Chasing the Sun with Peter and Michelle. A story of two expats who have been living the dream life on a small island in Cambodia.

One of our favorite things about traveling is meeting new people on the road. But lets face it, most backpackers are in their 20's, and we are waaaayyy older than that. When people find out our age, they always ask us about kids. Nate and I have been together for nearly 14 years, and we decided a long time ago, that having kids was not our lifetime goal. Even some of our friends, and family back home can’t understand why a "healthy" couple would choose to live childfree. The answer is simple: Not everyone wants to have kids!

I recall the time, when we used to live in LA. Every year our circle of friends with no kids became smaller. Friends, we could hang out with and do adult things like day drinking and vegging out on Sundays. Sorry, parents. We still love you, but your sexy stroller, baby and bottomless mimosas just don't pair well. Prove me wrong, but somebody might call child services on you.

The reality was hitting us harder everyday and we decided to do what every other adult couple in their late 30's would do. We sold our belongings, packed our backpacks and well, ran away. 

This is a story dedicated to those who love to wander the world, to the powerful women that prove that having kids is not their only role in life...and to the believers in unicorns!

Michelle +Peter

When we arrived in Cambodia and met Michelle and Peter, a couple much older than us, living a nomadic life style for more that 25 years, without kids, we felt like we found two unicorns. We needed to capture them (at least in pictures), and share their story with the rest of the world.

Maybe it was the 4 hour long boat ride from the mainland to Koh Rong island, or the homemade Baileys that Michelle welcomed us with at the restaurant, but I (Marta) felt immediately connected to her. She was extremely nice, happy and she was just the right person to be greeted by.

I assumed she was in her 50's. Every time I spent time around Michelle I was wondering if she had any kids of her own. I fell into the same stereotype that I hated so much, where people assume that a woman obviously has kids. One day, I finally got the courage to ask her about it, and to my "relief" I found out not only that Michelle didn't have any kids, but she also is like me and she never wanted to have them.

I realized that I had much more in common with this woman than with most women I meet. We both loved Baileys and don't want kids! Like Michelle, I also have always been very career driven and loved working. Michelle is responsible for overseeing the house keeping staff at the resort, amongst many other miscellaneous jobs. 

From Germany and England to Africa

In 1964, a 20 year old Peter moved from Germany to Zimbabwe, to work in a refinery. He said, “it was an exciting time to make money quickly there” and as a young guy, he grabbed the bull by its horns. He said that he was able to afford a new car after only working at his new job for only 3 weeks. Peter recalled, “I was so proud to buy my first car and there was only one problem… I didn’t know how to drive.” Luckily, his two colleagues were former taxi drivers, and taught him how. Peter said, “It took them the whole night to teach me how to reverse and drive forward and the next morning, only driving 20 miles, I drove to home.”

Peter was quickly promoted at work to a CEO, and was making great money. He married his first wife and had 2 kids, but his family soon fell apart. He admitted the reason his first marriage failed was because he was a workaholic, and wasn’t a good father or husband.                                                   

Michelle is originally from England. She moved to South Africa, with her parents when she was a teenager. Around 1991, a grown Michelle lived with two roommates, one of whom worked for Peter. The roommate decided to set Michelle and Peter up on a blind date. 

At that point Peter was in his 40’s, and although his career was at its peak, his romantic life was pretty much non existent. Michelle on the other hand was a brilliant, young woman with dreams of her own. She wasn’t exactly looking for the company of another man, but she agreed to go out on a bind date that her roommate arranged. Despite the 18 years of age difference, the two clicked right away. They were a great match because they both had similar passions for traveling and neither of them wanted to have kids. Disclaimer: Peter had already fathered two kids with his first wife, but Michelle made it clear that it wasn’t her dream to ever become a mother.

One morning some years later, as usual, Peter was making tea in the kitchen when he saw a blooming rose outside the kitchen window in the garden. At that moment, Peter decided he wanted to propose to Michelle. While Michelle was still in bed, he served her the freshly brewed tea, with the rose in his mouth, and for a final touch of romanticism, he was completely butt naked. But as he bent his knee he saw how surprised Michelle was, and at the last minute he chickened out turning the whole thing into a joke. Peter said that from that moment on, he knew in his heart that he wanted to be married to her but he was afraid of rejection.

Finally on June 4th 1999, they both decided to get married. There was no formal proposal, it just happened naturally and mutually. Their wedding was small (only 5 people), but it was perfect and it didn’t cost them anything. There was no big dress and fancy diamond rings. Michelle wore white pants and a top she borrowed from her friend. Their only wedding gift was a honeymoon vacation from all their friends at work.

“Home is where I put my head on the pillow”

Some time after their wedding, Michelle and Peter both got tired of their corporate life and decided to follow their passion of traveling. They both wanted to work in hotel service. Michelle took a job as a head of service in a hotel in Cape Town, and Peter was pursuing a career as a professional chef.

Eventually South Africa became too dangerous as crime was rising, and after losing too many friends to that very crime, in 2000 the two decided to move to Scotland, where they worked in a castle and later on, they managed a pub near Liverpool. They also went to the Butler Academy to become professional butlers.

After a while, they get got sick of the dreary weather in Scotland, and decided to find some sunshine. With the last of their money, they bought an old Audi at an auction for 400 pounds. The car wouldn't start shortly after they bought it, but somehow they managed to drive it all the way to Spain.

In Costa del Sol, they bought a local newspaper and found an ad: “an a English man and his dog looking for management to look after him and his villa.” They applied and got the jobs right away! They worked for him for 2 years.

Their jobs were always exciting and sometimes even dangerous. While working for an American businessman in Granada, they discovered that his bookkeeper was fudging the books. There was a lot of hostility towards Americans in Granada during that time and the newspaper quickly picked up the sensational story about “an American, who hired two South Africans to help with his shady business”. Michelle and Peter were held hostage in the house where they worked, but luckily a local friend helped them to escape potential jail time or even death. They fled in a boat and hid there till it was safe to buy a flight to Venezuela.

Nowadays, Michelle and Peter are living quietly in Cambodia on the small island of Koh Rong. Besides their work at the resort, they also run a small school for kids from the nearby village. They teach young kids the basic subjects: English, geography, math and train the older teenagers to work in the hospitality business.

When I asked them how long they will stay in Koh Rong, their answer was, "how long is a piece of string”? and that was followed with, “we are not planning on a family, so instead we are just committing ourselves to each other. We don’t have to prove anything anymore. We are trying to help other people to achieve their goals”.

Meanwhile The Tipsy Gypsies are currently still traveling the world, staying in cheap hotels, eating street food and measuring time by "beer o'clock". You might be at home, cooking dinner or cuddling with your kids. We clearly live our lives differently but no matter what you do or where you are in your life, with or without kids,  I want you to remember: Never stop chasing your "sun"!!!

Best Bars in Siem Reap

Aside from its rich culture and architecture, Siem Reap has one of the best drinking scenes in South East Asia. The most famous (or infamous) place to get drinks in Siem Reap is of course, Pub Street. Pub Street is exactly what it sounds like, a street full of pubs, but also some restaurants and massage parlors. Most of the bars on Pub Street are known for their cheap buckets, a mix of terrible bottom shelf alcohol and your choice of soda. A 20 year old backpackers paradise. Buckets are a fun and fast way to get drunk but sometimes you might want something a little more sophisticated. Every bar on Pub Street is offering the "best happy hour" in town and it can be hard to decided where to go. 

So we did the work. We drank A LOT. The Tipsy Gypsies got completely drunk (again), and although Pub Street is great, we also discovered a lot outside its neon glow. Therefor we've created this list of our favorite bars in Siem Reap, on and beyond Pub Street.

"You see we never ever drink

Nice and easy

We always DRINK nice and hard

We started the night nice and easy but finished it hard"

(thanks Tina Turner "Proud Mary")

Miss Wong

One of our favorites, Miss Wong has the best central location. It is situated in a small alley, just few steps away from the madness of the Pub Street, which is way more relaxing and classy.  Miss Wong is well know amongst locals and tourists, and it is well worth the visit not only for drinks but also the elegant atmosphere.  

We arrived at Miss Wong around 6pm, just when the bar opened and things were just coming to life. We were immediately impressed by the gorgeous interior: high ceilings, crimson red walls, glowing lanterns hanging off the ceilings, lots of paintings and moody lighting. This place is sexy! There were so many great details in this bar and our eyes were constantly traveling up and down the walls discovering new trinkets.

We were greeted by the super cool owner of the bar Dean, who is an expat from New Zealand and has been living in Cambodia for the last 12 years. Dean opened and designed the bar himself 8 years ago. The design is based on a paining that the owner's grandmother had in her home back in New Zealand. The painting is of Miss Wong, a beautiful, mysterious woman painted by a Russian artist, who became famous for his prints of Chinese ladies he painted. The painting was a great inspiration for an asian theme speakeasy and it also reminded him of his home.

When Miss Wong opened the idea was to offer something different from the popular and cheap buckets of alcohol. The owner wanted to serve a top shelve alcohol to his clients, but 8 years ago that was a problem in Siem Reap. The better quality liquor had to be imported and was very expensive. That is why he decided to infuse his his own alcohol. Dean's background is in biochemistry, and when you taste his infused vodkas you can tell that he knows his craft. The infused vodkas, also used in mixed drinks, are very unique flavors like Tom Yum (yes the famous Thai Soup), cardamon or pepper. Vodka has never tasted better!

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

Mixed drinks:

Jen Queens Ang-Pau

Jen Queen Year of the Cocktail

Apricot & Kaffir Lime Martini

Spiced Bloody Mary

The Elbow

Shots:

Pepper infused vodka

cardamon rose gin

Tom Yum Gin (so pretty much all of them)

They also serve delicious appetizers. Pictured below: dim sum

Georges Rhumerie

This place is all about rum, but not just any rum. This rum is made in house and to make it even better, it's all infused. This place is a MUST try in Siem Reap!

We arrived to Georges Rhumerie by rickshaw around 8pm and the place was not very busy. Perhaps because G.R  is located a bit "outside" of the tourist zone (aka away from Pub Street), and is why this place is not super crowded. If you want to hang out with some awesome expats and stay away from the crazy drunken tourists of Pub Street, this bar is great! The rickshaw ride was only $3 and it was totally worth the cruise outside downtown. Also, don't worry about getting back to your hotel. They have trusted rickshaw drivers waiting outside so when the bar is finally closed, they will help you get home safely. And after this journey through rum heaven, we definitely needed some assistance getting back.

We sat at the outdoor bar area, which is very casual, but if you need AC they also have an indoor restaurant. The relaxed atmosphere, very friendly bartenders, who joke around and talk with the customers is probably why so many expats (and us), love to hang out here. 

Our bartender served us a flight of rum shots to start with. The flight was 10 different infused rums, and if you think we can tell you what was our favorite, we would have to say all of them! We definitely recommend this sampling experience as all of the flavors are wonderfully unique.

We desperately needed to eat something after our "little" sampler of rums, so we ordered a delicious appetizers plate of samoussa, bouchon, baida and crackers with home-made delicious jams! Trust us, you will want to snack on something while you're sipping on one of their many delicious concoctions. The snacks were well paired with the drinks and we never thought that jam and crackers would go so well with rum, but we swear it's worth it!

We don't know when to say no to alcohol, and so when our bartender suggested that we try some of their cocktails we ordered not one, but two: Bokator and George's Grog, both very delicious, refreshing and light. 

Our master bartender, Houern, who was entertaining us the whole night told us that the staff likes to create their own drinks, and if they are popular they end up on the menu. He mixed us his latest creation, which was not yet listed on the menu, and we hope it has since been added because it was absolutely fantastic. It was hands down one of the best cocktails we've ever tasted. He called it a "Svay" or "Mango cocktail" ( ingredients: mango rum, mango juice, mint syrup, lime juice, milk). If you visit Georges you must try this cocktail!

Park Hyatt

The Park Hyatt is probably the most gorgeous hotel in Siem Reap, and we had the privilege of staying with them. We highly recommend that you go to and splurge at least one night with them and have a drink either on their patio surrounded by fire pits, enjoying a traditional dance performance (check schedule) or you can sip a cocktail in their gorgeous 'living room" lounge, decorated with pinks sofas, fresh lotus flowers, dimmed lights and soft music playing in the background. The design alone is worth the $10 plus drinks.

If you time your visit right, the traditional Cambodian dance performance is absolutely spectacular. Just sit in the patio and enjoy your drink and the show.

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

New York Sour

 Singapore Sling

Hemingways Diary

Victoria Angkor

This hotel has a great pool and if the day is hot, which is almost always the case in Siem Reap, there is no better way to cool down than by the pool while sipping on ice cold drinks. The best time to go is for brunch on the patio, overlooking the pool area or directly by the pool under umbrellas. There is also a bar inside the hotel and their drinks are very good, but there isn't much night life going on. 

The Tipsy Gypsies recommend:

Frozen Coconut Mojito

Passion Daiquiri

Mango "Caviar" Fizz

Angkor What?

Did we mention the buckets? Angkor What? is a very popular, if not the most popular bar in Siem Reap and it would be wrong not to mention it. It was probably our least favorite bar because it's a bit loud. Every time we went there to meet with friends they were blasting obnoxious music. We are not saying they should change what they are doing, just keep this is mind. If you are planning on conversing with friends at this bar, forget about it. But if you want to get some cheap buckets and dance your ankles off, this is the right place for you. Angkor What? is located on Pub Street and with it's grungy design and cheap drinks, it obviously attracts a younger crowd. The buckets are large and strong so be prepared to get shit faced or make some friends to share it with. And lastly, don't wear anything white as all those "invisible" stains will be shinning bright in their black lights. 

“The more I drink, the better I write and the more I write the better I drink.”

Disclaimer: We make sure to have at least few drinks before we start to write any bar or drink reviews! Because who wants to write about drinking when you're sober?

Cheers!

A Year in Review

After one year on the road complete, it's time to take a look back on some of the amazing experiences we've had. This video also takes the form of a demo reel for Nate as a director. 

Three Days of Khmer New Years in Siem Reap

The day was finally upon us. Day one of three days of Khmer New Years celebrations. We had been pampered and prepped for the occasion, which you can read about here, but nothing could truly prepare us for the festivities ahead. 

Khmer New Years is a mix of spiritual enlightenment and good old fashioned party fun. The blazing hot days in the city are quiet as Khmer locals visit temples to pray and tourists go about their normal routines. But as the sun starts to set, everything changes.

Slowly you begin to hear music pumping from giant speakers on every street corner and buckets are filled with water as the city prepares for the oncoming war... a water war that is! 

By nightfall the city has turned in to a giant water gun fight as people walk the street and attempt drive by shootings with oversized super soakers. But it's not just water, there are the clouds of baby powder. We have not found a clear answer as to why, but everyone has a container of baby powder and either dumps it on your head, or smears your cheeks with the soft soothing powder. 

This might sound like an activity that gets out of hand and causes fights and riots on the street but it did nothing of the sort. It was one of the most peaceful and fun events we've ever attended. From the hours of 6pm to 3am you get to be a kid again. 

These festivities go on repeat for three days. Quiet daylight hours, insane water fights and partying at night. The epicenter of this in Siem Reap of course, is Pub Street. Every bar is bursting with water drenched, powder chalked patrons, who are singing, dancing and laughing. Drinks are flowing and music is blasting so there is nothing but fun to be had. 

Apparently there are similar New Years events that go on throughout SE Asia which we can't comment on but all we can tell you is that Cambodians really know how to throw a New Years celebration.

Due to the insanity and wetness of this event, we were hesitant to take our cameras out so we only have a few pictures. All we can say is if you're looking for something amazing to do for new years, forget Times Square and January 1st.                                                                                  Mid April in Cambodia is where it's at!

Khmer New Years at the Victoria Angkor

When we arrived in Siem Reap after 12 hours of travel from Laos, we were tired, hot and sweaty. Luckily for us, we were about to enter the garden of eden. 

We had come to Siem Reap to celebrate and witness the Khmer New Year so we needed to get refreshed and ready to party! After a month on the road in Laos, we decided to pamper ourselves with a pre New Years rest at the Victoria Angkor, located in the heart of Siem Reap. The hotel is conveniently located near the famous Pub street, but far enough from it to escape the traffic and bustling streets of the city.

When we arrived, we were greeted with their delicious welcome drink, made with sugar cane juice and served in a bamboo cup with a bamboo straw. We later learned the hotel management makes a conscious effort to minimize the waste they produce so they replaced plastic straws, which are terrible for the environment, with a natural bamboo straw. The drink was delicious and refreshing and we liked it so much, that we requested it a few more times. We also recieved chilled towels soaked in jasmine water to cool ourselves off as we checked in. That was a welcome well done and right away we fell in love with this hotel.

Although only about a decade old, the hotel has been designed in a 1930's french colonial style and the esthetic perfectly reflects the nostalgia and romantic vibe of that era.

Welcome drink

Iced Coffee

For the next few days we had the fortune of staying in one of their beautiful Maharaja suites. We laughed when we walked into the room because we had just spent almost 6 months in India and the suite was decorated accordingly with Indian flavors and in some ways, felt like home. Of course the hotel management didn't know that when they put us in this suite, but somehow we just can't escape India.

The suite was huge: living room, master bedroom, dressing den and a specious bathroom.  The large living room was full of light with it's windows facing the Royal Park, and it was our favorite spot to read the daily news while sipping on coffee or one of their delicious cocktails. Our favorite design detail from the living room was the french windows with louvers looking into the garden.

The bedroom was clearly built for royalty. Whether you've had a long flight or have been on the road for while, nothing feels better than falling on a king size bed full of soft pillows and letting all the stress melt away.

Every day, after we came back to our room our bedsheets were perfectly dressed down with the blankets folded back, the slippers and robes were laid out and they even left delicious chocolate treats for extra sweet dreams. We loved their attention to details and we definitely felt spoiled.

The hotel has the most amazing international breakfast buffet we've ever had. The buffet was huge, and it filled two rooms! You can choose between asian food or a western breakfast (or both!) with fresh pastries and breads from their bakery. Having been away from home so long, we couldn't pass on the french cheese, eggs, cured meats and fresh smoothies. To make the mornings even more jolly they also served bottomless mimosas with your choice of fresh fruit. Ahh Europeans know how to live!

In the morning, before this huge breakfast we actually joined a free yoga class in the park across the street. The yoga instructor was a young Cambodian girl, and she was great at correcting your posture. It was fantastic! If you don't like yoga or it is too hot for you, they also have a small AC gym near the pool, which was empty most of the time.

Frozen coconut Mojito

Of course, our favorite was the bar or more precisely the drinks they serve at the Victoria Angkor. The menu constantly changes but all the drinks are delicious and they are continually making new cocktails you can't get anywhere else.

Here are our two favorites: Passion Fruit Daiquiri and Mango Caviar Fizz.

The Khmer new Year is the biggest holiday in Cambodia. Before we hit the street scene, we and other guests were invited to join and participate in the local games in the hotel's courtyard. Although most of us were shy at first to dance to the most popular Cambodian hits of the years, after a few minutes of watching the fun from a distance, we joined the party. Oh and did we mention the water and baby powder? Yeah the cheeky Cambodians first spray you with water and then they throw baby powder on you. It was so much fun and gave us a great taste of what to expect later on the streets, which you can read about here.

What really made the Victoria Angkor great, wasn't just their attention to detail in creating a truly luxurious yet at the same time, unpretentious experience, but the way they made you feel a part of the family, and at home. And no, it wasn't just because we were there to review them. We saw every guest being treated with the same sense of local hospitality; and that leaves you with an experience you'll always remember.

Specials thanks to Cedric & Patric and their wonderful staff for hosting our stay at the Victoria Angkor. Our opinions regarding our stay are completely our own. 

Cheers!