3 Cafés Not to Miss in Siem Reap!

Hey, and welcome to this mini blog post! 

Everybody loves a café and when I was in Siem Reap, Cambodia, there were plenty to try.  Siem Reap town centre was fairly compact and feeding off of the rather seedy and aptly named 'Pub Street' were much quieter, quirky little side streets with boutique shops, art galleries and a variety of restaurants and cafés to suit all tastes.  

Those of you who know me, will know that I follow a coeliac diet, so whilst traveling in more touristy areas I've searched for places I can find gluten free food.  I found two cafés in Siem Reap that had specific gluten free options, but were still wildly popular with all tourists.  

Sister Srey Café is a fabulous enterprise which helps to support young Khmer people to continue their studies whilst supporting other family members.  You can read all about their ethos here: Sister Srey Cafe

They provide delicious freshly prepared food and there is a real friendly bustling atmosphere in this little cafe which looks out onto the street and river. 

I opted for the pumpkin soup which was gluten free and served in this uber cute mini frying pan! 

I then decided to splurge a little more and ordered the RAW (gluten free and vegan) passion fruit cheesecake... delicious!

New Leaf Book Café was another of my favourites whilst in Siem Reap.  Tucked away on a quieter street, but still just round the corner from the main hub; I found this to be a little escape from the busy Siem Reap town.  It had a very relaxed feel about it; just the effect a good book should have! It had shelves stacked with plenty books to choose from.  Here's also where I had quite possibly the best coconut shake - and I should know, I've certainly tried enough! New Leaf also supports local NGO's which was another great plus.  You can read more about it here: New Leaf Cafe

CAKE! Who, may I ask, doesn't like cake!? That's a rhetorical question, because of course the answer is no-one! So everyone would love Blossom Café.  It serves a delicious range of cupcakes and specializes in cake art.  Their cakes are simply amazing; with so many fabulous designs - I spent a good 15 minutes or so deliberating over whether or not the handbags in the window were in fact bags or cakes!!! That's how good they are.  When I was in, a little girl came in with her parents and after much indecision picked the 'rainbow' cupcake - she was so excited when she cut it open and saw all the colours and it was fun to watch, but whether you're a kid or an adult this café is a fantastic treat!  It has a good selection of gluten free cupcakes too - so it was heaven for me! Like the other two cafés it also has a charitable aspect and is in fact a not-for-profit organisation that supports local women.  Here's the link to their website if you fancy a browse: Blossom Cakes .

Sweet Treat Heaven!

So there they are 3 cafés you definitely shouldn't miss if you're traveling in Siem Reap! I hope you enjoyed this little post! Thank you, as always, for reading. 

A Weekend in Krabi!

I am staying in a small village near Don Sak town in the South of Thailand, which is 40 mins from Surat Thani city.  It is a very rural area which normally only sees tourists and backpackers pass through on their way to the islands.  The red star is my teaching location; Teacher Joy booked a van from our resort there to Surat Thani where we took a bus across country to Krabi town (blue star).

Our teaching week is from Monday to Thursday, leaving us with long weekends to travel and explore other areas; we decided on Krabi for last weekend since we are heading to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan this weekend for the Full Moon Party.  Much to our confusion Krabi town is about 40 mins away from Krabi (Ao Nang beach) - this lead to a comedy sketch escape plan from thee worst hotel ever (think dungeon- esque!) launching our bags, quickly followed by ourselves over a side wall to avoid the 800 THB cancellation fee!  Krabi town itself wasn't much better; I felt it was a dark, dingy and depressing town on the banks of a pretty murky river.  [where was this in the guide books!?!].  So we hopped on the first shuttle bus and headed straight to Ao Nang and it was the best decision we made - our weekend in Ao Nang was incredible! 

We went from one extreme to the other and ended up in a fabulous hostel, nicer than many hotels I've stayed in.  'I Krabi Hostel' in Ao Nang was so comfortable and for a hostel it really did have the wow factor! Check out our room below:

There were three of us in a room, and it cost 330 THB/ night/person which is approx £6.60!  If your travelling budget can stretch to that then I 100% recommend I Krabi Hostel.  

The highlight of my stay in Krabi was without doubt a day trip around the islands.  On our first night we were lucky enough to meet two people living and working in Krabi: Ellie, a local and Alejandro -originally from Venezuela.  They arranged for us to go on the boat trip with them the next morning and at a discounted price (bonus!) We left at 1pm and arrived back at 9pm; in total, including bottled water, sunset dinner on Railay beach and snorkeling for the small boat day trip it cost 900 THB (normal price 1000).  So that'd be £20, which in my opinion is well worth the money. 

First Night Out at Reggae Bar

Krabi Ao Nang Beach

On the Boat

The Islands

Chicken Island!

Railay Beach

Our Boat

So there it is - my islands boat trip from Krabi.  It was an incredible day; chillin' on the bow of the boat, snorkeling for the first time and getting to see hundreds of tropical fish, seeing the beautiful islands with white sand, swimming off the boat in open sea, (watching) cliff diving, having a BBQ dinner on Railay beach as the sun went down, wading back out to the boat after dinner, lying on the bow of the boat stargazing as we sailed away, seeing fluorescent plankton at night; all of this with new friends and Ellie our new local friend who knew everyone running the tour and gave us VIP treatment!! Hands down one of the best days of my life! 

Top Tips

--> Island tours are 100% worth the money! (go for one that includes snorkeling and dinner)

--> Don't stay in Krabi town - instead book to stay in Ao Nang!!

A Paradise in Cambodia

Since I set the wheels in motion planning and researching this adventure here in SE Asia I have dreamed of visiting Koh Rong and it's beautiful Long Set beach.  A couple of weekends ago now, I was lucky enough to get to live out this dream and finally visit Koh Rong.  The expectations were high - I had looked at so many pictures and dreamed of the pure white sand and crystal waters of Long Set beach.  I simply had to see it!

This was a special weekend for me; I wanted it to be quiet and magical and have the time to just relax and appreciate the beauty of Koh Rong and Long Set.  I booked Treehouse Resort on Koh Rong and included in the price was the fast crossing speed boat.

Although a truly idyllic island paradise Koh Rong was different to how I had expected; I didn't realise that it's now home to the notorious Full Moon party along with various others.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good party as much as the next person, but so many of Asia's islands are being transformed into party havens for travelling Westerners that it seems a pity to tar them all with the same generic party rave brush!

Luckily Koh Rong still has another side to it - metaphorically and literally - the North coast of the island is where Tree House Resort is located and it's still a peaceful and natural retreat.  At Tree House Resort the bungalows and tree houses are made from bamboo and blend sympathetically into the jungle island.  Tree House Resort is also the closest to Long Set beach; however as I soon found out it still requires a good trek through the jungle to reach this beauty.  As I trekked through the rough jungle path I felt I could have been on Bear Grylls' The Island.  Koh Rong really is completely undeveloped and unspoiled.  Trekking in the sweltering heat I was beginning to wonder if I would ever reach Long Set and then I saw it... pure white sand stretching out in a long curved beach backed with palms and lush green jungle and the clearest translucent water lapping over it.  There was not another sole on the entire beach - if ever there was a definition of paradise this was it.

So, I did get to live out my dream of seeing Long Set beach, however it was in fact closed to the public due to the filming of  a Cambodian castaway TV programme. I couldn't believe it, but I wasn't going to let it spoil the moment - the security guards let me walk along the beach and take some photos, but then I had to return to the more popular Tui beach where most accommodations are located along with bars and a few small stores.  I still feel very lucky to have seen Long Set beach and walked along it in it's untouched state.  There are plans in the pipeline to develop Koh Rong and make Long Set beach into an exclusive resort for the rich and famous - whilst this may bring jobs for more local Cambodian's the romantic and nostalgic side of me wishes this hidden beauty could remain untouched in it's natural state for any curious and dreamy traveler like me to discover and enjoy.

If you're truly looking to get away from it all, go back to basics, relax and unwind with family, friends or someone special then Tree House resort is the place to go.  Whether it's a jungle, beachfront or treehouse bungalow they're equally special and completely unique.  The balcony's have hammocks and and are decorated with shells.  All electricity is run from a generator and lights are on from 5.30pm-10.30pm every evening.  The walkways between bungalows and the Tree House restaurant are light with little lanterns as is the bamboo bridge to the beach.  My standard bungalow for the night was $35 (high season) or $25 in the low season and $20 for the speed boat made it $55 in total which is pricey for many shoestring budget travelers; but for me it was an experience worth every penny.  I don't know when I'll return to Koh Rong, but I know for sure I will.

Tui Beach, Koh Rong

Tree House Resort Bungalows

Many traditional Cambodain homes have basins of water outside to wash your feet in before entering - here it was good to wash off sand.

Jungle Path Trek to Long Set Beach

Long Set Beach - (closed to public for film production!)

Long Set Beach