Wannabe Tomb Raider: Phnom Penh

We soon found ourselves in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh after a seven hours bus ride from Siem Reap. The bus was comfortable and the drive was somewhat slow and very safe. We arrived near the Central Market where we took a tuk-tuk for USD2 to Mad Monkey Hostel. We checked in and was brought three floors up to our room (the bar was just a floor down).

It was late afternoon and we booked ourselves for a USD6 BBQ dinner at the hostel's bar. We took a short walk and found a stall which was selling baguette. We paid USD1 each and it was so delicious; except for the part where Tiffany swapped mine with her double dose of chillies! 

...baguette with lots of meat and vege...

My mouth was burning and I couldn't feel my lips as I took my last bite of the baguette. We went to the bar and had our free glass of Cambodia draft beer while we waited for our dinner to be served. Not long after, Maurice from Germany came and sat with us through dinner. We were introduced to Sam and another friend and later, we met with Alejandro whom we saw the day before in Bayon. We had a few glass of beer while enjoying our BBQ dinner. We even had a few shots! Much later that night, we had our game of beer pong!

...a game of beer pong...

...the traveller friends...

We called it a night at about midnight. We had a late morning the next day but I was worn out since the first day we arrived. We woke up rather late and I had a box of milk before we shared a tuk-tuk with two ladies from the UK to The Killing Fields. After putting on the audio device, I took a slow walk (following the numberings) and indulged myself with the history of this place. It was gruesome and sadness overwhelmed me.

...human skulls...

After almost two hours in The Killing Fields, we took a long ride back to town to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It was another gruesome experience.

...the barb wires to prevent suicides...

...one of the many classrooms where people were being tortured and left to die...

After an emotional tour in The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum, we went back to our hostel to grab ourselves some food and chilled before our Mekong River Cruise for sun set. A tuk-tuk came to pick us up from the hostel to the jetty and we were surprised to find out that we were the only ones in the cruise! *laughs*

...a long ride along Mekong River...

The sun was hidden behind the clouds, so no beautiful sunset shots *sob sob*

We walked down the Waterfront and into the Night Market. There were lots of stalls selling souvenirs and clothes and finally, we came to the food section where there were lots of mats on the floor. We walked a circle and bought some food for dinner and got ourselves a place to sit and enjoyed the dinner.

...take off your shoes, find a spot and eat away...

...FOOD!...

We had a long walk back to the hostel. The night was cold but it was a good walk and we called it a night as soon as we reached the hostel. We finally had a much longer and needed sleep before another day's walk in Phnom Penh.

The next day...

We found a small kopitiam and decided to give it a try. We ordered (dishes were not in English) and it was one of the best dishes we've had to far. After refueling ourselves over breakfast, we started our walk around the 'tourist spots' according to a map we bought the day before. We were supposed to visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda but unfortunately when we arrived, it was closed. So we walked straight to the National Museum and had a good tour in the museum. Coincidentally, we met three Sarawakians who were working with the Sarawak Museum and had a chat. The walk continued to Wat Phrom at the top of the hills and later we found a Maybank ATM where we took a bit of cash without any overseas charges *woohooo* and continued to the Central Market where we got ourselves some souvenirs!

...breakfast...

...National Museum...

...Wat Phrom...

...Central Market...

...Camburger...

It was the longest walk we ever had...many many kilometers around the city!

Our last day in Phnom Penh.

After packing up and checking out from our hostel, we took an early morning walk to the Independence Monument and had a quick bite before heading to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.

...the Independence Monument...

...us in our backpacks with a tuk-tuk...

...Silver Pagoda...

After the whole morning of walking back and forth, visiting the last few monuments in Phnom Penh, we went back to the hostel and got ourselves a glass of Cambodian draft while waiting for our trip to the airport.

...we are the mad monkeys...

It was an awesome six days in Cambodia and definitely will make a trip here again, but this time to Silhanoukville (for sun, sea, sand and diving, of course!). 

Wannabe Tomb Raider: Siem Reap

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!