Siem Reap has no shortage of massage places. Some, very nice legitimate spas and others, well rather questionable. There is a road between the Angkor Night Market and Sivatha Road. It is actually Street 7 across Sivatha.  This road is lined with $1 dollar massage places, boldly signed and numerous girls sitting in front calling out to all passer-bys. They usually start in the early afternoon but when the sun goes down they get very aggressive.

I’m a very friendly person. As I am not interested in a “$1” massage, I politely decline with a smile and continue through the gauntlet. I had to walk through this road each day because my hotel was on one side and all the restaurants, Pub Street and Night Markets were on the other. By the second day, the same girls realized I must be alone since I never walked with anyone. They began, in a friendly way, to block my path 3 or 4 at a time. One would single out and grab my arm. But not in a gentle way. She would latch on and not let go! I had to rip my arm away several times.  This happened every time I walked through! No matter how polite I was, it continued. Finally I had enough, put my angry face on and told them to stop. Strangely enough this did not work!

So I came up on the spur of the moment with an ingenious idea. Take their photo! Wow! This worked great. They ran and scattered like cockroaches when the lights go on. After two days of doing that, they got to know me and left me alone. Even the threat of taking their photo worked. I added pictures of it and blanked out the faces.

There are several of these places around town. They all have the same set up. The different thing here is the lounge couches where you can stretch out your legs on a couch with a bed table for your coffee or ice cream. Kind of cool and definitely different for a bakery/ice cream place. They do have fairly good ice cream. The other bonus is they have free wifi.

Directions: # 213, Sivatha street, Siem Reap.

Visiting Araksa was an experience I will never forget.  Through my guide, I made arrangements for a tour.  They have an excellent website and they are very accommodating.  The tour included an excellent education on the different tea leaves and how they are prepared and roasted.

Our tour guide from Araksa was Charlie.  His English is good and he is quite a character.  Very friendly and knowledgeable.  It was basically a class on how to prepare the tea leafs and then roast them.  The tea roaster, Yong, is an expert and as she selects and prepares the leafs, Charlie is explaining the process.

After this class, Charlie said, “ok, time to pick the tea leafs.”  To my surprise, he and Yong took us to a section of the plantation to pick young tea leafs for processing.  They showed us what to look for and which to pick.  I had my own basket to put the leafs in.  It was amazing how much Yong was able to pick in the same amount of time I had.  We did this for about 30 minutes and then return to where the class was so Yong can process the leafs we just picked and show us how it’s done.

Now it was time for the processing.  Yong selected the leafs from what we picked.  They are then placed in a large stir fry pan and roasted while Yong continues to stir them around.  After some time, she then removed the leafs onto a wicker plate and hand squeezes and presses the leafs while still hot.  It is a multi-staged process where the leafs had to go back for more roasting after this pressing process.  So, while Yong worked the leafs, Charlie took inside the facility for some tea tasting.

After Tea, we went back out to see the final product.  Our harvest produced a small batch of Black Tea.  We each received a small packet.  I’ve yet to try it.  I think best kept as a souvenir.  As a tea lover, this was a great experience.  But I think anyone would enjoy this.

Choui Fong Tea has three tea plantation in northern Thailand.  I visited the one in Mae Chan district on the way to Mae Salong.  This location is not very mountainous and is more of an open sprawling plantation.  They have a modern tea shop on site where you can purchase tea but no free tea tasting was offered.  There is also an observation deck to look over the fields of tea bushes.  I did not spend much time here.  Not a loss if you pass by directly to Mae Salong.