Khmer Mansion Residence in Siem Reap Cambodia

Our week long stay at Khmer Mansion Residence in Siem Reap Cambodia was an amazing experience. They really went the extra mile with absolutely everything. When we arrived at the airport and got out VISA on arrival, we were greeted by  Chovey's friendly face just outside the terminal in the pick up area. She was holding up a Khmer mansion sign with our name printed on it. She patiently waited longer while we got our SIM cards for our phones. The driver then loaded up our suitcases. During the brief trip from the airport to the hotel Chovey  gave us a run down on what to do locally as well as some historical facts. Once we arrived we were given some tasty drinks to sip as well as refreshing cold towels while we went over a few things and our luggage was taken to our room. After paperwork was signed and reviewed we were shown to our room. The elevator had an uplifting scent of lemongrass. Upon entry into our room we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had our names spelled out on the beds with carefully placed lettering made from reeds. The room was very spacious and the refrigerator stocked with water and other beverages.  The balcony overlooking the pool and small courtyard area was relaxing as well. We had coffee out there every morning. We were also able to take morning walks around the city and over to pub street every morning from mansion. Here's pub street: https://youtu.be/FGVR34lh7YM.

There were also tuk tuks (don't know if I spelled that right) readily available across the street to take us anywhere we wanted to go around Siem Reap. Breakfast was complimentary every morning. The kitchen/diner folks were amazingly gracious with customer service like no other. Breakfast started at 6 and then went to 10:-00 which was very nice because this gave you the choice of either sleeping in or eating when you return from an early morning walk. It was very nice because there was a breakfast buffet with a nice variety and also a full menu from which to order from. The menu was wonderful and I don't think there is a bad item on there. They would seat us every day, take our orders, make us nice latte's, and prepare the food quickly. The dinner here was amazing as well. We were served a complimentary 4 course dinner one night. I ordered room service dinner a couple times as well. They made a very good loke lock. I'm sure I'm spelling that one wrong as well but it was my favorite Cambodian dish. We were able to take one of the best tours we've ever taken. It was an all day tour riding motorcycles across the countryside. We were also able to have scooters delivered right to the hotel on two separate occasions. These were great to ride around and see the city as well. Our overall experience here was outstanding. I highly recommend this place if you ever visit Siem Reap.
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DIY Pallet Planter Box-Raised Beds for Gardening

I found myself with quite the collection of pallets just begging to be used for a project. I planned on a garden the year I made some raised beds. Once I knocked all of the nails out of the pallet boards I tried to reuse as many of the nails as I could. Some of them required a little bit of straightening. Be careful when cutting pallets on a table saw for the inherent risks that accompany using this saw but also because many times there are nails buried inside the wood that you don't readily see from the outside. I've hit a few nails with the table saw and you know it when you hit one. This project was relatively simple, just created the bottom square then nailed some vertical side pieces in. After that I just went around and nailed all of the boards to the vertical side pieces. Once I had it flush with the top I cut some boards for the trim at 45 degree angles in the corners for a specific look. I decided not to paint them but as an idea you could paint them the same color as your house, shed, or barn. In this project I had some extra boards so I created a bottom for this but really there is no need if you don't plan on moving them. They are super heavy when they are full of dirt anyway. Not only that but once you start watering whatever plants go in there the boards are going to start rotting. I had some triangular pieces left from one of the pallet disassemblies so they were a perfect fit for the bottom corners. You can't go wrong using pallets to make your planter boxes.

Tools used:

Table Saw: https://amzn.to/31W6epw

Cordless Drill: https://amzn.to/31WRgiO

Brad Nailer: https://amzn.to/30UA50b

Air Compressor: https://amzn.to/35ftvop