This trip was planned sometime in October 2013. It was much of a random plan. It started with myself planning for a trip after my six month long project and it went on with some suggestions of having a girls' vacation to somewhere outside of Malaysia and finally, we booked out flight tickets to Siem Reap and our hostels for five nights in Cambodia.
Date was 15th January 2014.
It was the first flight from LCCT to Siem Reap. We reached the airport, checked in and had a quick bite in the departure hall. Flight was on time and I watched the sun rose from my seat. I managed to get a short nap before the pilot announced for landing.
...arrival card...
We filled up the arrival card, get our passport stamped and took a USD2 motorbike ride to The Mad Monkey Hostel where we checked in for USD12 in a double room with ensuite bathroom. We took breather before our very long and cold tuk-tuk ride to our first stop of the day. We didn't expect the cold weather and of course, we were not prepared for it. My lips were hardened and I could barely speak, but I enjoyed the whole ride.
...stalls along the road...
First stop of the day: Beng Mealea
We were recommended to visit this site by our motorcyclist. We paid USD40 for the whole day. We arrived at the temple site and there were lots of tourist around. The sun was shinning and I could feel some heat, alas! The temple was in ruins, beautiful ruins. We climbed over stones and ventured into the ruins.
...standing between the ruins...
...photo taken by our tour guide...
We spent close to an hour in the ruins before taking another long drive for hot lunch. We both had soup! After lunch, we took another tuk-tuk ride to Kampong Phluk for a boat ride. We were taken aback when we had to pay USD25 per person instead of USD8 which was written in a website. Owh well~
...the green paddy fields...
The tuk-tuk ride was bumpy! The butt hurts of course! When we arrived at the jetty, I was surprised when only both of us in one big boat. The boat ride was slow and there were nothing to see, only until the sight of wooden houses on stilts came in the picture. There were beautiful~
...houses on stilts in Kampong Phluk...
We arrived at the shop on the river and there were many women in small boats waiting by the side. We paid USD5 each and hopped into the small boat and paddled our way into the swamp. It was surreal. Mystical and enchanting.
...the ladies on sampans...
...as the sun sets in the swamp...
It was a breathtaking hour paddling in the swamp. We went back into our big boat and it brought us into Tonle Sap where we parked and waited for the sun to set. More boats parked around us. I sat at the bow and sat quietly, admiring the beauty of the lake.
...photo taken by our boatman...
It was a few minutes before the sun sets. We decided to take the boat back to the jetty and head back to our hostel. The view through the river was just amazing.
...a traditional house on stilt when the sun sets...
The road was dark. There were no streetlights. It was even colder than it was during the day. But the moon lit our way home.
...the fullmoon...
We arrived in our hostel, took a short breather and went to Top Banana Bar for our free Cambodian draft before having our dinner in a kopitiam by the roadside. We called it a night, but it was so noisy that I hardly slept that night...not to mention we had to wake up at 4am the next morning for the sun rise in Angkor.
We woke up early, took our hot shower and went on a tuk-tuk - freezing eventhough we were in our sweaters and scarfs - to Angkor Archeological Park. We paid USD20 per person and took a dark, mysterious walk and setup ourselves for the sun rise. I had a glass of hot chocolate while waiting for the sun to rise. People were crowding around me.
...the tourists waiting for sunrise...
...the sunrise in Angkor Wat...
After witnessing the sunrise, we had our breakfast before embarking on our Tomb Raider expedition. I was in awe. Every rock, every carvings, every statue amazed me. We walked, we climbed. We dwelled ourselves with history. We visited Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom and Bayon. There were a lot of walks and tourists left and right.
...Angkor Wat...
...Ta Phrom...
...Bayon...
Half a day gone, well-spent at Angkor Archeological Park. We took an extra tuk-tuk ride to the War Museum and had a good English tour about the country's past history, a very gruesome history but one which everyone must learn from. There were so many guns, armors, tanks.
...a piece of gun in the War Museum...
We took a few hours nap (napping in the afternoon is far more quieter than sleeping at night). It was already 7pm and finally we decided to take a walk to the Night Market just a street down from our hostel. There were so many souvenirs, food, massage parlors and everything is to bargain for!
...one of the Night Market street...
We had our snacks and dinner before buying some souvenirs and seeing some snakes, tarantulas and bugs on a wooden cart. We had to call it a night and I dredged the noisy music but apparently, I fell asleep soonest my head hit the pillow.
The next day, we woke up to an early breakfast of Luk Lak...absolutely delicious, I must say! We checked out and took the 7 hour bus to Phnom Penh.
...Luk Lak...
Siem Reap was great!
I definitely would love to come back to Siem Reap for more adventure!
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