Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our day started with a 2:30 am wake-up call for the long taxi ride to the airport, and then a relatively easy flight through Bangkok Don Mueang airport to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We were pleasantly surprised with Siem Reap, a charming little colonial town, and years of hoarding Hyatt points paid off when we checked into the beautiful Park Hyatt hotel.

After some welcome cocktails in the hotel lobby, we ventured into town to look around and have lunch, and we visited a fairly interesting temple, the first of many.

Wat Preah Prom Rath

Traditional Cambodian Amok at Le Tigre Papier

We returned to the hotel to spruce up, then had evening cocktails in the courtyard while taking in a performance by traditional Cambodian Apsara dancers.

 Next up was the night market, followed by dinner, and a gazillion more cocktails.

Last Day in Phuket: So About That Rainy Season

Monday was rainy, so we stuck close to the hotel, visiting Kamala Beach, exploring the small town, manning the pool during breaks from the storms, getting questionable pedicures, and performing quality checks on the local cocktails.

Phuket, Phi Phi Islands, Maya Beach: I Am (Was) on a Boat

On Sunday, we set sail with Captain Mark for a speedboat tour of the islands off of the east coast of Phuket. We stopped for swimming and snorkeling, and visited the Phi Phi Islands and Maya Beach (the setting for the movie The Beach). Aside from getting briefly trapped in the boat's head and later having an old Indian vegetarian woman make gagging noises at me when I dared to eat chicken at her table, it was a spectacular day.

Pirate Cave

Macaque Monnkeys

Comeuppance in Phuket

Saturday we were booted from our swanky digs and went to stay with the mortals at the Hyatt at Kamala Beach, which did not quite live up to the photos on its website. After waiting a couple of hours for the room to be ready, then asking to change rooms because our original room was sad, we wound up in a pretty nice spot with a helluva view.

I take full responsibility for what happened next. I lobbied to go into Patong. An expensive cab ride later, we were deposited in a seedy town on a rather average beach. We had some beers at a beach-side bar, watched a thunderstorm pass through, and marveled at the people, who would have fit in well at Panama City Beach in the eighties before it got all classy.

Sidestepping the "massage" parlors and ping pong shows (you could Google it, but don't say I didn't warn you), we found what we were looking for - a fish massage parlor run by ladyboys. It was all we hoped - and feared - it would be, as other tourists gathered around to laugh at us as we squealed in horror. The fish were aggressive, pecking at our feet and slithering between our toes. It could not end soon enough.

 So Patong was meh, but don't feel too sorry for us. Things turned around nicely on Day 3.