A home away from home: A typical home stay experience in Siem Reap

Typical dinner set up

Type: Homestay (Sleeping at the house of  my Tuk tuk driver)

Date: 27 - 28 June 2019

Location: Siem Reap suburbs

Duration: Overnight and day

Price: Free (included in the tuk tuk fare)

Difficulty: Establishing trust with stranger, communication gap due to language barrier, cultural sensitivity

Highlight: Experiencing the lives of the locals, establishing human connections, learning the culture, 
eating at the house with family, sleeping in a contemporary typical Siem Reap house, playing with the child, having conversation with the household


Building trust in this security conscious and doomsday-news-filled and media-dominated world seems to be difficult. When people travel, they want to be as secure as possible. Who do not want a secure, safe and convenient travel anyway?

True to my goal of making my trips as interactive and immersive as possible, I opted not to book my hotel. This is to see how much I could negotiate with people and if trust in humans is still there even with perfect strangers. This is of course done with caution and prudence in judgement.

Upon alighting from the bus (from Phnom Penh) at Siem Reap at 2:55 am, I was approached by around four tuk tuk drivers. They offered rides to my hotel. But I told them that I do not have a hotel so I just need to walk and need to walk and find one when morning comes. All of the drivers who approached me cannot speak English although I already know that I could find one who could understand me. This is based on what a friend from India has mentioned that most tuk tuk drivers there can speak English.

Facade of the house

One thing that forced me to negotiate with a tuk tuk driver is that the place where I was dropped is not a terminal, no waiting shed and just by the side of the road without much houses around. After the initial offers for ride, all the others went away from me except one. He patiently tried to understood my sign  language. He even opened his cellphone and the google translate but still he does not understand the translation input there - English to Khmer.


To make things clearer, I gave him the sign that I will pay 10 USD for taking a bath in his house. I showed my 10 fingers and gesticulated giving money.  I also told him that I want to sleep in his house for the coming night.  He agreed to both by nodding his head. Remember that I just came from a night without any bath and a whole day strolling at the park before that. And an entire night waiting for my flight the other night before. My body desperately needs to be cleaned and refreshed.

Before heading to his house, I gestured that  we buy some drinks like coffee. We went to a petrol station just at the other side of the road and bought coffee. USD can be used to pay. I gave 10 USD and the cashier gave back 5 USD and 2,000 riel. He then accelerated his tuk tuk cab and headed home which is around 10 minutes away from where I was dropped. I remember that Cambodia runs to the right of the road too.

We then arrived at his house which is between apartments. It is half finished. The facade serves as a garage and half of the entire space contains two big bedrooms, a kitchen, a wide bathroom with a water reservoir it, and the living room.

The garage floor is spread with gravel and has an old car that looks defective and ready for repair. It also has some stuff for car maintenance, some bricks, and a dog and some chicken. The living room has a big table and four monoblocks both made entirely of solid wood. It is also tiled with red coloured tiles. At the opposite side is a sound component which the driver turns on and play music from his phone every time we arrive from outside. It also has a Buddhist altar with the sculptures of Buddha in different sizes. Above the electronic component is a laminated picture of the driver's dad. And a strip of led lights. At the back of the altar is the kitchen where all the stuffs are dumped. It looks dirty and not maintained as the plates, bowls and glasses are scattered and collected into a basin with small turbid water. The house uses lpg for cooking but it still has a stand for cooking with wood. Just right of t kitchen is bathroom but one has to go back to the living room to access it because the door is at the other side of the living room. the bathroom has a big reservoir filled with 3/4 water. One can directly use the dipper from there to take a bath. At the right of the living room are two adjacent and big bedrooms. At night, I was given the other room nearer to the garage and they had the room near the bathroom.

Neighborhood

It was still dark when we arrived at his house but I was able to see the  entire parts of the house as it is visible from the living room where I am seated and observed. His wife and his son are also sleeping at the living room. Then, the driver signaled me to take a bath. I then went inside the bathroom and carefully bathed my body as it has not tasted any water for the past 36 hours. The temperature of the water is cold but it compensate for the hot surroundings even if it is still dawn. He offered a towel but I brought my own towel so I politely declined as I used my own towel.

After taking a bath, I quickly changed my clothes with my blue shorts and blue collard polo on. It is an outfit conducive for hiking. We had a sip of coffee first before we finally left home and started my mission of seeing Angkor Wat just before sunrise.

I would go back to this house again in the evening with more memories to unravel. In the next blog, I will tell about how I got to the Angkor Wat and how my driver traced my location even if we do not have internet connection.

Human connections, that is human communication is even more effective even at the age of ubiquitous presence of internet connection. Technology is not always available even in the most sophisticated city. So, it is always more effective to learn how to communicate with others weven if one does not know their language.

After a day's walks at the temples of Angkor, my driver picked me up near the location where he dropped me. It was near the entrance of Angkor Wat.

Half of the house is a garage

Upon picking me up together with his son, I signaled to him that I want us to go to the market and buy some meat to cook for dinner. We then passed by the market around 15 minutes away from Angkor Wat. We bought cooked pork, it looks like a smoked pork or a fried one but not crispy. The colour of the meat is reddish-orange. The seller just chopped it and added some vegetable toppings, wrapped it and added some packed sauce to the package. We also went to another section of the market and bought elongated watermelon.

We then headed back to his house and he gesticulated us to eat. We then ate for the dinner. The pork is tasty and nice. The taste really penetrated my taste buds because I have not eaten breakfast nor lunch. Although I did not feel hungry, my body really welcomed the meat and the rice that is really gummy and deliciously glutinous. The watermelon desert was so sweet. It gave sweetness to my starving heart and weary soul.

There were only 3 of us who ate. The driver, his son and I. With that, I assumed that he has wife but I have not seen her yet. After dinner, I gave a sign that I want to take a bath.

The bath is so soothing to me. I can feel the cool water passing through my skin and it is as if it massages me. The temperature of water in Cambodia is so different. It has a suitable temperature, cool and smooth in contrast to the temperature of the environment which is extremely hot. Perhaps, there are really complementary elements in nature - hot and cold, silence and noise, light and darkness, being and nothingness. But at that moment, it was the coldness of the water that really gave comfort to my fiery body and soul.

Living room

After taking a bath. It was already 9:00 pm. He gave me a sign that he wants us to go around the city including his 3-year old son. He then got his vehicle ready and went around the city. We went to the Old Market, Night Market, Pub Street. I have a separate blog about this experience elsewhere in my site.

Then we went to the place where his wife is working. I think the wife is a cleaner at an establishment near the Night Market and the Tonle Sap River. It was only then that met her. She speaks basc English. He also introduced his fellow tuk tuk driver to me. His friend also knows basic English.

I asked his friend if it is allowed for us to drink beer near the road and inside his tuk tuk and he affirmed. I then asked him to buy some cans of beer for us to drink while having some staggered and calculated conversation. While we were talking, I suddenly felt sleepy. My tiredness slowly creeps down my body and I could not prevent my drowsiness. His wife noticed me so she suggested us to go home. It was 10:45pm then and her time out from work is around 11:00 pm. I told him that I really felt sleepy and I want to sleep so we went home while the wife was left.

Upon reaching home, I took a bath again because I felt very hot. The bath is really refreshing. While I was taking a bath, he prepared my bed. Then invited me to the room where I should sleep. It was just beside the living room and beside their own bedroom too.

I think he has given me the best pillows and the most comfortable bed and comforters. It has a ceiling fan but he also gave me a stand fan. I switched off the ceiling fan after he left because I know that I would be feeling cold at the middle of the night when I use the two. After drying my hair, I lied down. It's as if I was sedated because I suddenly fell asleep upon lying down.

I could feel the feel the soft bed and the cool pillows and blanket that he prepared for me. Those provided a comfortable hug to me while my soul is longing for that one big hug. They provided assurance that I was then safe for the night and I was at the right place at the right time. It was at a room where I felt a home away from home.

My sleep was so deep that I just woke up when the first crow of chicken at the neighborhood made a shout. It was around 4:45 am on 28 July 2019. The problem with me is that once I am awakened I could hardly get my sleep again. Nevertheless, I still lied down until the light from outside appeared.

The family was still sleeping. They have a rotating position. I heated water and mixed some coffee that we have bought the day before. I sipped it until it was cold and gone. Still, the family has not awaken. Then at 5:30, the wife woke up. She got some stuff, arranged her hair and got her son. She prepared the small bicycle for her son and they went out to the road. I followed them. The husband was still in bed.

We then followed her son while we walk around the roads nearby. She told the neighbors that I am a visitor from the Philippines. I just waved at them and gave my sweetest at-home smile because I do not know what say. Most of the walls of houses in Cambodia are made of bricks. Fences are also usually made of brick walls. The house of my driver is also made of bricks. I can still see the brick walls as they are yet unfinished. Most of the houses there are concrete already. I saw about two houses made of wood and grass/leaf of palm roof. Many of the houses looks newly finished, and others are still being built.

When we went back to their house, the driver has awaken. He is preparing the vehicle. His wife took their son and she said that they will both go to the market. While they were away, I also a bath and got ready for the next trip and adventure. It was just timing that he invited me for breakfast after I took a bath. So we ate and while eating, he told me that he wants to go around the city. I nodded in affirmation.

Then the wife and the son arrived from the market. He then bathed his son while I waited. After the preparation I gave my payment to him for two days and a night stay including his sending me to the Angkor Wat. I had some few conversation with the wife before we go. She said that her work is still at 1 pm and goes back home at 11: pm that day.

After some brief farewell, the driver, I  and his son went away and roamed around the city. While the vehicle is running, his son went to me and wanted me to cuddle him. I have him a tight hug and cuddled him while we were travelling. The mom said before we left the house that the son wants to be close to me and he would be sad when I go away. She also said that the boy wants to join me in sleeping but they said that they do not want to disturb my sleep. Oh, how homey this place can be. I was so touched by the hospitality of the family. They are not well off, but I can feel their concern towards me. It was our first encounter with each other but we behave life we have been a family.

Roaming around the city by the day

We went around the city once more and the driver also brought us to the airport. We bought some food while roaming around. It was already pass 9:00 am when we went back to the city. I told the driver that they can just leave me at the Siem Reap Post Office because I was planning to take the post office van back to Phnom Penh. I felt the pinch of sadness in my heart as I saw Boonleap the boy slowly fading away from my vision. I remember my son far away from home. I can feel his slight sadness while I handed him my small gift. I gave him a tight hug before he left and bid goodbye.

The plan changed while I was taking a day walking tour and uncovered the deeper side and sad reality of Siem Reap City.