Cambodia, Siem Reap, Old Market - Pub Street

Pub Street in the day light

Is it just a street with many restaurants and bars? What's the special thing about it?

Third day of my visit in Siem Reap was dedicated for window shopping and cafe hopping! I explored the Old Market area...

Pub Street, Old Market areas

It's a good excuse to check around the ice coffee and other drinks as "Cafe Hopping" in hot shiny day!

Tuk Tuk driver misunderstood the direction, instead of Old Market which is only 5 minute drive - he wanted to take me somewhere else which I was sure it is far as I could see airport sign! But he understood when I said "Pub Street", he even knows where Red Piano is.

Red Piano, Siem Reap

That's the destination where I wanted to start my adventure. I found out about Red Piano by browsing the net. It is known as the hang out place of the Tomb Raider crew when they were doing that movie in Siem Reap. It is also listed in TripAdvisor, so I give it a try.

This place is situated at the corner of Pub Street and Street 11? It is nice sitting outdoor which main view is of course Tuk Tuk and tourists passing by.

Cambodian Red Curry

As for my early lunch, I ordered Cambodian Red Curry with chicken. It tastes good and the red curry is not as spicy as I thought. As drink, all I wanted was the standard ice lemon tea.

Free wifi is an advantage for bloggers-:)  Writing at the location itself is quite something, it gives the right emotion-:)

Second agenda of the day was to walk the Old Market. The waitress pointed out the direction to go there which is less than 200 meters.

Old Market area

Street vendor selling shells

There it is the alley or passage that has been mentioned often in the traveling websites. It is an alley where there are mostly restaurants.

Old Market Alley/Passage

Champa? Vegetarian resto... I smiled to myself looking at NYDC sign there… a few times, I went to NYDC in Pondok Indah Mall, Jakarta, Indonesia and the one in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

I found some clothes shops recommended by some shopping guide websites. I walked back to the main street, I found Cafe Central in the corner, and I kept walking and voila that's where the coffee shop ”Joe-to-Go” is… I went there specifically to check their boutique “Beau Fou” which is located at the second floor.

As souvenir, I found cute wooden fan in different colours! Somehow I became a fan of cute girlish fans lately-:) Part of the profit of this shop is to support child program. I ended up with an ice cappuccino to release my thirst and re-boost my traveling mood...

Fish massage? No piranha!

I did “trial & error” entering the Old Market to see if I could find the cushion sheets with elephant design that is similar to Thai souvenir. The shop assistants in this market are mostly women. They are polite, keep on saying "what do you want lady? You want t-shirt lady? Please come in lady..." and the most important thing is that they are not aggressive. Testing my bargaining skill... I bargained calmly and the shop assistant nodded. I got the two elephant cushions, pretty!



Pinky elephant cushion

In overall, almost everyone whom I met in Siem Reap especially in the Old Market speaks English. Restaurant staff, shop attendants and Tuk Tuk drivers. 
The sun was up. It's time to have another drink before I went back to the hotel then the airport. My choice was to sit at Angkor Palm where I saw the sign of Lonely Planet. Even though I noticed later, that there is “pro & con” comment about this place.

Banteay Srei Cocktail

Anyway,… It was to wrap up my trip at the Old Market, I had cocktail of mixed of rum, pineapple and something else that I couldn't recall. What I recall is its name: Banteay Srei. It's the same name as one of the famous tourist destination in Siem Reap. It's not bad for 3 US$ cocktail. I could taste the pineapple and a little bit of liquor taste.

The pinky Tuk Tuk took me back to my hotel. The standard fee from the market to Soria Maria hotel where I stayed is 1 US$.

Thanks to Virek, the same Tuk Tuk driver who picked me up upon my arrival, I arrived safely at the airport for my departure. 

The view at Siem Reap Town

Cambodia, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat... It's my pleasure to visit this World Heritage Site.

Where's next? The flight leaving Siem Reap to my next destination somehow was full with Bahasa Indonesia speakers-:) It feels like "mudik" or going home to Indonesia. But no, I was heading directly to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City => Siem Reap => Hanoi => ... and to be continued...