ARRIVING IN SIEM REAP
SummaryI’ve landed in Siem Reap and jumped straight into the madness. After a cheeky taxi ride and checking into a lively hostel, I braved eating a spider at the local stalls—which surprisingly tasted just like chicken! The night devolved into high-stakes beer pong and me somehow bluffing my way through leading a massive pub crawl down the iconic Pub Street. It’s been a wild start, but there’s even weirder food on the menu for tomorrow. |
I haven’t heard a bad thing said about Cambodia. So, the Americans and I are keen to see what it has to offer. My mate Paddy from my London/Oz group has given me a host of ideas on what to do and where to stay. He likes a drink, so I’m looking forward to seeing his recommendations.
Got a taxi from the airport and the driver seemed fairly nice, but he was keen to try and get a few ££ out of us and had an amusing strategy. He chats away to you, tells a few jokes, and then tries to get you signed up to a few tours. The fella went on about the fare not being enough for his lifestyle.
Trying to change the subject, Dusty asked him what he likes to eat. He says, “Expensive food, I like shrimp!” We all started laughing. What do you like to drink? ‘I like expensive drinks,’ he says! “But I can’t afford it with this fare.” He makes us laugh if anything!
100% of crispy deliciousness
WHERE IS SIEM REAP?
Pub Crawl Siem Reap
As recommended we checked into Siem Reap downtown hostel (which I think is now sold). The hostel is in the city centre, has a pool and the outside bar is beach themed with sand etc which is pretty good but the stuff you can end up finding between your toes isn’t.
We were conveniently checked into the same room as three Swedish girls (Nora, Asas, and Matilda). Upon closer inspection, they all turned out to be completely nuts. So, I’m guessing we are all going to get on just fine!
Pub Crawls and Eating Spiders in Siem Reap
EATING SPIDER
The local city market here is very small due to the government’s fast-tracking of restaurants to accommodate and attract the increasing number of tourists. For a city like Siem Reap, one thing that stands out to me is the number of restaurants. I expected something a little more 19th century, but it was far from it.
Pub Crawls and Eating Spiders in Siem Reap
Unfortunately, local markets have been forced to move out of the city, so the restaurants haven’t had to compete on price. There is still an area in the city with a few stalls that we decided to check out, but soon realised why they were still permitted to sell there. They only sold insects, spiders, and other bizarre foods. The boys had snake, and I tried spider, which were surprisingly OK. Not a kick from having chicken. More was to come the next day.
Pub Crawls and Eating Spiders in Siem Reap
Back to the hostel for a game of beer pong with the Americans. It’s all they play through High School, so naturally, they are pretty good. They got a bit cocky when they played me, and probably the drunkest fella I’ve seen in Asia — we didn’t stand a chance. The game seemed to last forever, so we invited another fella onto our team. It was like bringing on Ole Gunnar Solskjær in injury time; we had the game wrapped up within 2 minutes, but they weren’t having any of it.
Pub Crawls and Eating Spiders in Siem Reap
THE PUB CRAWL
The Americans took it thick and fast, so we offered them double or quits without our sub. By this stage, my Dutch friend was on his last legs, and if I’m honest, I have no idea how we managed to win, but in the end, it was drinks on them again! Paddy told me the guy who works behind the bar at the hostel and runs the pub crawls, etc., had left, so the Americans and I offered to take his place.
Having never set foot in Cambodia in my life, I was now responsible for directing a pub crawl on the day I arrived! You could imagine my luck when I found a street called Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We bluffed it all night, jumping in and out of every bar using our numbers as bargaining power for free drinks. Although I soon relaxed on my responsibilities, I was given more to drink. But if you can’t guide a pub crawl down a street called Pub Street, you have serious problems!
NEXT UP
If you thought that was bad then tomorrow I have The craziest food tour in all of Asia where I eat some of the most bizarre food!
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
23/229
This episode is part of The South East Asia Series, click to see episode 1.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
Question Time
- Ever been to Siem Reap?
- Where did you stay?
- What activities did you do?
Let me know in the comments below . . .
