Arrival in Reap

A side view of the unfinished Shadow 2 guesthouse in Siem Reap

Not much to report from today as most of it was spent on the bus getting from Phnom Penh up to Siem Reap. Six hours all together, after leaving the Mekong Express office at 7.30am this morning. On arrival, I was welcomed at the Shadow of Angkor guesthouse by Kim, whose smiling face has been missing from the reception of the Shadow for a year now, but she's back home on holiday from her studies in Australia and brightening up the place with her infectious enthusiasm for just about everything. We went to see their new building just over the river and Shadow 2 is not far from completion. Give it a month or two and the 20 rooms of Shadow 2 will be welcoming its first guests. It looks pretty swish too with lots of wood in evidence as well as balconies, air-con and fitted showers. Next to be completed will be a small swimming pool. Kim and I called into have a nose around the Soria Moria Hotel a couple of doors away before returning to Shadow 1 where one of my best friends Kim Rieng was waiting to whisk me off to see his brand new house. In fact the official house-warming ceremony is tomorrow when a few monks will be invited to bless the house, which is a 1-storey building with three main rooms. It's taken Rieng a while to get his own place but the look of pride on his face when he showed me, was clear to see. I also hope it will be a pick-me-up for his wife Sovann who lost her new-born baby last month because of a weak heart. Then it was back to the Shadow for dinner with some Aussie friends of Kim and an early night. Tomorrow I'm booked for the house-warming and a wedding party in the Roluos area, so looks like another full day of meeting and greeting and enjoying the company of friends.

The imposing frontage of Shadow 2, looking more like a hotel than a guesthouse

Kim Rieng's pride & joy - his brand new family home