Free Day in Siem Reap

• Breakfast: Had to argue a bit with the hotel receptionist because she said I didn't have any more breakfasts covered (my hotel confirmation says it includes a full breakfast each morning. Food was the same buffet.
• Today was a much appreciated 'down day'. Basically an introvert's dream, which consisted mostly of sitting in my hotel room because there just isn't a whole lot else to see here that I know of (and I was getting kinda sick of walking around and having people an/or children come up and ask me to donate to their school or come see their brothel or ride in their rickshaw. Not to mention all the trash and excrement on the road and the heat that brings out all the lovely smells).
• Pub Street is something to do in the evening, but it's kinda like going to 6th street in Austin alone...not something I would consider 'fun'
• Having said that, I did go out a couple times today.
• First, I went to the Galleria Mall to see what it was like. Wow, it felt like I was in a (very) mini Northpark Mall, but in the middle of a city that mostly consists of the parenthetical description in bullet point #2. Of course, prices were back up to American/European ones because foreigners were the only ones who could even afford to consider buying anything in here.
• On my way there, I saw the Royal Residence, which actually was a less grandiose building than I had expected, but had a whole block of gardens stretched out in front of it.
• The mall connects to the Angkor National Museum, which apparently is a pretty contentious establishment since it is run by Thai owners. The reviews online said it isn't really worth the $12 entry fee, so I just took a look around the gift shop (actually, the gift shop connected directly to the mall without any sort of guard on duty, so I did poke my head in to see some of what I could have done. Just looked like a whole bunch of stone statues in an art gallery. The prices at this gift shop were even higher than the Galleria! Even the post cards were $1.50 without the stamp, and I recognized some of them to be the same as ones I saw near my hotel for $0.25.
• I walked back to my hotel after this, but chose to come back on the south side of the river rather than the north side (how I had walked to the mall).
• Stayed in my hotel for a little bit enjoying the AC and the internet (also spending some time out on my balcony enjoying the sun without the haggling). Took a nap, caught up on my blog, and even watched an episode of a tv show!
• Went out again to get some dinner and a souvenir for myself. I decided to return to the Angkor Artisans Workshop to get placemats for the bar in the Seattle condo's kitchen.
• On the way back, I stopped at a street food cart. that looked interesting. I asked the lady to make me one of the things on her menu, and she left to get some groceries. While she was gone, the guy in the next cart asked if I wanted something and I thought "sure, I can just get 2 $1 entrees like I did last night." Apparently something was lost in communication, because before I realized I had placed an order, he asked if I wanted him to include the spicy sauce (meanwhile the lady was in the middle of cooking her thing). I just went ahead and took what he thought I had ordered, and took her thing, and when I got back to my hotel room and opened them up found out they were the exact same thing...
• His was pretty good, hers had some of her hair in it and you could tell she used and reused some really old grease. Yuck.
• I ate my meal while watching another episode of Black Mirror and writing my recommendation letter that I was asked to do for a professor of mine.
• Time to pack up and get ready for Bangkok tomorrow!
• Update on the laundry: Most of the things are dry now, but still fetid...maybe I'll try again in Bangkok.