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The first thing I do when I move into a new hotel room is to check out the view.

Thailand and Cambodia 2000 - Part One - Bangkok & Siem Reap

Dougburnett
2003-11-22 17:55:13

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more interesting to me than just shooting at things - which is my impression of most video games.

Later I took a taxi back to the hotel and had another long nap. I was still recovering from 12 time zone difference between Thailand and my home. In the early evening I set out again for the Patpong night market for more shopping - souvenir shopping, I might add.

Later I ended up at the restaurant on top of my hotel. I spent the rest of the evening talking to other travelers, drinking a lot of cold Singha beer and enjoying the exceptionally fine view.

While the Riverview Guest House itself was undistinguished - my room was large, but a little old - the restaurant has a world class view of the river and the city. It's open and you can smell the water and feel the evening breeze. It's worth staying there just for the restaurant. By the way I paid 690 Baht ($19) for my room. I made my reservation by faxing the hotel: 662-237-5428.

Back in my room, I was surprised to find the stage was gone. Sometime during the day the opera had packed up and left. Tomorrow I would be doing the same: I was off to Cambodia. I made arrangements for a taxi and then went to bed.

Bangkok had turned out to be a pleasant and interesting place to visit. I wished I had allocated more time, but all and all I was satisfied. The most striking thing was how friendly and helpful the Thais were - I was looking forward to my return from Cambodia when I would have more time to get to know them.

Siem Reap, Monday, February 21

At 6:30 I was off to the airport - on my way to Cambodia to visit the ancient city of Angkor. It turned out to be fairly close: less than an hour away in a small, prop plane. On the way we flew over miles and miles of flat, fertile farmland.

When I landed several things happen quickly. First, ...