Siem Reap

We breakfasted on the same hearty and filling noodle soup as yesterday in preparation for our trip across Cambodia to Siem Reap in the north.

Taking the Giant Ibis bus, the journey was around 7 hours. The eponymous bird is endangered and lives only in northern Cambodia.

National Highway 6

Most of the journey was on National Highway 6. For a road that is a national route, it was slightly more than and dirt track, although many parts of it were being resurfaced. With only one lane in each direction, and no alternative routes, it isn't possible to close the highway while the roadworks take place. This led to a very bumpy 300km ride through the wide flat plains of rural Cambodia. I began to understand why so many people drive Range Rovers.

The only towns we encountered were like the strip settlements of the wild west, with houses either side of the road and fields beyond. The distinctive long brick buildings of Vietnam were replaced by wooden structures on stilts, some of which were covered with rush matting.

The bus made a rest stop at a roadside restaurant seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Still, we managed to get fried rice and fried noodles with tofu and egg, which was good sustenance for the journey.

Having arrived in Siem Reap and been picked up in a tuk-tuk by a very friendly and knowledgeable driver, who also teaches English, we arrived at our new home for the next four weeks.

Siem Reap is much smaller than Phnom Penh, with no imposing steel and glass offices. The architecture is predominantly French colonial in style and a picturesque river flows through the centre. The centre of town caters largely to tourists, the majority of whom come to visit the temples of Angkor.

In the evening, we strolled into town, where the water festival that we had experienced in Phnom Penh continued in miniature. On the small river were diminutive versions of the floats we had seen yesterday. Lining the banks were stands pumping out loud music and selling drink and snacks. The carnival was in full swing.

We ventured further into town to the network of small alleyways. Some of these are helpfully marked for tourists with large neon signs declaring "Pub Street". The amusingly named Angkor What? pub set up on this road and proved to be so popular that it attracted a number of other establishments, eager to share in the good fortune.

Not daring to brave that particular street, we made for an alley known as The Passage, home to Chamkar vegetarian restaurant.

Seated outside on one of the few tables that would fit in the narrow passage, we were in the bustle of people perusing other menus. However, Chamkar proved to be by far the superior choice. On a recommendation, we ordered the 'wedding dip' - a thick, peanut, mushroom, and coconut dip with a good squeeze of lime, served with sliced baguette. A simple but tasty appetiser. I'm not sure whether this is traditionally served at weddings, but I would be pleased to have had it at mine.

Both our main courses were served with plump, nutty wholegrain rice. I ordered pumpkin, which was pieces of slightly green squash with a deliciously smooth and creamy banana flavour. A sauce of coconut and peanut clung to the cubes of squash and it was garnished with fried shallots and Thai basil.

K ordered 'amok bites'. Amok is a popular Khmer dish of a steamed fish mousse in a banana leaf. This version was tiny parcels of orange vegetable purée, wrapped in leaves and served in a thin coconut lime sauce. An inventive approach to a no-fish amok.

With the meal, I enjoyed a Beerlao - the national beer of Laos. It was smooth for a mass-produced lager and more to my taste than the Saigon lagers.