The trouble in Bangkok seems to be calming down a bit, but in any case I made it to Siem Reap without a hitch. Maybe fittingly, the name literally means "Siam (i.e. Thailand) defeated". First impressions are that the signs of French colonisation are everywhere. For instance, they drive on the right here, as opposed to on the left in Thailand, although they actually simply drive on both sides in both countries. A lot of the signs here are labeled in Cambodian first, then French, then English. There seemed to be quite a few French visitors on the plane too. Even so, people seem to know a lot more English here than anywhere I visited in Thailand. General impressions of the city are that it isn't a city, just a town that has had money shoveled on it as if by helicopter. On the outskirts, tacky luxury hotels built with a faux-temple architecture sit almost comically side by side with fields containing grazing water buffalo. Nothing in town is over three stories high. Officially the Cambodian currency is the riel, but in practice it's the US dollar. I may go and make a cigarette later out of this 500 riel bill I was given. I'm unlikely to be able to do anything else with it, given that I'm told that 1000 riel is around 25 US cents.
The hostel looks great and there seems to be quite a bit to do over and above seeing Angkor Wat. I may end up staying here longer than I had intended. Anyway, anti-malaria medication: check. Letting my loved ones know I wasn't shot by rampaging redshirts: check. Beer: check. Time to hit the pool (yes, the hostel has a pool).
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