Cambodian Heaven: Pavillon D' Orient Part Une

Cla, friend and acting tour director, decided to go all out in our Cambodia trip. Instead of booking us in a backpacker hotel, she decided that we needed a slice of heaven to come home to after spending days walking and climbing ruins under the heat of the tropical sun.

And, rightfully so.

Pavillon D' Orient is a boutique hotel with a resort-like feel. You forget that you're in the middle of Cambodia, in a quaint little city very very very far from the sea. Everything smacks of beach elements -- a cornucopia of tropical plants; a profusion of palms; the open-air lobby, resto and hallways; the abundance of wicker furniture...even the pool is salt water! Love, love, loved every bit of this Cambodian paradise! I'm sure you will too!

Check it out:

The Hotel "Lobby"

The pond centerpiece is such a beaut!

Le Planteur -- the hotel's oh-so lovely breakfast nook

The cool salt water pool

The rooms are housed in the aptly called "The Mansion"

Very very beach-y!

For more information on Pavillon D' Orient, visit http://www.pavillon-orient-hotel.com

Note: All pictures from Pavillon D' Orient website http://www.pavillon-orient-hotel.com

The Long but Not-Winding Road to Siem Reap

From Phnom Penh onwards, the beauty Cambodia is renowned for slowly emerges. Every few kilometers, we were greeted by the sight of a temple. Some were old and gray and brown with crumbling facades and overgrown with weeds. Some were like freshly minted coin, all bright and shiny all over. But, old or new, they were all hauntingly beautiful.



Once we've hit the last few hours of the trip, the road gets rough, dirty and dusty due to road constructions. Scenery becomes blah once more -- rice fields, small wooden houses, small roadside shops -- typical scenery you find in the Philippines (of course, if I were from the West, these would surely captivate me).


By the 10th hour, I was already crazy with boredom...and this was coming from a person who made 8-hour bus trips weekly for 2 straight years! I have drained my iPod's battery. Read the Cambodia, Vietnam, and even the Laos and Yunnan province sections of my Lonely Planet guidebook. Dozed. And, made meaningful and senseless conversations with friends.

By 8:00 PM (or about 12 hours or so later), the gods have finally heeded my call: we have FINALLY reached Siem Reap. By this time, I was tired and wilted that I just couldn't muster the energy to be excited.

Oh well.

But tomorrow is a different story.


Note: Photos taken by my friend, Cla, using the Hipstamatic application of her iPhone.