Cambodia Trip (13th-17th April 2017)
Hi ChoxChe-ers! How are you? It’s been long and I hope you are doing well! Today I am going to share my Cambodia’s trip stories with you!
Before I begin, let me share a tiny part of my life: I had been struggling with depression for months due to personal life. It wasn’t until one afternoon (a month before the trip) when I met two of my friends (V and R);with whom I had shared a tiny bit of my depression (about work); that I decided to get a break overseas. They were like “Let’s take a break to Cambodia. We are going to Cambodia this coming Good Friday and you can join us if you want”. So, that is how the Cambodia idea came about. I invited two more friends; A, my ex-colleague and Y, my ex-housemate; and BBAAMM! In a month time, the five of us flew to Cambodia and came back to Singapore. ***The End***.
Kidding (Of course it’s a joke. Why else did I make a blog?). Let’s start the stories with the tickets talk. A month before the trip, I bought 2-way Jetstar tickets from Singapore to Phnom Penh for S$151 and from Siem Reap to Singapore for US$185 (the price was in USD because the plane was flying off from Siem Reap. With the exchange rate of 1.4929 at that moment, US$185 was equivalent to S$276.19).In total I spent S$427.19 for the tickets alone (pic1). We chose to fly to Phnom Penh first because of several reasons. Firstly, the direct flight from Singapore to Siem Reap was way more expensive; roughly twice the price from Singapore to Phnom Penh. There were several reasons for this expensive cost to Siem Reap: (1) Though the capital city of Cambodia is Phnom Penh, Siem Reap is a more touristy site because it is where the Angkor; one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia; is located. (2) Our trip was in alignment with the Khmer (Cambodian) New Year (13 to 16th April). So, the tickets pricing had been marked up; even for the plane tickets to Phnom Penh (normally it only costs around S$60ish). Another reason to fly off to Phnom Penh was because we thought visiting two places is always better than only one. Moreover, Pnomh Penh is V’s hometown, hence we could make V become our one-day free and private tour guide. HEHEHE.
Pic1: Ticket invoices back and forth. Notice my name which has become Felly Felly? That’s how the peoples who go by one name fill up their flight details LOL.
Day 1
Y, A, and I flew off to Phnom Penh on 13th April at 07.45 night (V had gone back to Phnom Penh a week ahead us, while R had bought direct ticket to Siem Reap on 14th April, the day when V,Y,A and I would also go to Siem Reap to meet up). The 3 of us reached Phnom Penh at 09.50 pm (Flight duration was 2 hours 5 minutes). Since Cambodia’s time zone is one hour behind Singapore’s, our reaching time was therefore 08:50pm the local time. As ChoxChe-ers see (pic2), we were welcomed by the already closed duty free shop and that was kinda disappointing. When we walked towards the exit door, a big wooden table which was fully loaded with real fruits and vegetables could be seen (pic3). There were 3 white cards on top of fruit baskets which said “free take”, “you can eat” and “Happy Khmer New Year”. Surely it was a pleasant surprise! Without even hesitating, I immediately tore a banana from its bunch and peeled it off. Unluckily, the banana had not ripened yet; it was plainly sweet with a tinge of bitter & floury tang. Of course I straightaway passed it to Y LOL (pic4). Anyways, we got a taste of the Cambodian banana for free! HAHAHA (cheapskate’s laugh).
Pic2: Closed Duty Free Shop at 08.50pm. Wasn’t that too early for any shops to close around this hour? Though V had told us shops close early in Phnom Penh, but not the Duty Free Shop T.T)
Pic3: Free fruits and vegetables to take in Phnom Penh International Airport (Arrival side). There were brinjals, pumpkins, coconuts, bananas, pineapples and many more fruits that I don’t know the names of.
Pic4: The innocent-faced Y was munching free Cambodian banana that she later found out unripen. Pfff
Walking out the exit door, we were greeted by V who came with his cousin to pick us up. They had been waiting for us for one hour in the airport; not because we were late, but they came early just in case we got issues (These peoples are so thoughtful and gold! I certainly felt so touched!). After introducing ourselves to each other, Y went to buy a phone’s SIM Card with 4Gb data for US$5 from one of the mobile shops outside the airport (pic5). We decided to share the SIM Card since we would be sticking around together the entire trip. Looking around outside of the airport, I felt that there was a resemblance of how the Cambodians looked like with the Indonesians (pic6).
Pic5: A row of mobile shops facing the arrival gate of Phnom Penh International Airport.
Pic6: The restaurants surrounding the airport arrival gate. There were Costa Coffee, Yoshinoya, the Pizza Company, Pho 24 (Vietnamese Pho noodle), & Dairy Queen. Can you differentiate the Cambodians from the Indonesians from this picture? I can’t, unless they speak!
After taking a picture together for memories (pic7), we were then driven to V’s family-owned guesthouse (pic8) which was only 5 minute drive-time away from the airport. The guesthouse was called Vimean Meas (Address: Russian Federation Blvd. (110), Phnom Penh, Cambodia). We were charged with US$10/room/night, a much cheaper rate compared to the standard rate of US$22-25. The room was pretty spacious with 2 queen-sized beds, a decent-sized bathroom, a 32-inch TV, an AC, a fan and free Wi-Fi (Pic9). It was undoubtedly a good place to stay in, although due to its close proximity to the airport, the aircraft noise could be a little bit loud. A unique thing that I noticed about the guesthouse was its super steep staircase which is deemed to be normal in Cambodia. I can’t imagine the struggles the elderly must have when they climb up and down those terrifying stairs! (pic10)
Pic7: In clockwise, from top left: A, V, myself and Y posing in the airport’s parking lot, certainly not because we liked parking lot that much, but because of the unique sight of the neon-lit building behind us (Credits to V's cousin). If you had a super vision, you would be able to see that those twinkling orange and blue neon LED lights were actually mandarin words. That building is a hotel and the majority of its guests are said to be Chinese. Along the ride to our guesthouse, it was noticeable that besides of Khmer or Cambodian words, the wordings and signage boards were mostly written in French, English, and Mandarin. Mandarin is used a lot in Cambodia to attract the Chinese; French is used because Cambodia used to be part of French colony for 90 years from 1863 to 1953; while English is used merely for its worldwide recognition. Fun facts: The Khmer, Thai, and Lao (people of Laos) shared many similarities in their written alphabets and languages because they were heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Pali (Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, while Pali is the language of much of the earliest extant literature of Buddhism).
Pic8: Staying in the Vimean Meas; V’s family-owned guesthouse; for a night in Phnom Penh.
Pic9: 2 cozy queen-sized beds in our room.
Pic9: The L-shaped bathroom. The showerhead was mounted on the right side of the wall (behind the door) and the toilet was further in at the left corner.
Pic9: Two pairs of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s legs chillaxing LOL.
Pic10: Steep stairs is common in the Cambodian houses.
Expenditure for Day1: US$5
Day 2
In the morning, Y, A and I went out to look for quick breakfast nearby the guesthouse. In a walking distance of about 1 km (0.6 miles) away, there was an eatery place that was swamped by sea of human (pic11). The food must be great, thus we wanted to give it a go. But to our disappointment, there were no seats even after we had been waiting for long. There was neither displayed nor table menu visible, though I did manage to peep on some of the food on the guests’ tables. As I remembered, there were fried ducks (yes, in the morning and for breakfast), chicken rice, and soup noodles. In front of the eating house, there was a small stall selling meat buns (bak bao) (pic12). With our empty crunching stomachs, the piping hot smokes and the glossy white skins of the baos had suddenly made the baos looked very appealing. We agreed to get the baos instead, since we couldn’t eat the food at the restaurant any time sooner. However, we didn’t get to try the bao as well. I know this sounded classic, but sadly and true enough it was because of the language barrier. The seller didn’t understand a word we spoke (we asked how much was the bao in English) and we couldn’t decipher a word she spoke in Khmer either. So, for ChoxChe-ers who plan to go anywhere abroad, please learn some basic currency phrases to avoid this issue (I think you know this better than me and yet I am the one writing this LOL). We could have put our trust on the seller by letting her choose the currency notes or simply pay with big notes and see how much we get as change. But we didn’t want to risk it as we didn’t know the seller well. Wait! Now that I think of it, we could have actually googled up the language as we had internet data (whether or not the vendor could understand our broken Khmer tone,that would be another story). Oh well, maybe it wasn’t our luck to try it that time.
Pic11: Overly crowded local eatery that we didn’t get the chance to try out.
Pic12: Bak bao stall in front of the eatery that we didn’t have the chance to try as well.
Determined to find a better local eatery, we walked for approximately 500 meters (0.3 miles) down, before we abruptly stopped in front of a restaurant with an ostentatious pink-colored signage. I am sure ChoxChe-ers won’t believe what restaurant we found. Like seriously, among all the odds, we had found a Singapore Chicken Rice and Noodle restaurant (pic13)! Though I wanted to eat the local food desperately, I couldn’t bear the hungriness any longer either. I was like, ‘Hey, let’s just try this and see how ‘Singapore’ this restaurant is!’. Luckily, both V and Y were into it. Albeit of the crazy crowd the place was in, there was one empty table available for us (thank goodness). I ordered a bowl of duck noodle while V and Y resolved on wanton and fishball noodles (pic14). Each of this cost US$3. Actually, the menu had the choice for small portion for US$2.5 and big portion for US$3. We wanted to order the small portion, yet the waiter coldly explained that the shop didn’t serve small portion (Come on… she could certainly use a better reason *eyesrolling*. I did resist the temptation to elaborately explain that the small portion could be made by cutting the size from big portion and demonstrate the example using the glass of tea in front of me). For food-review wise, the noodles were soft and moderately thick. The duck meat had a pungent raw taste and smell; they were mostly fats and skins. The fried wanton was not crispy and in fact was a bit greasy. In general, the taste was plain and I guess they nailed it in term of the blandness with most of Singapore food (Singaporean fancy their food lightly seasoned for healthier purpose). For portion-wise, I would say the big portion was just like the normal portion in Singapore and Indonesia. Overall, I would give this place a ChoxChe’s rank of 3 out of 10 (rescued mainly by the unlimited tea self-service (pic15)).
Pic13: The Singapore Chicken Rice and Wanton Noodle restaurant that we found after walking for around 1.5 km from guesthouse.
Pic14: Our breakfast in Phnom Penh. Clockwise from top left: Fishball noodle, wanton noodle and duck noodle.
Pic15: The place served unlimited tea self-service.
After fuelling up, we walked back to guesthouse to take our belongings and rode in the tuk-tuk to the Royal Palace (Address: Samdach Sothearos Blvd; opened from 7.30 – 11 am and 2-5 pm; approximately 12.6 km distance away from the guesthouse; the tuk-tuk ride cost US$7) (pic16). On our way, we passed by the beautiful Mekong River (pic 17) that was lined by tall trees with blooming pink flowers. Many hotels, bars and restaurants were situated in the road across the river (Sisowath Quay street) (pic18). Lots of Caucasian tourists could be spotted chillaxing there.
Pic16: A in the tuk-tuk ride from Vimean Meas guesthouse to the Royal Palace.
Pic16: Y and myself in the tuk-tuk ride from Vimean Meas guesthouse to the Royal Palace. Credits to A.
Pic17: Passing by the beautiful Mekong River that was lined by tall trees with blooming pink flowers on our way to the Royal Palace.
Pic18: Many Caucasians were seen congesting the bars, restaurants, and hotels at the Sisowath Quay Road across the Mekong River.
After arrived at the Royal Palace, we could see many pigeons pecking on the front garden of the Royal Palace (pic19 and pic20). Kids were seen roaming around, selling a fistful of corns in plastic bag for feeding the pigeons. A little girl approached us with a handful of corns once we got off from tuk-tuk. We politely rejected her with the typical ‘no’ hand gesture and kept on saying “no” to her. We were pretty sure she understood us, but she was adamant on selling the corns. She even grabbed our clothes but her gloomy eyes were fixated on a man standing quite a distance from us. The man was wearing black shades and showed no expression. This might not be true, but we sensed that the little girl was forced to do this by that man. We continued on rejecting her because if anything, buying the corn would only encourage the kids her age to be recruited and work on the street. Finally, after tailing us for a while, she gave up and moved on to the other tourists nearby.
Pic19: The Moonlight Pavilion of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh.
Pic20: So many pigeons were seen in the front garden of the Royal Palace.
The entrance fee to the Royal Place was US$10.25 per person. We handed US$31 as there were 3 of us and we got 1000 Cambodian Riel in return (US$0.25 was equivalent to 1000 Cambodian Riel.) I insisted to get the change in USD but was told that in Cambodia, people do not keep USD cents or coins, therefore Cambodian Riel would be used for small changes. There were many tour services offered for US$10 by the locals. We were offered one but we turned it down as we thought we wouldn’t need one. Our decision turned out to be wrong as there were no English explanatory boards inside to enlighten the lost tourists like us. So, ChoxChe-ers, please just use the tour guide service if you want to get the most out of the Royal Palace. The information about the Royal Palace I provided here is extracted from internet. Yet I hope this could give you an overview about the Royal Palace. To begin, the Royal Palace of Phnom Penh covers an area of 174,870 square metres (402m x 435m). It is a complex of buildings which serves as the royal residence of the king of Cambodia. The Kings of Cambodia have occupied it since it was built in 1860s. The compound is further divided by walls into four main complexes; on the south side is the Silver Pagoda (pic 21), to the north side is the Khemarin Palace. The central compound contains the Throne Hall (pic 22) and to the west is the private sector or the Inner Court.
The Throne Hall or “Preah Tineang Tevea Vinnichay Mohai Moha Prasat” means the "Sacred Seat of Judgement." It is the place where the king's confidants, generals and royal officials once carried out their duties. Now, it is used as a place for religious and royal ceremonies (such as coronations and royal weddings), as well as a meeting place for guests of the King. Architecturally, the building is crowned with three spires. The central, 59-metre spire is topped with the white, four-faced head of Brahma (the arrow in pic22). As going in and taking pictures of the interior were prohibited, we could only look in from the open windows. The interior was jaw-droppingly majestic, with all those beautiful ceiling frescoes and golden furniture. I have googled the picture for ChoxChe-ers to refer to (pic23), please kindly take a moment to absorb into its grandiose sighting. Furthermore, the Throne Hall houses 3 royal thrones and the golden busts of Cambodians kings and queens starting from the reign of King Ang Doung (who reigned from 1841 to 1844 and 1845 to his death in 1860) onwards.
Pic 21. The Silver Pagoda, located at the south part of the palace complex.
Pic22: The Throne Hall. Arrow indicating the white four-faced head of Brahma.
Pic22: Me posing in front of the Throne Hall. I didn’t take a single pic of any buildings with myself in it, except for this one. I felt the impromptu to take a pic here as I had been brain-struck by its golden germs inside. Credits to A.
Pic23: The breathtaking golden interior of the Throne Hall. Taken from http://www.getfoxy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Cambodia-Phnom-Penh-Sightseeing-153.jpg
Located to the left front of the Throne Hall is the Moonlight Pavilion or “The Preah Thineang Chan Chhaya”. It is one of the most notable buildings of the palace as it is easily seen from the outside (in fact it is the first building I captured after arrived in the front garden of the Royal Place (please refer back to pic19). It is an open-air pavilion that serves as stage for Khmer classical dance in the past and present. The Pavilion was used for a banquet and a tribune for the new King at the 2004 coronation of King Norodom Sihamoni. Walking to the south side of the palace complex, the first eye-catching architecture was the Silver Pagoda or “Wat Preah Keo” (please refer back to pic 21). Like the Throne Hall, the Silver Pagoda was also inaccessible during our visit. It is said to house many national treasures, such as gold and jeweled Buddha statues. Most notable are a small crystal Buddha (the "Emerald Buddha" of Cambodia) — undetermined whether made of Baccarat Crystal from the 19th century or of other kind of crystal from the 17th century — and a near-life-size, Maitreya Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds dressed in royal regalia commissioned by King Sisowath. During King Sihanouk's pre-Khmer Rouge reign, the Silver Pagoda was inlaid with more than 5,000 silver tiles and some of its outer facade was said to be re-modeled with Italian marble. How I wish I could have gotten the chance to just take a peak of all of these tremendous valuables. Anyways, I have googled out pic 24 to give ChoxChe-ers a glimpse of the grandiose interior of the Silver Pagoda. The miniature model of Angkor Wat along with a couple of Stupas could be found at the south side of Silver Pagoda (pic 25-26).
Pic 24. The inside of Silver Pagoda. Taken from https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=silver+pagoda+royal+palace+phnom+penh&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO6Ybu7orVAhUJRY8KHQfBBgIQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=589#imgdii=KB9bPfxs9Yh7xM:&imgrc=NT6dLx110jFmVM
Pic 25. Model of Angkor Wat located at the south side of Silver Pagoda.
Pic 26. Royal Stupas found at the south part of Silver Pagoda.
Due to the time constraint, we didn’t explore the north side of the complex where the Khmerian Palace is (pic 27) and the west side where the private sector or the Inner Court is. This is because we only had one hour from the time we arrived until the time the Palace was closed at 11 in the morning. Walking out from the Silver Pagoda complex, we stumbled upon a beautiful and exquisite Cannonball tree. Its massive trunk was intertwined with a thin long stalk bearing a bunch of exotic 6-petals flowers and the cannonball-like fruits (pic 28). The petals were yellow on the outside and pink on the inside and they bore a massive number of stamens. There were a couple of Buddha statues with offerings vessel around the tree. Many buildings such as pavilions and monuments could be seen around this area as well.
Pic27. Khmerian Palace at the north side of the complex. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace,_Phnom_Penh#/media/File:Phnom_Penh_Preah_Moha_Prasat_Khemarin_01.jpg
Pic28. The cannonball tree with its exotic flowers and fruits.
Bidding adieu to the Royal Palace, we were ready to head to the AEON Mall (Address: 132, Street Samdach Sothearos, Sangkat Tonle Bassac,Khan Chamkarmon; 2.5 km away from the Royal Palace; cost US$3 via 10-minute tuk-tuk ride) (Pic29). Opened in mid-2014, this 68,000-square-metre AEON Mall has since become the biggest mall in Cambodia. Many branded stores, such as Mango, Bonia, Adidas, and the Singapore well-established brands were also spotted, such as Charles and Keith, Pedro, MDS, bYSI, Helen, and llao llao. There were extensive varieties of food on the basement and Level 2; the top 2nd floor was occupied by fancier food and international restaurants, while the basement was filled with local options in a bazaar-like setting (pic30). Of course the local food bazaar attracted us more. We managed to try out 2 Cambodian dishes here; namely the Khmer noodle with Broheur (US$2.25) and the Khmer spring rolls (3 for US$2.25) (pic31). The Khmer noodle was made of thin rice noodles (aka bee-hoon), they were soft and the soup was savory and peanuty. This dish came with a separate plate full of fragrant Cambodia herbs (mints, white cabbage shreds, bird’s eye chilies, onions, long beans and some yellow and edible flowers that I don’t know the name of). According to the friendly locals who were sitting beside us, the herbs were usually added into the noodle soup to be eaten together (they giggled seeing us eating the herbs and soup individually). With all the herbs added into the soup, the herbs had become softened and the soup’s taste was richer with a slight hint of bitterness. I gave this an overall ChoxChe’s rank of 9/10 and I strongly recommend ChoxChe-ers to try this out. As for the spring rolls, a roll of this was actually enough to make the three of us full. The spring roll was so big and the skin was glassy and very thin. The inside was lavishly filled with chunks of plainly- seasoned duck meat, bee-hoon, green cabbage, carrot and cucumber sticks. The dipping sauce was viscously sweet and peanuty with a strong garlicky flavor. I would say the sweet sauce and the spring roll had made a great pair. Overall, I give this a score of 8 out of 10. After eating, we cleansed away the thirst with the mineral water bought at the supermarket behind the food bazaar (3 for US$1.05, @US$0.35).
Pic 29. AEON mall, the largest mall in Cambodia.
Pic30. Basement floor, where the local food bazaar was held.
Pic30. Baguette (a long and narrow French loaf) was spotted everywhere and it is in fact the most common kind of bread sold in Cambodia.
Pic31. Cambodian dish: Khmer noodle with Broheur (Khmer herbs) and Khmer spring rolls.
From AEON Mall, we were fetched by V and his cousin to the Mekong Express Bus Station (Address: National Hwy 5; 4 km distance away from AEON Mall; around 15 minute drive time) (pic 32). We picked Mekong Express Limousine Bus as our accommodation from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap because of its good reputation amongst the other transports (Pic 33). The bus ticket cost US$15 per person and it needs to be bought at least 3 days in advance of departure date; V had kindly helped us to purchase the tickets. The journey to Siem Reap wasn’t as comfortable as what we expected it to be though. Firstly, the AC was spoilt. Secondly, the ventilation was poor as the glass windows couldn’t be opened. Thirdly, the bus was full house due to the Khmer New Year. To sum it up, we were all drained in sweats the entire 6 hours trip and fyi, I am one of those peoples whom you won’t ever find sweating even after hours of strenuous exercise; so it is safe to say that if I was drained in sweat, normal people would have died due to excessive sweating. But surprisingly no medical emergency was called off during our trip; I guess all the passengers were rehydrating well. Nevertheless, I was still able to sleep it off the entire journey, though I was sweating profusely and my sweats had definitely wetted the backseat (I truly hoped they cleaned up all the seats after the trip). Pic34 & pic 35 are the pictures taken during our 20 minutes stopover in the intersection between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
Pic32. The Mekong Express Bus Station in Phnom Penh.
Pic33. We chose mekong express limousine bus as our mode of transportation from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.
Pic34. Snacks, such as chocolate sponge cake and curry puff were provided free for all of the passengers. They tasted quite good.
Pic 35. Food sold in the stopover, such as snakefruits, pork meat buns, and pineapples cut-fruit. We only had the pineapples as snacks (treat from the generous A; cost 3,500 Cambodian Riel) as we were still full from our lunch. The pineapples were fresh and tasted sweet and sour.
We reached Siem Reap without delay around 9 at night. From the bus station (address: Sivatha Blvd, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia), we hitched on tuk-tuk to the hotel called the Landing Gold Villa Hotel (address: Behind Angkor High School, Salakomreuk Commune, Siem Reap C Chocolate Rd, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia; 1.7 km away from the bus station; tuk-tuk ride cost US$4). Unlike Phnom Penh, the road in Siem Reap was still very much alive even after 9 pm. Many shops, restaurants and pubs with bright festive and colorful twinkling signs were still open. Locals and foreigners were out on the street celebrating the water festival in the merriment of Khmer New Year. This festival is not only celebrated in Cambodia, but also in many parts of East and South-East Asia, such as China, Laos, Myanmar, Taiwan and Thailand. The water is regarded as a symbol of religious purity and goodwill, therefore splashing a fellow human being with water during the water festival is regarded as an expression of the desire for good luck and prosperity to that person. However, many people end up water-dousing one another in boisterous celebration, as the New Year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia. This was especially true, as during our Tuk-tuk ride we were thrown full-blow with a pile of water by the local fellows. I didn’t get as wet as my bag that was soaked at once. The water smelled nice and flowery and V explained that the perfumery water was sometimes used by the locals. Occasionally, Khmer would also mix the water with chalk or powder; this is a custom originating from the chalk used by monks to mark blessings. Well, I smelled badly due to the sweat from the bus trip, I certainly didn’t mind if I can smell nicer with this. Also, if anything, who didn’t want to get the luck and blessings?
After reaching the hotel, we were immediately greeted by a friendly receptionist and were revived by the welcome drinks of what seemed to be lime juice mixed with ginger extract (Pic36). A had helped to book the hotel room from Booking.com website a month earlier. He had managed to get a promotional deal for 2 days 2 nights for US$131. An extra bed for US$45 had been requested online as well, because the three of us (A, Y and I) opted to share the room for cutting cost. In total, the hotel accommodation in Seam Reap cost US$176.
Pic36. “Cheers for the good times we are going to have in Siem Reap!”
We met R; who had just arrived from Singapore; in the lobby. R came together with J, a humble and friendly hotel owner who is also a good friend of V and R. It was truly a coincidence that A and I selected J’s hotel among hundreds of hotels on promotional prices on the web booking.com. It was only after booking the hotel that we then informed V and R, who later told us that the hotel was actually owned by their friend J. After exchanging names with each other, we proceeded to check into the room; V and R were sharing a room, while I, A and Y were in one room. The pictures 37-42 show ChoxChe-ers how our room looked like. The room had adopted a modern-minimalist concept and was spacious. It was painted in spotless white and equipped with 3 beds set side by side, a flat screen TV, an AC and free Wi-Fi. There was also a balcony which showed us a clear view of the swimming pool below. The big bathroom with the sealable see-through glass window was located on the left side of the room door.
Pic37. First view of the slick hotel room that didn’t have to cost the earth.
Pic38. Three beds with the balcony on the left side and bathroom on the right.
Pic39. There were TV, safety box, table to place stuffs and ladder for hanging towels and clothes.
Pic40. The balcony that overlooked the swimming pool on first floor.
Pic41. The bathroom vanity and standing shower next to it.
Pic42. The clean toilet and bathroom tub.
After putting down all our stuffs in the room, J drove us to the Rohatt Café ( address: Achar Sva Street, King Road, Achar Sva St, Krong Siem Reap 17000, Cambodia, opening hour: 07 am – 11pm). It was a two-floored café serving an affordable selection of Khmer favorites and a variety of cocktails. A balcony on its second floor had let us dine while enjoying the music stage below. Could you see the crowd that was rocking the stage with ear-popping music and energetic dances in celebration of the Khmer New Year in the Pic43 & 44? For dinner, we were set on the Khmer Fish Cakes (US$4.40), Khmer Fish Amok (US$7.20) (Amok is a traditional and popular Khmer dish of gently spiced freshwater fish and coconut milk), chicken curry (US$6.80), and stir-fried vegetables (US$4.00) (Pic45 – 50). All the foods were finger licking good, however I would like to especially recommend the ChoxChe-ers the fish amok and stir-fried vegetables. I liked fish amok as the meat was boneless, soft and plentiful. The amok was intense with lemongrass flavors and fieriness of Khmer spices. With coconut milk poured atop it as garnish, this dish couldn’t be even more mouthwatering. The stir-fried vegetables on the other hand had a wonderful garlicky aroma. The fresh assorted vegetables, such as small corn, spinach, kailan, carrot, and mushroom were not too soft with bits of crunchiness to it. Coupled with the classic sweet and sour oyster sauce, this dish was definitely a bomb. In the end, we had this dinner free of charge as J insisted to treat us. We were very thankful for his friendliness (and also *paiseh* at the same time).
Pic43. Dining on the second floor of the Rohatt café with balcony perching over the lively stage.
Pic44. The loud music was on and peoples were dancing their heart out in celebration of Khmer New Year.
Pic45. Khmer Fish Cakes, is made of deep fried, battered baby river shrimp. Served with lime and pepper dressing.
Pic46. The National Dish, Amok is made of gently spiced freshwater fish and coconut milk. Amok offers a quintessential taste of Cambodia and ChoxChe-ers must try it!
Pic47. Another must-try fresh seasonal vegetables stir-fried with oyster sauce. Yummy yummy!
Pic48. The braised Khmer chicken with curry spices.
Pic49. Angkor beer toasting to celebrate life!
Pic50. Taking a picture together before dinner. From left to right: A,V,J,R,Y and myself. Credits to restaurant's waiter.
After done with dinner, J asked whether we’d like to go for a roundabout at the Pub Street, where the water festival was celebrated hugely. We nodded enthusiastically to his offer as it would be a hell of experience that won’t happen often in the life time (or at least in mine). Before entering the massive crowd, we prepared ourselves by keeping safe all of our belongings (like cameras and hand phones) in a sealed plastic bag. We had automatically lined ourselves up one behind another throughout the roundabout, probably due to the survival instinct that kicked in when placed in an overly-crowded place LOL. The entire road had been utterly covered with plaster and it was disastrously slippery. I almost tripped to my back (thank Lord I didn’t) as I was in my cheap S$2 slippers that was equipped with nothing, but an exceptionally high absorption technology that absorbed everything under it. As the result, I had to walk slowly like a grandma with a cane and it had certainly dragged down everyone’s paces. Therefore, thanks to me that we were all wet and powdery by the time we finished our walk about (pic51). It was totally a fun experience that I would never forget! Afterwards, we went back to hotel and had warm shower before sleeping the night off.
Pic51. The highlight of the night! Blending in with the locals celebrating the water festival in Pub Street, Siem Reap. Credits to R.
Expenditure for Day2: US$ 83.4
Day 3
Early in the morning, J drove us to one of the small mountains in Siem Reap, called Phnom Krom (one hour drive from the hotel) (Pic51). Phnom Krom is a 140 m high hill that is located about 12 kilometers southwest of Siem Reap town. It was one of J’s favourite places to relieve stress as it offered a serene atmosphere, a complete opposite of the hustling buzzing air of the city. That morning, J bought a cage of 10 birds and placed it at the back of his car (pic52). He had planned to free them back to nature on the summit of Phnom Krom, the idea that had gotten me really excited about during the whole journey. While this practice was strongly correlated to Buddhism teaching of ‘Do good deed to get good karma’, J explained that he did not do it for religious reasons, but it was just for the good feelings he felt after doing so. Together with R, J had also bought 6 packs of breakfast of fried egg noodles for all of us to have once we reached the hilltop (Pic53) (truly feel so grateful for these). After approximately one hour drive, we finally reached the top of Phnom Krom and had our breakfast on the summit while looking over the peaceful rural area (Pic54-56). We released the birds back to the nature as planned afterwards (Pic57).
Pic51. A morning shot before we hit the road to Phnom Krom hill.
Pic52. 10 birds in the cage waiting to be freed into the vast blue sky of Siem Reap.
Pic53. 6 pack of fried egg noodles (another 2 were at the dashboard) for our breakfast at the summit. They smelled so good!
Pic54. Having breakfast together overlooking the peaceful rural area from the Phnom Krom hilltop.
Pic55. The fried egg noodles as breakfast. They had gotten a bit cold by the time we ate them, but the taste was still ok.
Pic56. The beautiful scenery of rural area in the early morning.
Pic57. Seconds before releasing the birds back to nature. J let us release all the birds and recorded us instead, although we had insisted him to free at least one or two birds (after all it was his plan and they were bought using his money). He declined and explained that this might be the only time we did this, so he wanted to record us while doing it. Well, I might do this again in the future as it has given me so much satisfaction even until now. Credits to J.
On the midway of driving down the hill, we did a quick stop-over for a we-fie with an eagle-view of the houses and farms as background (because we forgot to do it when we were at the hilltop LOL) (Pic58-61). Later, the ride down to the city continued uninterrupted until we passed by a massive field of pink and white-colored lotuses (Pic62). We were awestruck by the beauty of these sacred flowers; it symbolizes purity, beauty, majesty, grace, fertility, wealth, richness, knowledge and serenity for Hindus and Buddhists. J was so kind enough to stop for a while for us to take pictures in the field (Pic63-66). Getting off the car and walking down a 3-tiered sandstone stairs, a house which was made up of straws roof and was supported off the water by 4 wooden pillars could be seen. The house was actually a shop selling the lotus seeds, the seeds that I didn’t know exist and edible until that very day. R bought a kg of the seeds and I snuck one out for sampling (Pic67). It had a bean-like structure and tasted slightly bitter. J told us that the seeds had 3 days shelf-life and should be eaten within 3 days before it got rotten. From the lotus field, we stopped over a big crocodile farm which is owned by J’s family since he was a kid (Pic 68-71).
Pic58. A tranquil eagle-view of the houses and farms taken on the midway down the Phnom Krom hill.
Pic59. When R and V suggested all of us to squat down in order to have a good picture of the background, but then they said, “Ok folks! Let’s take picture with them squatting and we two standing”. Credits to J.
Pic60. Finally the bullies were squatting down too. Credits to J.
Pic61. We-fie! The sunray was too bright it had whitened out the background. Oh well, at least we have one we-fie there! Credits to J.
Pic62. The enormous and beautiful lotuses field lied across the side road from Phnom Krom to Siem Reap city.
Pic63. Y, squinting her eyes as the sun was shining so bright it hurt to just open the eyes LOL.
Pic64. V and J bro-hugging. I love the ombre blue sky captured in this photo.
Pic65. Horizontal shot of Y and I in the lotus field. Credits to A.
Pic66. Picking up one of the lotuses that was already lying on the ground for a snap.
Pic67. A kg of lotuses’ seeds bought by R.
Pic68. Walking through a narrow bridge on top of the crocodiles had surely gotten us (or me?) feeling a bit terrified.
Pic69. Guess how many crocodiles were in the J’s farm? 200 plus!
Pic70. Quoting from Y, ‘Not only man, crocodiles can also do bromance and this we shall call a crocodile-mance.” LOL!
Pic71. One of the crocodiles was crawling back to its solitary place where it would usually hatch the eggs. “It is a challenge to pick up their eggs. We have to have at least two workers to do it. The teamwork between the two and their skills play important parts. One will need to lure the crocodile out of its solitary place while the other has to quickly pick the eggs up,” explained J while walking us around the farm.
From the farm, we were taken back to the hotel. J immediately rushed out to attend to his work agenda, while A, Y, R, V and I continued the day by exploring the temples of Angkor, where the greatest concentration of archictectural riches in South East Asia are found. We booked a tuk-tuk (cost US$15 for one full day booking) to get us from one temple to another. Foreigners were required to purchase the admission tickets (the pass allowed the exploration of all temples of Angkor), therefore the first stop the tuk-tuk rider had brought us to was the Angkor Pass Office, located on the main highway to the Angkor Wat (Pic72). We purchased a one-day pass for US$37 per person. There were also flexible 3-day pass (valid for any 3 days within a week, cost US$62) and flexible 7-day pass (valid for any 7 days within a month, cost US$72) (Pic 73).
Pic72. The Angkor Admission Ticket Office, opens from 5am to 5.30pm daily.
Pic73. 1 day Angkor Pass purchased for US$37. A photo would be taken on the spot for the pass. Remember to bring passport as the officers will need to check it as well.
The first temple that we visited was Angkor Wat which we entered in via the Ta Kou or East Gate entrance (Pic 74-77). Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious building, measuring 1,626,000 m2 in total. It is the source of Khmer’s national pride and the epicenter of their civilization. Inside the temple complex, the enormous and intricately-carved bas reliefs illustrating scenes from Indian literature (designed to be viewed in an anti-clockwise direction) could be seen in all of the surfaces of the temples (Pic 79-80). The upper level of Angkor Wat is open for pilgrims and we had queued for 30 minutes under the hot raging sun to be able to go in (Pic78 & pic 82). During the queuing, I noticed that the stairways we were about to climb up was made of woods, instead of the sandstones; the material in which the temples had been constructed of. The wooden stairs which was mounted on top of the original stairs wasn’t as steep as the original stairs. It was there to help preserve the original stairs and to allow people to climb to top safely (Pic81). Fun facts: the very steep stairways were believed to represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods by the Hindus.
Pic74. A tranquil lake at the East Gate entrance to Angkor Wat.
Pic75. Ruins seen at the East Gate entrance.
Pic76. Making a memory before entering the Angkor Wat. We wanted to take a we-fie but V had probably taken too many photos in Angkor Wat in the past that he offered to help us take the pic instead. Look at Y’s hilarious expression when the bully R suddenly pushed her! LOL. Credits to V.
Pic77. Sneaky Y was photobombing my solo pic in front of the temple! Credits to A.
Pic78. We had to queue to go to the upper level of Angkor Wat. It was such a shame that I didn’t take a wider shot to show you how long the line was.
Pic79. The beautiful bas-relief of apsara (celestial dancers) in Angkor Wat.
Pic80. Another intricate carving of dancing apsara on a lintel. Did you notice the crack at the right corner?
Pic81. One of the inaccessible steep sandstone stairs in the temple.
Pic82. Taking a quick snap after it was our turn to climb up to the upper level of Angkor Wat. Credits to A.
Standing atop, the view of the temple’s structures with its surrounding magnificent forest had stopped our sweat away with a stunned admiration. A yellow-colored hot-air balloon was spotted floating mid-air at west side of temple complex; beautifying the scenery even more (pic 83). Admittedly, the view on top had also allowed us to look in details on the overall structures of the temples that were noticeably decaying (Pic 84). Some areas of the temple were seen to be under constructions (Pic85). There were no man-made lights other than the sunlight that shone through every window and cloister, explaining why the temple is open only until 05.30 pm, considering it is too dangerous to walk in the dark at night. Numerous outdoor spaces with tall strongholds and small corridors connecting one walkway to another within the temple had made Angkor Wat looked like a gigantic labyrinth.
Pic83. A yellow-colored hot-air balloon was spotted floating mid-air at west side of temple complex; beautifying the scenery even more.
Pic84. The views from top had allowed us to look in details on the overall structures of the temples that were noticeably decaying.
Pic85. One of the areas that was under reparations.
On our way to West Gate (aka Angkor Wat Entrance), we passed by the central courtyard, where a shrine with a tall Hindhu God statue was placed (Pic86). The pilgrims were seen praying devotedly and the monks were giving their blessings to them. I decided to sit for a while in one of the corner pools (although the pools are no longer filled with water), taking in every detail – the size of enclosure, the airiness and ancient feeling, before continued walking out to the Terrace of Honor (pic 87-90). The Northern Reflection Pond in front of the temple could be seen on our right side. It is the most popular sunrise location in Angkor Wat because the sun that rises behind Angkor Wat will provide a silhouette of the temple against a colored sky. Beside the North Reflection Pond, the North and South Libraries could also be seen decorating the temple complex (Pic 91). To enjoy the Angkor Wat better, I advise ChoxChe-ers to enter the temple from the West Gate and slowly walk your way out to the East Gate. We only did the reverse as the road traffic to the West Gate was so bad due to the Khmer’s New Year.
Pic86. Vishnu, the Hindu God, dressed as Buddha.
Pic87. It was such an indescribable feeling to sit in one of the century old landmark corner pools. Credits to A.
Pic88. Taking a picture together with A in what used to be the pool side in Angkor Wat. Credits to Y.
Pic89. Walking out from East Gate to the Terrace of Honor. On our right side is the famous Northern Reflection Pond.
Pic90. Us in front of the Cruciform terrace. The crucifix shape isn’t that obvious unless viewed from above. Credits of my solo picture goes to A.
Pic91. The North and South Libraries in Angkor Wat.
Situated close to the Northern Reflection pond was the very busy market filled with vast variety of food, beverages, clothes and painting stalls. The popular street food of Khmers, such as cut sour fruits, exotic BBQ meats, fried crickets, bugs, cockroach, and worms were spotted there (Pic92-93). A was hungry due to the long walk that he bought the cut sour fruits for 3,500 Cambodian Riel. It consisted of different types of mango and ambarella that were sprinkled with chili, salt and sugar (pic94). I had tried one and in my opinion, the fruit was crunchy and juicy, some bites had a hint of sweetness and others were shrivelingly sour. After we did a short roundabout of the North side of temple, we finally dawdled back to the East Gate, where our Tuk-tuk had been waiting for us (Pic 95).
Pic92. The very busy market located near the Northern Reflection Pond.
Pic93. The popular street food of Khmers, such as exotic BBQ meats, fried crickets, bugs, cockroach, and worms.
Pic94. A bought the cut sour fruits for 3,500 Cambodian Riel. It consisted of different types of mango and ambarella that were sprinkled with chili, salt and sugar.
Pic95. Asking the help of people nearby to take a picture of us in the North side of the temple.
It was around 12 in the afternoon when we finished with Angkor Wat and we were starving. We headed to J’s restaurant which is located nearby the Angkor Wat, called the Palmboo (address: Sra Srang Village, Angkor Thom Commune, Siem Reap 8795, Cambodia) (Pic96). The restaurant serves Asian, Cambodian and vegetarian-friendly cuisines. There were many tourist foreigners seen during our visit. We certainly would not be able to get seated so quickly if it wasn’t because of J. The restaurant was so cooling and cozy as opposed to the hot and dry weather outside that it had made us felt so much better in an instant. For the lunch, we ordered for Siem Reap chicken soup (US$6.50), fried-mixed vegetables (US$5.50), fried hot basil with chicken (US$6.50), sweet and sour fried fish (US$10.00), and Khmer mixed fruit salad (US$2.50) (Pic 97). Among all the dishes, my favorites were the sweet and sour fried fish and the fried hot basil with chicken. The skin of the fish was so crispy with a very tender and juicy meat underneath (Yum yum yum!). The sweet and sour tamarind sauce served at the side was also superb and refreshing. For the fried hot basil with chicken, the taste was just so rich. The oil sauce in which the whole vegetables and chicken was covered in was totally delicious and addictive. With the excellent services (AC, Wi-Fi, and very friendly waiters) and reasonable prices, this place has totally got my recommendation! We wanted to pay for the lunch, but the waiter informed us that the lunch was on J’s treat (Once again we were so grateful for J’s benevolence!).
Pic96. The Palmboo Restaurant, located close to Angkor Wat temple. The restaurant serves Asian, Cambodian and vegetarian-friendly cuisines.
Pic97. Our lunch for Day 3 in Siem Reap: sweet and sour fried fish (US$10.00), fried hot basil with chicken (US$6.50), fried-mixed vegetables (US$5.50), Siem Reap chicken soup (US$6.50),and Khmer mixed fruit salad (US$2.50).
We rolled on our tuk-tuk to the next temple called the Ta Prohm temple, also known as the Tomb Raider temple (see pic98 for the street pictures taken during our tuk-tuk ride to this temple). Ta Prohm temple is a relatively smaller and (sadly) more wrecked temple than the Angkor Wat. The tree roots that are strangling and engulfing the surviving temple stones are the iconic features of Ta Phrom. Like Angkor Wat, there is a long stretch of entrance road leading to the Ta Phrom temple itself. We encountered a small tree that I believed had been intentionally grown in the middle of the road. The small tree was ostentatious as the road was surrounded only by the tall trees at both sides (Pic 99). We headed to the temple that was undergoing major restoration (a partnership-project between India & Cambodia) and continued walking in and out from one ruin to another. We spent some time exploring the area, before finally resting and sitting by the window frame which was made of stones. Behind us was a wall with diverse and beautiful carvings of Buddha. Small holes could be seen piercing in the wall and according to V, the holes was believed by some to be the places where the diamonds were engraved and used as lights back then; some however believed that the holes were the results of the gun shooting that happened during the Khmer Rouge days (Pic100-102).
Pic98. Compilation of street pictures taken during our ride to the Ta Phrom temple. Various kinds of fruits, such as mango, langsat, durian were sold on the street. Cattles, like chickens and oxes that walking around in the yard was a pretty common sight.
Pic99. With the surrounding tall trees at the road sides, this small tree in the middle of the road was very eye-catching!
Pic100. The tree roots that are strangling and engulfing the surviving temple stones are the iconic features of Ta Phrom, thus we shall include our faces in the frame! LOL. Credits of our picture together go to Y.
Pic101. Ruins from the Ta Phrom temple.
Pic102. Strolling around the temple before finally resting on the window ledge. Behind the window was a wall with beautiful carvings of Buddha. Though it might not be obvious from the picture, small holes were seen piercing in the wall. Some believed the holes were the places where diamonds were engraved and used as lights back then; some however believed that the holes were the results of the gun shooting that happened during the Khmer Rouge days.
From Ta Phrom, the tuk-tuk rider planned to take us to one more nearby temple; which I couldn’t recall the name of; before ending the day. However, the traffic was getting worse and we were stuck on the road for too long. The road leading to the main entrance of the temple had also been closed due to the on-going dancing event. By the police officer who was in charge of the gate closing, we were informed that tuk-tuk was not allowed to go in, therefore we should get off and walked to the main entrance. As it was quite a distance, we voted to skip visiting the temple and re-route to our next destination, which was the Phsar Chas Old Market (address: Psar Chas Road; opening hours: Daily 07:00 – 20:00). On our way to the market, a loud celebratory clamor was heard. Out of curiosity, I prompted V to ask the tuk-tuk driver on whether he knew what was happening. The Tuk-tuk driver told us that there was a bull racing competition going on. V then asked whether we would like to have a look on the event. ‘Of course!!’, I excitedly exclaimed. So, please kindly enjoy some shots that were taken during the event! (Pic103).
Pic103. Compilation of the shots taken during the bull racing event in Siem Reap.
It was around 5ish when we reached the old market (Pic104). The first stall that caught my attention was the stall that sold traditional medicines from animal preservation. A yellow bottle of preserved venomous scorpion and snake was among the clusters (OHMY!) (Pic105). After spending 30 minutes in the market, I finally came out with snacks that I would give as souvenirs for my friends in Singapore, such as durian candy bars, durian crackers and cassava chips (total cost US$15). Y ended up buying snacks, tea bags, and a postcard; she likes to collect postcard from all the places she has been to; while A bought a ton of refrigerator magnets; he said it was the simplest yet universal souvenirs to give when traveling. Actually I had a bad experience bargaining for the stuffs I wanted. The seller avoided eye-contact and even hand-gestured me to go away from her store. Therefore, my advice for ChoxChe-ers who happen to experience this bad treatment is to just move on to other shops. After all, there are plenty of stores that sell similar items in the market. Not to worry.
Pic104. The Phsar Chas Old Market in Siem Reap. You can find anything here: From fish, vegetables, T-shirt, dry snacks, to fish spa and even massage!
Pic105. Bottled snake and scorpion as traditional medicines.
We went back to the hotel and J took us to dine at a nearby Khmer Traditional BBQ restaurant called Damnak Meas (Address: Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia; open only in the evening) (Pic106). J introduced us to the various unique cuisines of Cambodia, such as stir-fried vegetables with ants, the cow’s innards with one additional external organ: penis, and the grilled beehive (Pic107). J explained that the cow’s innards and penis would taste better when eaten with fermented fish sauce, which was made by mixing the lemongrasses, chilies, limes, peanuts and fish fermented organs (Pic108). Honestly, the cow’s innards tasted okay and I did quite enjoy it. The tricky part came from the penis part though; it was so sticky, chewy and was oozing out pungent smell. Thankfully, it had tasted much better when dipped in the zesty lime of the fish sauce (ChoxChe ‘s rank of 6/10). For the beehive, there is a rule of eating it; once opened from its banana leaves, it is needed to be eaten right away. This is because the honey would get hardened when the temperature drops. It tasted very sweet with somewhat bitter taste that probably came from the barbeque charcoals. Though edible, the skin of the beehive had confused my palate due to its numerous tasteless layers (ChoxChe’s rank of 5.5/10). For the ants-fried vegetables, I would say it didn’t have any much different taste from the normal stir-fried vegetables with lime or lemon, except that it had a peculiar taste of iron (ChoxChe’s rank of 7/10). The dinner cost US$31.30 in total and we finally managed to treat J this time, though he had refused it adamantly (Pic106).
Pic106. Our Day 3 dinner was at the Khmer Traditional BBQ restaurant, Damnak Meas.
Pic107. Eccentric cuisines of Cambodia, such as stir-fried vegetables with ants, grilled beehive and cow’s innards with one additional external organ: penis.
Pic108. Mixing the fermented fish sauce with lemongrasses, chilies, limes and peanuts.
J planned to bring us to watch the infamous Phare Cambodian Circus Show after our dinner. However, we had to decline it as we had in advance booked the tickets online for tomorrow night. Didn’t know where else to go, one of us suggested to go clubbing instead. Honestly, I had never been to any club before but I thought it was a great idea. On our way to the club, we passed by the Bayon Temple which looked gobsmackingly beautiful at night with all the colourful lights lit up. J parked his car at road side to allow us to take some photos of it. There was extravagant New Year celebration and offerings in the entrance door of the temple. So many flowers and fruits were on the altar table and the devoted Khmers were sitting and posing for pictures in front of the altar (Pic109).
Pic109. Extravagant Khmer New Year celebration held in the entrance hall of beautifully lit Bayon Temple. So many flowers and fruits were on the altar table and the devoted Khmers were sitting and posing for pictures in front of the altar.
From Bayon, we had also stumbled upon an open-for-public traditional puppet show. Unfortunately, the show had ended by the moment we got off from the car (what a timing!). We wandered about the complex for a while and took pictures with the Guinness Book of Record attempt for the year, which was a giant ‘chapei dong veng’, a traditional two-stringed, long-necked guitar (Pic110). After taking several pictures, we went back to the parking lot, passing by dozens of street food sellers who had lined their carts around the complex gate. Amongst dozens of foods sold, there were cupcakes and balut; a popular Southeast Asian food (pic111). It is a developing bird (usually a duck) embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. I wanted to try the balut, but V advised me not to because it was unhygienic. Curiously, I looked up on the internet and found that most of balut reviewers were saying that it tasted like scrambled egg with a very faint hint of fishiness. This might be inherently due to the aquatic nature of the duck, or perhaps due to its embryonic state. For a less traumatic bite, many had advised to maintain the whole integrity of the egg after peeling and slurping any liquid. Fun facts: 1 balut egg contains 150% of the daily value of cholesterol for a person on a 2000 kilo-calorie diet. Therefore, please be mindful when taking this exotic food, guys!
Pic110. The Guinness Book of Record attempt for the year, which was a giant ‘chapei dong veng’, a traditional two-stringed, long-necked guitar.
Pic111. Amongst dozens of foods sold, there were cupcakes and balut; a popular Southeast Asian food. It is a developing bird (usually a duck) embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell.
The journey to the club continued unrelentingly, despite of the heavy downpour and bad traffics. It was at 12 midnight that we at last arrived at the club (Elite Disco Club; Address: Taphul Rd, Taphul Village, Svaydangkum Commune Siem Reap, Siemreab-Otdar Meanchey, Cambodia; opens daily at 7 pm till 3am) (Pic112). According to J, the club was relatively new in town and it was also his first time going there. Many young waiters and waitresses were working inside, the band was performing on stage enthusiastically, and the guesses; 90% were still teens; were dancing heartily on the dance floor. We drank a couple glasses of Angkor beer (many thanks to J who treated us for the drink) while chillaxing at a long C-shaped seat for 15 minutes. Since none of us had any plan to join the dance floor, I then suggested for us to head back to hotel and end the night, which all of them had also agreed on.
Pic112. Arriving at the Disco Elite Club at 12 midnight. Apparently the bad traffics and heavy downpour which accompanied our journey to the club couldn’t stop us from going there. LOL.
Expenditure for Day3: US$61.26
Day 4
Another beautiful day for us and as scheduled, we went to the Cambodia’s most sacred mountain, called the Kulen Mountain (aka Phnom Kulen). It is situated at the northeast of Angkor Complex and about 50km (30 miles) from Siem Reap town (around 2 hours driving time from the hotel). The mountain is only accessible for car to go up before 12 pm and to come down after midday. This is done to avoid the collision between vehicles from opposite direction on the narrow paths. I seriously do not recommend ChoxChe-ers to drive there if you are still amateur drivers. We expected the air to be clearer and fresher the higher up we went, but on the contrary, the air was getting dustier. Take a look at the pic113 that I captured on our way to the mountain as well as the color of the leaves at the roadside (pic114). They were not the gold leaves, but normal green leaves that were covered in dust; I actually did ask whether those were gold leaves.
Pic113. Narrow path leading to the Kulen Mountain.
Pic114. Gold leaves or leave covered in dust?
Before entering the Kulen Mountain area, we stopped by the ticket counter to purchase the admission ticket for US$20 dollars per person. Opposite to the ticket counter was a small shop selling a variety of snacks. J went there to buy a pack of roasted lotus seeds for us to have a try (Pic115). The seed was so hard and I bet even the strongest teeth would not be able to chew it off in a single bite; I almost lost my gum trying to do so. The right way to eat it is actually to suck on it until it gets softened, then slowly bite it bit by bit. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed the hard texture of the seeds, but the spices in which they were roasted with was quite savory (ChoxChe’s rank of 5/10). After reaching, we got off from the car and walked to the wooden tent that J had booked for us nearby the Waterfall. We went there to make sure that we had the tent under J’s name before visiting the nearby temples (Pic116).
Pic115. A small pack of roasted lotus seeds that was bought in the shop opposite to Kulen Mountain Tickets Counter.
Pic116. Walking from parking place to the wooden tent, passing by lines of souvenir shops and a small river.
The first temple we visited was the Preah Ang Thom 16th monastery. The wat houses ancient scripts and an 8 meter tall statue of the reclining Buddha. As per custom, we took off our sandals before entering the temple. A lady had helped to keep a watch on our sandals; it is up to peoples to give her however much they want and each of us gave U$2. The reclining Buddha is placed inside the wooden house (I am still puzzled of how a house made of wood could support this heavy statue) that is accessible by a small and steep sandstone stairs. The queuing line to the house was quite long, considered that it was still during Khmers New Year when we visited. Inside, we could see that the pilgrims were asking blessings from a monk who was sitting on the wooden floor. There were also many people who were giving offerings around the reclining Buddha statue. J had passed us some of Cambodian Riels and asked our help to place the money that he was going to donate around the statue. Please take a look at Pic117 for compilation of photos taken in the temple.
Pic117. Visiting the Preah Ang Thom 16th monastery that houses an 8 meter tall statue of the reclining Buddha.
On our way out of the temple, we noticed there were many beggars sitting on the sides of the temple stairway; there were already a few when we came but the number had doubled up since (Pic118). Vendors were also getting more in number; one that had caught my attention was a middle-age guy who was selling the innards, tails and head of a buffalo on an orange-clothed table (Pic119). It was quite an exceptional view for me and I was taking a picture of it, when J suddenly asked whether we would like to have the glutinous rice balls that were sold just opposite of that buffalo vendor. Although we said we didn’t want it, J still bought it for us anyway. We got to see how the vendor made the glutinous rice balls from scratch (Pic120). First, she rolled the dough into small balls and made an indent with her thumb before filling each of the balls with brown sugar. Then she enclosed them back and boiled them in hot bubbling water. For the last touch, the flesh from a coconut was grated on top of the cooked rice balls. The glutinous rice balls were thick and a little bit chewy. I could distinctively taste the blandness from the dough and the sweetness from the brown sugar filling. Though the brown sugar hadn’t melted fully, it was still yummy (ChoxChe’s rank of 8/10).
Pic118. Many beggars were sitting on the sides of the temple stairway.
Pic119. The innards, tails and head of a buffalo sold on an orange-clothed table.
Pic120. The making of glutinous rice balls.
Second place we visited was the river of thousand lingas, also known as Kbal Spean River (Pic121). The river, which is regarded as holy, is located on the top southwest slopes of the Kulen Hills (opens from 8am to 3.30 pm). The site features impressive riverbed rock carvings that sit on the bottom of a stream from which water flows year round. The carvings represent fertility and have included innumerable scores of Yoni (female genitalia in Sanskrit),lingas (phallic symbols of Hindu god Shiva) and bas relief images of Hindu gods and goddesses. The river, being sanctified by flowing over the religious sculptures, flows downstream, bifurcating into the Siem Reap River and Puok River, which eventually flows into the Tonlé Sap Lake; Cambodia’s biggest lake; after passing through the plains and the Angkor temple complex. While walking alongside the 1000 lingas river, we stumbled upon a beautifully-decorated wooden swing which was hanging on a big tree. Thinking that it was a free tourist attraction, I happily sat on the swing and took a picture there (Pic122). A middle-aged woman suddenly approached me and with her friendly smile she offered a flower crown that was hanging on the small branch of the tree. Because of that, I realized that the swing was not a free spot for picture-taking. Embarrassedly, I rejected her offer and apologized politely afterwards.
Pic121. The river of thousand lingas, also known as Kbal Spean River. The river features impressive riverbed rock carvings that represent fertility and have included innumerable scores of Yoni (female genitalia in Sanskrit),lingas (phallic symbols of Hindu god Shiva) and bas relief images of Hindu gods and goddesses.
Pic122. Sitting on a beautifully-decorated wooden swing which was hanging on a big tree. Credits to A.
We trekked back to the wooden tent, passing by a couple of vendors selling a variety of street foods, such as fried prawns, waffles, BBQ bananas and sugar cane bamboos; V and R had bought each of the aforementioned snacks (Pic123). Back to the tent, J immediately ordered lunch from the food store located opposite to our wooden tent. We also bought 24 bottles of water (that we didn’t finish drinking and kept some back to the hotel) from another vendor nearby (cost US$7.50). BBQ chicken, stir-fried sweet and sour green mango, fried fish, stir-fried vegetables, sweet and sour veg soup with pork, lap cheong (Chinese sausage) and some fermented stuffs that were covered in banana leaves (I can’t remember what it was but I did recall it smelled fishy, hard and tasted very salty; Choxche’s rank of 4/10) were in our sumptuous lunch list that afternoon (cost US$41.5)(Pic124). Everything, except the BBQ chicken and the stir-friend green mango which were superbly yummy (ChoxChe’s rank of 9 /10), tasted just fine. One dish that puzzled me was the fried fish (which btw still had many scales on its skin) as it tasted bland even with a fistful of coarse salt sprinkled all over it (ChoxChe’s rank of 6 out of 10). After done with lunch, V and R offered me the snacks they had bought earlier. Though I couldn’t eat any more food, I still managed to try the BBQ banana. To my disappointment, the banana was hard and sweet-less, with a dominant bitter taste that probably came from the charcoal ash (ChoxChe’s rank of 3/10).
Pic123. Street foods, such as fried prawns, waffles, BBQ bananas and sugar cane bamboos.
Pic124. The overwhelming lunch in Phnom Kulen: BBQ chicken, stir-fried sweet and sour green mango, fried fish, stir-fried vegetables, sweet and sour veg soup with pork, lap cheong (Chinese sausage), some fermented stuffs that were covered in banana leaves (I can’t remember what it was), and snacks bought from the street: fried prawns, waffles, BBQ bananas and sugar cane bamboos.
After done with lunch, we strolled down to the waterfall, by-passing a small river and steep stairs. One thing that I noticed there (and also actually in other places for the past few days in Cambodia), was that the Khmers like to chillax in their hammocks and enjoy picnicking very much (Pic125). Our plan was to dip in the water and play there for a while. However, it was too crowded and the water wasn’t as clear as we expected it to be. So we chose to just stand at the side and enjoy the scenery (pic126). Nearby the waterfall, there was a small wooden house that reminded me so much of the houses in the “Lilo And Stitch” movie; probably because it looked something Hawaiian (pic127). After satisfied with the beautiful waterfall scenery, we drove down to city and made a visit to the massage place called the Health Land Angkor Spa (Address: NR6, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia; opens from 09 am till 12 midnight) (Pic128). Hadn’t even stepped in to the place, we were notified by the receptionist that there were not enough masseuses for us. Thus, J pivoted around to another massage home that he had often gone to, called the Chai Relaxation Massage (Address: Charles De Gaulle, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia; opens from 10am till 10pm). The price for Chai Original Massage was US$30 for 2 hours and all of us had opted for that (except R and J who went out to the coffee shop nearby). In the end, each of us only paid for US$15. ”Because you are J’s friends and J has our membership card”, explained the receptionist when asked on the reason for charging us only half-price. It was so unexpected and we were certainly so grateful. The greeting area of massage place was so picturesque with lots of vintage stuffs on display. The massage room was cozy and modest with massage mattress on the floor. According to J, the owner of the massage place is a Japanese, thus the massage technique is of the combination between Japan’s and Cambodia’s. The massage was truly a soul and body relieving! I would definitely come back again if given the chance (Choxche’s rank of 9/10) (Pic129).
Pic125. Chillaxing in hammocks and picnicking were a common scenes in Cambodia.
Pic126. Climbing down the steep stairs to the Kulen Waterfall which had been invaded by our species LOL. Credits of my solo picture go to A.
Pic127. A small wooden house that gave the Hawaiian-vibe near the waterfall.
Pic128. Driving down to the Health Land Angkor Spa from Kulen Mountain. Sadly, there were not enough masseuses for us in there.
Pic129. Moving on to another massage place called the Chai Relaxation Massage. The greeting area of massage place was filled with instagram-worth vintage decoration. The massage room was cozy and modest with massage mattress on the floor.
From the massage place, A, Y and I went back to the hotel for a quick bath, before hopping on tuk-tuk to our next destination, the Brown Coffee shop (Address: Taphul Rd, Siem Reap, Cambodia; opens daily from 06.30 am till 10 pm). V recommended the coffee house as it was claimed to be the “Starbucks” of Cambodia by the locals. After we arrived at the café, A ordered a cup of coffee latte for US$2.4 and a chicken kiev pasta for US$4.25. I was sharing dinner with Y for a plate of meat ball potanesca for US$4.00, a cup of cold brown delight coffee for US$2.95, a three-chocolate cake for US$2, and a palm espresso for US$2.95 (I paid US$6.00 as the sharing food cost US$11.90 in total). The café was spacious with a modern interior and provided great ambience. Many youngsters with laptops were seen surfing and chatting in the café. For the food and beverage-wise, I would say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. For one, the coffee tasted too sweet and was lacking the coffee aroma; it was more like a chocolate drink honestly. Secondly, the food tasted just fine and the chocolate cake was just overly sweet. However, as the café really had a lively atmosphere, I would give it a ChoxChe’s rank of 6.5 out of 10 (Pic130).
Pic130. Having dinner in the Brown Coffee Café before watching Phare, the Cambodian Circus.
From the café, we bounced on the same tuk-tuk to the last place of the day, Phare the Cambodian Circus (Address: Phare Circus Ring Road, south of the intersection with Sok San Road, Siem Reap, Cambodia; opens daily from 8am to 8pm) (the total cost for tuk-tuk ride back and forth the hotel was US$9). Y had helped us bought the tickets online for seats at section B (open seating in the rear three rows of the middle section) for US$25 per person (here’s to provide the ChoxChe-ers the ticketing and reservation website: https://pharecircus.org/schedule-rates/reservations-and-ticketing/details/59800/siem-reap-phare-the-cambodian-circus-show-tickets/). We arrived at 7.15pm, 45 minutes earlier than the 8pm show. Therefore, we went to have a look at the boutique shop located behind the tickets counter (Pic131). There were antiques, postcards, bags, T-shirts, glasses, and sombai sold. Sombai is the Cambodian liquer which flavor comes from the infusion of fruits and spices to the alcoholic base. It came with beautiful hand-painted bottles that featured the trademarks of Cambodia, such as temples, traditional Khmer dancers, etc. I bought a postcard for US$1 as a memory and 4 bottles of sombai for US$40 (each for US$10). The flavors I chose were Lemon-lemongrass, Banana-Cinnamon, Coconut-Pineapple, and Umami. I can’t give my own review about the taste because I gave away all of them to my friends in Singapore. But don’t worry, I have searched the internet and found the website which will give the ChoxChe-ers a thorough information of each flavor (including the data about acidity and conservation years! Just click this link: http://www.sombai.com/en/our-products-made-in-siem-reap/the-8-flavours-a-must-do-in-siem-reap/).
Pic131. The Phare Boutique Shop behind the tickets counter.
The circus show started at 8pm sharp and we went in 10 minutes earlier. In the entrance door, a lady staff distributed the straw fans for every passing audience as the tent wasn’t equipped with AC. However, it was quite airy that night due to the rain, thus I didn’t need to fan at all. One problem though that bothered me was the mosquitoes bites. So if the Choxche-ers plan to go to watch the show, please apply mosquitoes repellant ahead. The performance was 2-hour long and it was a truly an epic piece of show. It had all the modern circus arts, such as acrobatics, aerial ballet, tightrope walking, vaulting, juggling, live music, live painting, and comedy combined in one to tell a heart-moving storyline. The show highlighted the long term effects suffered by the post-war victim named Sokha. Her memories of the Khmer Rouge combine with surreal visions and nightmares have created a distorted and dark reality for her. But through art, she discovers her strength and finds the tools to heal both herself and her community. The show is inspired by the real-life experience of the founders of Phare Ponleu Selpak NGO School (Pic132-136). I truly recommend ChoxChe-ers to watch the circus show, which by the way had also won the 2017 certificate of excellence from TripAdvisor! After taking a picture with the talented and humble performers, we hit the road back to the hotel and rest.
Pic132. In the beginning, the show started with the peaceful plot before the Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge Regime.
Pic133. Scenes depicting the rise of Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). Under the Marxist leader Pol Pot, millions of people were forced to work on communal farms. This had claimed the lives of up to 2 million people who died from overwork, starvation, disease and execution. The scenes show the young Sokha (the girl in pink) who is experiencing a series of nightmares from the war. She then gains the courage and tries to escape from the “ghost”(fear & trauma). The escape scenes resulted in an impressive dancing performance between her and the “ghost”. This is actually my favourite scene of all!
Pic134. Scenes depicting the post-Khmer Rouge, whereby Sokha (the girl at top) together with the community are reconstructing what was destroyed during the genocidal period.
Pic135. Sokha; who is getting older; helps the young and vulnerable youths through the art of circus. The scene ends with her being surrounded by all her beloved students.
Pic136. Taking a picture with the group of brilliant and talented Phare circus artists after the show has ended. Credits to A.
Expenditure for Day 4: US$102.80
Day 5
Early morning, A, Y and I went out to have breakfast at a café called The Hive (Address: 631 Central Market Street, Behind Riviera Hotel, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia; opens daily from 7am till 10pm)(the tuk-tuk ride cost US$2). The café is owned and run by two Australian expats who source their own beans and have a dedicated roaster down at Kampot. We were so looking forward to try their coffee, but what a luck did we have. The café was closed when we arrived, even though it said open online. From GPS, we then found a café located close to the Hive Café, called the Abba café (Address: 261, Group 10, Behind Angkor Art Center Market, Siem Reap 00855, Cambodia; opens daily from 7am till 10pm ). The Abba café was said to be open on internet and though we were skeptical with the information online, we had no choice other than to check it ourselves. You can’t imagine the relief brought when we saw that the café was indeed open from a distance. Abba café is a two-floored café, but the whole place was actually quite small (Pic137). There was only one guest excluding us when we came. The place was cozy and decorated with lovely ornaments. Since the breakfast set came with free drink (either tea or coffee), I only ordered the Omelet for US$5; the same with Y; while A had the fried noodles for the same price. While waiting for the food, I went to ask the barista about the location of the kitchen as I didn’t see one. The barista explained that only the coffee would be made in the café, while the food would be made at the Abba hotel opposite to the café. This probably explained the cold noodle and omelet served as the waiter couldn’t keep in sight the number of guests, thus had perhaps forgotten to deliver our food. Despite of the long waiting time and cold food, both the food and drink tasted fine (the tea was served warm). With cozy environment and generous food portions with reasonable prices, I would give the café a Choxche’s rank of 7/10. We spent one hour chit chatting there before walking back to the hotel.
Pic137. Having breakfast at the Abba Café on our last day in Siem Reap.
After packing all of our stuffs and bidding farewell to V and A who were going to Phnom Penh first before flying back to Singapore (we also asked them to send our huge thanks and regards to J), A, Y and I hopped on a 40-minute tuk-tuk ride to the Siem Reap International Airport (tuk-tuk cost US$10) (Pic138). A and I booked the same direct flight to Singapore and Y booked indirect flight from KL to Singapore. We parted our ways with Y at the custom check-in since her flight was one hour later than ours and her flight check-in counter wasn’t even opened yet. A and I had a dose of coffee and snacks in the airport café, (which name I couldn’t remember; A treated me for this! Thanks bro if you are reading this!)before flying off to Singapore. I guess the story for my 5 days and 4 nights in Cambodia ends here. Big shout-out to awesome J, V, R, A, and Y who had made this trip colorful and memorable!
Pic138. Siem Reap International Airport. Cya again some time in the future, Cambodia!
Expenditure for Day5: US$5.
Total Expenditure: US$257.46 + flight tickets S$427.19
*PS: Y is currently residing in US and she is also a travel blogger. Recently she had posted about Phare the Cambodian Circus. Please kindly look it up and show your support! Link: https://ylntan.wordpress.com/2018/01/14/the-ballad-of-tragedy-and-hope/
