Thursday the 23rd, the Old Embassy and Siem Reap

We had a much simpler breakfast this morning at Villa-60s Frangipani than we did at their sister establishment, the Living Arts Hotel. Dad went with the eggs, I opted for the noodles.

We called our tuk tuk driver, San, and set out for our best guess for the location of the old US embassy. Google searches had left out anything definitive; some sites even suggested it was now a hotel called "The WHite Mansion Hotel", etc.

Fortunately, Dad's information was correct.

Although it has a different roof now, the building is now an Administration building.

We pulled up out front, and our tuk tuk driver spoke with the guard, who didn't seem to mind us walking straight in. 

The front lobby when you walk in.

We strolled around the very empty building, fortunately it's some sort of holiday.

The roof is now an a-frame, and the top floor some sort of storage area now. No room for a helipad anymore.

Around back, some aspects of the building are the same, with the addition of air conditioning, while new areas have been built on. Not to mention the skyscrapers in the distance.

I posted a lot of pictures of the old embassy, as my understanding is there might be some interest.

Also, in case anyone is interested in the cafe in the domestic terminal at the Phnom Penh airport...

this is it. What you don't see is the chicken club sandwich and coconut smoothie we polished off. More apparent is that woman in the back left who thinks I'm taking a photo of her. 

 Cambodia Airlines, the Southwest of the the Far East.

"I could fly that". 

Of course I'm sure it's easier with no one shooting at you. 

Could someone please inform Stirboy that my dad finally landed at Siem reap Airport. (Again, some other person has sort of ruined the context here by turning around and looking at us, so....

Here it is clean.

Siem Reap is a much different city than Phnom Penh. Here's a taste of the ride from the airport...

We checked in at the Villa Siem Reap, and I hitched a ride with our new tuk tuk driver, Sambath, to the Cambodian War Memorial. Loz, fyi I got a good education on mines from a tour guide who had, unfortunately, first hand experience with one. I've got a slew of pictures of old Russian tanks and AK47s and M16s and Howitzers, but I'm not sure the Internet connection at the Villa Siem Reap can support it. But here are a few for posterity...

We grabbed an early dinner near the night market in Siem Reap, where some threatening looking clouds were about to turn our somewhat dry trip into the "lightning bolt" that the weather channel had predicted...

This turned into this...

... in a matter of moments. This was an excuse to polish off an extra Angkor beer before wandering back towards the hotel.

That's enough for today. I'm noticing that my wrists are sensing a mild electric current when I lean them against the laptop. Not part of the keyboard's function, I don't think.