Cambodia - where we stay

The places we stayed in Cambodia:

First 3 days, we stayed in a cheaper guest house - "Palm Garden Lodge". It only costs us USD15 per nite for a twin sharing air-cond room. The room is clean and cosy. But then the air conditioner in my room was not working very well and it took a long time to cool down the room.

It is quite near to old market and Pubstreet of around 10 mins walk. There is also a 24 hour convenience shop nearby. However part of the road leads to the guesthouse is bumpy and the condition becomes terrible if it rains. The guesthouse also provides services like arranging for tour guide and transport. The owner could speak moderate good english and all of them are very helpful.

Then we moved to a more luxurious 4 stars hotel - Somadevi. It is really worth the price to stay in this 4 stars hotel -SGD$53 per nite only! The room comes with balcony and pool view. It is really very comfortable and we have American buffet breakfast in the morning.

It takes only 5 minutes walk to center market. It is further away from the old market and pub street, but still within walking distance of ard 15 min. I tried to ask this hotel to arrange tour for us but I discovered that the price they quoted was quite high. Eventually, I still turned to Palm Garden Lodge for help. I was very impressed by the guesthouse because they were still willing to do it even though we were no longer staying there.

Overall, we have made the right choice.

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 5 - 19/5

The focus of Day 5, was the Floating Village on Tonle Sap Lake which is the largest fresh water lake in Asia. According to the tour guide, floating village is the poorest region in Cambodia. Those people stay in the village are mainly Cambodian and Vietnamese who run across the border.

Tonle Sap Lake viewed from the plane

On the way to the floating village, we passed by the rural area of Siem Reap. Look at the houses they stay. It is even smaller than the single room I have. But it is true, we saw it by our eyes where the whole family stayed in the little hut with no electricity and fresh water. They were still using battery to generate power.

The houses in the rural area

We were on the boat... Ready to go!

The school on the lake

While the boat was moving (we had not reach the central of the village yet), there was one little boy of around 5 years old rowed towards our boat in his pathetic basin. He managed to hold on to our boat (the boat was still moving!) and refused to let go. He asked for money. I only gave him candies. I am not sure if my friends gave him money or not. But personally I feel we shouldn't because once you give him money, you are encouraging him to do it more oftenly.

Another family who chased after our boat. Our boat was moving so fast using motor but the little girl used her hands to row. She was so skinny. How much strength does she have? Yet she did not give up. Eventually she reached us.

Another one. The brother was trying to sell us soft drinks. Look at the little girl. Do you see the python on her body?

I really felt very bad to see that scene. I did not even dare to go near to her because I was scared of the snake too. So I gave the candies to Wantan and asked him to pass it to the girl. Then Wantan held the candies and stunned for a while. I reminded him about the candies and he told me that he did not know what to do. I believe that everyone on the boat at that time, felt sad for this girl.

The colour of the water in the lake around that region similar to the "Milo" we drink. The people there throw their waste into the water. At the same time, they wash their clothes, rear the fish and cook using the lake water. SIGH.......................

The floating village is a must-go place if you go to Siem Reap. You know how how fortunate you are when you see them. Next time, if you really have chance to go there, please bring along your old clothes which you want to throw away to give to the people there.

My Birthday @ Cambodia - 18 May 2008

The midnight, we went to the popular nightclub in Siem Reap, Sok San. That was also where Dear and my friends celebrated my 24th birthday with me. Not only them, but some of the staffs in the club, like the girls and manager also joined in.

Look at the "cake"... It was a box of candies!! Dear said that they could not find a cake at that time ; )

U know who is drunk?

The next day in the hotel when Michelle was back to join us...

My birthday cake

The group photo

Million thanks to all of my great friends!! Haha I know you all have been working very hard to give me surprise. Indeed that was really a very special birthday where first time I celebrated birthday in nightclub and hotel; the first time I had a special "cake" and also the first time you guys celebrated birthday for me.

Also not forgetting my hometown friends - Sim Yee, Doreen, Khim Kee and Hwee Ting who never fail to remember my birthday and I still received your birthday wishes while I was overseas. Oh Ya... thanks Kuan Nee and Megan!! I got your sms too ; ) Lastly, thanks to Ker Peng and Yun Ying for the dinner treat!

I am glad that my birthday will never be a lonely one with all these friends around me. Of course, I also have a lovely boyfriend, my dear Tyng Tze who is always there to celebrate with me in the past 4 years. I am really lucky.

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 3 - 17/5

Temples again... Haha I sound a bit boring here right... Even though we have visited the most famous temples on the first day, but actually there are also some smaller temples worth seeing.

Vandalism! We pushed the wall down...

Neak Pean was the magical hospital where the waters were thought to have healing properties. The central temple is surrounded by 4 smaller pools where people can ask for power, wisdom, health etc.

East Mebon is a large temple-mountain-like ruin, rising three levels and crowned by five towers. Do you note the difference of this temple from others? No? See carefully... This temple was actually built with bricks instead of stones!!

It's bricks!!!

Model of the Year - Mr. Wantan

Banteay Srey displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art. The walls are densely covered with some of the most beautiful, deep and intricate carvings of any Angkorian temple. The temple's relatively small size, pink sandstone construction and ornate design give it a fairyland ambiance.

The beautiful carvings

The pink lady @ pink temple

On the way back, we dropped by at the Landmine Museum. Land mines, laid by the Khmer Rouge, the Heng Samrin and Hun Sen regimes, the Vietnamese, the KPNLF, and the Sihanoukists litter the countryside during the period of war. It is generally accepted that more than 40,000 Cambodians have suffered amputations as a result of mine injuries since 1979. That represents an average of nearly forty victims a week for a period of twenty years.

In the evening, we went back to the mountain near Angkor Wat. We climbed up the mountain and also the temple above the mountain in order to wait for the sunset. Who knows...

It was not easy to climb up...

Look at the sky...raining signs

JUMP!!!

to be continued...

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 2 - 16/5

We woke up early in the morning at 4am in order to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. However the driver was late! Fortunately we were just in time but due to cloudy sky, the sunrise was not as beautiful as I expected. Anyway it was still worth for us to wake up so early for the nice scenery around Angkor Wat in the morning.

The reflection of Angkor Wat on the water surface

Group photo (7 of us traveled together for the first few days as Michelle and Bernard left for Phnom Penh)

The children were playing at Angkor Wat Temple (6++am)

After breakfast, we went to Angkor Thom. It is a walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire. There are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the Royal Palace area. Each gate is crowned with 4 giant faces.

Picture was taken outside one of the gates

Bayon is situated at the middle of the Angkor Tom city. Bayon was the Jayavarman VII's state-temple. There are 37 standing towers, most but not all sporting four carved faces. The best of Bayon are the bas-reliefs on the exterior walls of the lower level and on the upper level where the stone faces reside. The bas-reliefs on the southern wall contain real-life scenes from the historical sea battle between the Khmer and the Cham. Even more interesting are extensive carvings of unique and revealing scenes of everyday life that are interspersed among the battle scenes, including market scenes, cockfighting, chess games and childbirth.

Bayon - the state temple

The blue shirt that Dear wore matched the scene prefectly

Terrace of the Elephants is an impressive, two and a half-meter tall, 300 meter long terrace wall adorned with carved elephants and garudas that spans the heart of Angkor Thom.

After that, we continued our journey with another temple which I forgot the name. However in order to see this temple, we had to climb up the very steep stairway. I was really scared at that time as the slope of stairway is definitely more than 60 deg and the height is around 3 levels.

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. The famous movie "Tomb Raider" was shooted in this temple.

First time I saw such huge roots

In the evening we were back to Angkor Wat. Look at the crowd...

Cambodia: Siem Reap - Day 1 - 15/5

We departed from Changi Airport at 6am to Siem Reap on 15th May. Let's look at who are the group members.

(from left) Wantan, me and Tyng Tze

Vui Yang, Wen Keat and Chee Von


Michelle and Bernard

The flight took 2 hours and we reached Siem Reap Airport at local time 7am (ya there is a hour difference between Singapore and Cambodia time).

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For the first 3 days of the trip, we stayed at Potted Palm Garden, which is a guesthouse near to old market. The guesthouse is kind enough to provide free transport to fetch us from airport. We had our first "Tuk-tuk" ride in Siem Reap!

The free "Tuk-tuk" from the guesthouse

Welcome drinks were served upon arrival

The places we visited on the first day:

1. The Old Market

It is actually the local market where vegetables, meats, fishes and fruits are sold to local people. My impression of the market: crowded, noisy, smelly and a lot of funny stuffs are sold including crocoaches. The most terrible thing is, the food stalls are just beside the stalls selling fishes and meat. It was so smelly and yet they still could EAT.

2. Hotel De La Paix

This is the most expensive hotel in the town. A room per night costs USD300.

Me, posed at the lobby for picture

The hanging bed, for dining

Beauty and the Beasts ; )

Beasts in the garden

3. The Angkor National Museum

We did not go in actually HAHA... the ticket is a bit too expensive.

4. The local market beside Mekong River

The above picture shows the local "cinema". A shop with fan, a few chairs and different programmes were played concurrently.

5. Apsara Dance and Buffet Dinner