Cambodia may not be the first destination that springs to mind when thinking of a Christmas getaway. To be honest if it didn’t just fall that way with our year world trip I don’t think it would even make a nomination on the possibility list for us either. It’s not Christian so therefore doesn’t celebrate it. It’s red hot (usually anyway!) and largely undeveloped as a tourist destination. We knew we had to be in one of the cities due to needing a departing flight to Australia for the new year ruling out the beach option, and as it was easier to start our time in Cambodia in Phnom Penh coming from Vietnam, Siem Reap it was. So how would the ancient Buddhist city of Siem Reap make our Christmas Day away from family and friends special?
We really are not easy to be around before 10am so missed the chance to see Angkor Wat at sunrise (this undoubtedly would’ve been an awesome way to start Christmas Day) and instead headed for the more leisurely option of breakfast with a swim taking advantage of the gorgeous sunshine.
After being in Asia for 4 months we were desperate to have a traditional Christmas dinner rather than our usual order of 2 beers, curry with rice and beef fried noodles! We had planned to cook dinner ourselves but at the very last minute were let down by our villa booking and ended up somewhere without a kitchen. So happy to have dodged spending a day in the kitchen, we set off in search of a proper British Christmas dinner in Siem Reap’s no.1 tourist destination, Pub Street. We knew that the fancy hotels were offering a Christmas Day spread for between $35-$145 p.p. and after a couple of hours searching in the heat we sat down with a beer to make the tough decision between another noodle meal or a huge cash splurge.
But a las, as we sat facing this difficult choice, I spotted what looked to be a thistle in the corner of my eye. I thought we had searched everywhere but maybe in our desperation we had missed a British place? Not daring to give G false hope I pretended to be on a photography mission to get a closer look. Not only was it a Scottish bar but incredibly against all odds they were offering a chicken or pork Sunday roast dinner complete with Yorkshire pudding and stuffing with a free beer for the mere price of $6!!! I couldn’t believe it. I grabbed G and we were off. Grub ordered and beer in hand we waited with baited breath for it to arrive. We mulled over what we thought it was going to be like. Excitement spilling out into our shrieking voices. And then it was there in front of us in all its glory. Not quite as good as our parents but it was absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately for me I knew this wasn’t going to last long. I eat like a gannet and knew that there was going to be a period of time after I’d finished mine that G would still have some left. It was torture. So much so that after having our wonderful chicken dinner we ordered a follow up pork dinner for 2 1/2 hours later!
Stuffed we headed upstairs to relax and reflect on the success of the day’s dinner with Christmas songs playing in the background. It was all too much for G and continuing tradition, fell asleep mid thought!
I woke him just in time to watch the sunset with another beer for him and a Baileys on ice for me. We hadn’t done much and were missing home but it had still been a good day.
Then it was into town to continue our knees up. Siem Reap being the most touristy place in Cambodia had really gone to town in the decorations, ten fold more than we had seen anywhere else it was amazing!
No the snow didn’t fall and we could only talk to everyone back home via FaceTime, but I think we had a pretty cracking Christmas after all and will definitely be hiring some mountain bikes to explore the magnificent Angkor Wat at some point over the Christmas holidays (just maybe not at sunrise!) so keep posted to find out how we get on…
Hope everyone had a great day and now the countdown is on for next year hehehe! 🎄
expeditioningloveandstuff 