Cambodia, I heart you! Hanoi...I'm a little overwhelemed...

After 30+ hours of traveling, we finally got to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We had delays in Hong Kong, which then led us to several missed connections, not to mention the ground staff strike. We got re routed to Bangkok, where of course we missed the last flight to Siem Reap. We had to sleep in the airport. It wasn't that bad, as they put us up in a nicer lounge/hotel, but we were so tired and sick of the trip.

Anyway, Cambodia is RAD. Although we only had 2 days (amended from our travels), I really enjoyed it. We made BFFs with our tuk-tuk driver immediately, Mr. Jeat, and we hired him to take us around for the time we were there. Babel Siem Reap was our hotel of choice, and it had two great beds, and modest bathroom (with no shower curtain). Everyone spoke English in Siem Reap, and the currency of choice was USD, as opposed to Riels (the Cambodian currency). I could not utter the few phrases I learned on the plane, as almost no one spoke to us in Khmer. I am sure it is different outside of the town.

We spent the two days touring the several temples at and around Angkor wat. Can I say A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. So rad. Ok, now to the food...I had a baked pumpkin dish (with veggies) at Khmer Kitchen Restaurant. YUMMY. We also had a go a Khmer BBQ, which was fun (a great dining experiance), similar to a hot pot, but with a raised middle to grill. The broth was fanatastic. The single best thing that we had today was one dumpling, filled with chives and greens, served with a sweet chili sauce. This was from a road side vendor, who grilled it in front of us on an open pan heated by wood. This single dumpling made my day.

Just landed in Hanoi not to long ago, and quite a difference from Cambodia. It is quite busy and crazy....talk about crazy Asian drivers!! I'm a little overwhelmed, but have only been here a few hours. We are staying at Loyalty Hotel, right in the Old Town Quarter, super close to the lake.
More later....as I'm getting tired.....