy bakery foods to eat on the bus. When we get on the bus and find our seats, a woman in the two seats on the other side of the aisle asks us for one of the plastic bags that our bakery foods were in. She didn't say why, but we gave her one. She had three young girls with her, all cramped onto the two seats. As soon as the journey began, we understood why she needed the plastic bag. The girls were either extremely prone to travel sickness, or already very ill. We gave the mother all the plastic bags we had. They were filled quickly. It was gross, but I felt sorry for them.
As soon as we stepped off the bus at Siem Reap, the usual mob of Tuk-Tuk drivers hassled us for business before we had even collected our bags from the luggage hold. We agreed to one of them. He took us around some guesthouses until we decided on one. The one we chose is very near to the City centre, close to all the bars and restaurants. The driver then wanted to be our driver for tomorrow, when we go to explore the ancient Angkor sites. He seemed like a nice, friendly, young man, so we agreed $12 to take us for the day, and we decided on a 5AM pickup. I myself cannot believe I considered 5AM, but we want to be at Angkor Wat for the sunrise.
Tonight we would like to see the traditional Apsara dancing, and there are lots of shows in Siem Reap. The Tuk-Tuk driver drove us to book tickets. The show starts at 6:30PM, leaving us some time to kill. We went for food firstly, near our guesthouse. A table across from us had travellers, also grabbing something to eat, but they kept looking over at our table. I ignored them at first, and then, one of the girls started making her way over. At first I thought she might have mistaken Rachelle and I for movie stars and was coming over for an autograph. That wasn't the case. Her table was discussing if they had seen us in Sihanoukville and she had come over to find out for sure. Along all of our travels we have run into or recognised people from previous destinations. Everyone seems to be on the same or very similar routes.
Siem Reap is a cool place. It's easy to navigate, clean, modern, plenty of bars and restaurants, and quaint little alleyways with boutique shops. I really like it. It may become my favourite city out here in Southeast Asia. After having a beer, and Rachelle a cocktail, it was time to head for the Apsara dancing. The ticket includes a buffet which starts at 6:30PM. The tables are arranged in rows in front of the stage. For an hour we had all-you-can-eat, absolutely delicious food of all types. It's some of the best food we've had and it's infinite. Rachelle, as you might expect, loved it. As it's my birthday eve we ordered wine, and that was also very yummy. At 7:30PM the show starts. An hour of Apsara dancing; about five dances, each about 10 minutes long. It was a really enjoyable evening. A great birthday eve. The dancing was odd: If I had to describe it, I'd say slow, wavy hands and flamingo impressions.
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