On our final day, we made a stop at one of the orphanages with respect to Wen Yan’s request. Wen Yan who is Angeline’s ex uni mate was in Cambodia a few weeks before us but she didn’t have the chance to donate. So in return, we were commissioned to carry out her task, lol.

Of course giving cash wouldn’t be the ideal thing. We instead went to a nearby market to buy 100kgs of rice. The seven of us too chipped in to round up the cash so we could get 100kgs. Siya then brought us to this orphanage which was quite near to the place we stayed.

We arrived without informing their caretaker as there weren’t any phone in the house and so he curiously greeted us. We mentioned our intentions and he gladly brought us around the compound. It was like a mini-tour. They have a small classroom in the compound and also their own farm for them to grow their vegetables. We were also shown the rooms of the children and it was definitely small judging from the amount of children that gathered in front of us. Besides that, one of the girls was diagnosed HIV+. We were told that her school knows about it and they are trying their best to give her a normal environment, just like any other kid.

After placing the bags of rice at the kitchen, the children starting singing to us

This all happened after we returned from a long hike up the hill to see the river of the 1000 lingas.

We had to wake up early as the journey to the hill was quite a distance and since there were a few temples on the way, i thought it would be wise to include it into our itinerary. The name of the place is Kbal Spean.

The roads were not forgiving throughout the 1hour plus journey. It wasn’t tarred like the major roads in Siem Reap.

When we arrived, i noticed …

this super …

duper …

large …

weed!

Well you might not be able to tell the size of it from this photograph, so i had to make a simple comparison.

Ai Ling vs Super Lalang.

The hike to the River of 1000 lingas.

If you are not outdoorsy kinda person, you might as well skip this part of the trip but if you would like to see how the 1000 lingas came about and why are they even there, then by all means go to Kbal Spean. It was said that the 1000 lingas were at the river bed so that the water is fertilized before being irrigated to the rice fields.

On the way down, we saw a tree which had it’s branches all over the place and it gave  that rattan chair look. Or probably it looked more like a throne made out of branches.

When we reached the foot of the hill, Siya mentioned that lunch was on the house ! and it was thanks to Mr Kunn !

Being on a budgeted/backpack trip, it’s always GOOD to have free things, especially food. Because places like Kbal Spean which is far from the main town, the price could be a bit steep.

For some reason, someone decided to show his true colours and started complaining about the variety of food -_-!

The food was free and he is complaining. Gosh, i really would love to see him pay more for all his future trips and then i will see who is complaining. This actually made me appreciate the girls more. Instead of having a hard time with the girls but i had zero complains from them.

Simply shows that the world is changing and guys can be as annoying as how girls were thought to be.

Anyway that didn’t deter me because it was the final day and i definitely wanted to enjoy myself.

*stays positive* oumm oummm oummmmmm

After lunch we continue on to a few more temples on the way back. These temples were slightly newer than the ones nearer to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.

After viewing the final temple which is probably the most modern out of the lot (you can see it’s made out of proper red bricks), we headed back to refresh ourselves.

We then adjourned to a nearby massage center for a full body massage. After 5 days of walking which included a crazy bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap for 8 hours, we definitely deserved a full body massage. Of course all these were pre-planned before we arrived in Cambodia. Ai Ling was initially reluctant to do so but after convincing her that it was damn expensive to have the whole massage parlour to ourselves, she finally gave in. Hehehehe.

We all had our legs washed first before being ushered upstairs.

The guys in one room and the girls in the other. On the mattresses were PJs for us to change into. I tried setting a timer for my trusty iXus but i was too slow and thus the awkward looking pose -_-!

I thought i felt all my limbs being dislocated and repositioned during the massage. We were even stepped on by the Cambodian ladies, LOL. What an experience. Of course, this can’t beat what Chiaw Yin went through, which was a spa treatment. Gila sial.

After the massage we went back to wash up again for dinner and just before dinner, that’s when we dropped by the orphanage as above.

Before leaving for Cambodia, we all agreed to actually eat lavishly on the final night and that’s what we did exactly. We were spoilt by the choices of eatery at PubStreet. This is a definitely recommended place for anyone who drops by Siem Reap. It’s just a road filled with different types of restaurants and the ambiance is really nice.

We dropped by the night market again to do some last minute shopping before heading back to Jasmine Lodge to call it a day.

The next day we had to wake up early and it was clear that everyone was kinda reluctant to leave.

Everything definitely went according to plan and this definitely wouldn’t have happened if there weren’t AirAsia in the first place. The only reason the whole trip was conceived in the first place was because we managed to get cheap tickets.

For those who plan to visit Cambodia and have the intention to drop by at both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, i would highly recommend to go to Phnom Penh first then followed by Siem Reap

With this, i am happy to say the Chronicles of Cambodia has finally come to an end !

You can find all entries on Cambodia with the following link

The Chronicles of Cambodia

I suddenly had the inspiration to blog about Cambodia again after Chiaw Yin passed a very random statement over on Facebook.

“Mr Shiya is very good”.

I was cracking my head on who is this fella and why is she telling me this. Then it clicked me ! Mr Shiya aka Siya was our tourguide in Siem Reap and i used to call him as Ya. I knew Chiaw Yin was in Siem Reap not long ago but i never knew she also got him as her guide.

The best part was, she said he still remembers me ! ^.^

But to be frank, he is one hell of a guide, to be honest. Though we occasionally teach him the wrong things in Hokkien, hahahaa. I really hope the guide i am getting in Indonesia would be as good and enthusiastic as Siya

Back to my writing, I am still in 3rd day of Siem Reap of the 4 days we were there. The picture above shows a note from one of the kid saying she isn’t well to do and she supports the family by selling books. The thing about the kids, they really look pitiful but if you don’t play their game then you will just end up being cursed. As for the books, after closer inspection you would noticed that it’s photocopied. Just the cover is coloured. So yeah bargain hard.

We were back in Angkor Wat after having breakfast in Jasmine Lodge. By this time around in the day you would see plenty of tourists flocking by the bus loads to the main entrance. Security is tight as usual. So it’s advisable to keep your daily pass properly at all time.

Sometimes i wondered how the people of the that time used the stairs ? Were they all using their four limbs like Emily and Ai Ling ? Btw, this is the library. For some reason, this is the only part of Angkor Wat that i can remember well. LOL my memory damn bad T.T

The women in this trip are really hardy women, hahaha. No joke. I was worried at the beginning on how would they handle such situation where dust, heat and walking are common in this trip. Cha Bo power, rofl. For their hardiness, the upcoming trip to Bali should be a little challenging. Let’s see how the sister no. 1,2 and 3 handle

We were in Angkor Wat until late evening before heading back to wash up.

For dinner, we were brought to Amazon Angkor Restaurant. Here the dinner served is buffet style and there’s a huge variety of food but the main attraction is the performance. Different styles of dance by the locals are performed during the whole course of the dinner. It’s kinda touristy and commercialized so it may not appeal to those who only wants hardcore local standards.

As for me i loved it. I mean after walking like cow for hours, i just wanted to sit and enjoy my food with some ambiance and this place was perfect.

After dinner we went for walk walk at their night market. Everyone started to unleash their bargaining skills, buying what they could afford. Price wise it’s really cheap, especially when you buy in a big quantity. So if you are in group, gather a few to buy.

But if the price doesn’t appeal to you, you can try the stalls out of the night market. Since they are slight out of the main area, they would be able to lower down even more. But if that also not good enough for you, then just go to the old market place. You can get shirts are 2ringgit there, lol. The down side is the place starts to close down at 9.30pm unlike this Night Market. Further more the atmosphere here is much better.

Before heading back to call it a day, we headed to the local so called pub. I had their Angkor beer but Aaron decided to do one better

Baliksssss to hibernate !

The next day would be our final day in Cambodia !

Stay tuned !

I am finally BACK ! I am BACK blogging. Curse facebook and twitter for taking up my blogging time, LOL. Anyway i am back here to finish off my Cambodia entries with the second last entry which is basically the 2nd last day in Siem Reap. For some reason i think it was a bad idea shooting this particular shot in sepia cause it emphasizes how dirty the hands were.

If you didn’t already know, the egg looking thing in the plate my friend is the unborn ducky -_-!

It’s known as Balut in the Philippines.

We didn’t actually plan to do this but so happened a lady cycled passed us and asked in Cambodian if we would like try. Our guide, Siya then stopped her and said he would have one. Thus giving us the opportunity to see how she prepares. From cracking the egg, to digging out the duck and serving with certain leaves and ginger.

Sister number 1 was terrified seeing the duck on her plate. HAHAhaha.

Siya showed us how to eat it and then he explained why people in Cambodia resorted to eating fried insects, unborn ducks, etc. It all started off with a certain regime taking over the whole country and the people were left to starve for food. Thus most of them resorted to insects to fill up their hungry tummies. Of course time flew by but the habit or crave for insects never left, thus you see many roadside vendors selling fried insects and also unborn ducks.

This is why i love traveling, you always gain something from a trip especially when you are backpacking. Experiencing what the normal people have to go through would definitely open our eyes bigger and thanking for what we have.

Imagine me telling a Cambodian my side of the story of hunger. When i am hungry, i don’t go hunting for insects but i end up at Murni having Nasi Goreng Maryland Special and Watermelon Special, LOL.

Nom nom nom the duckling T.T

Lee May also tried …. with her eyes closed. Might as well don’t see what you are eating. Good thinking by our resident pharmacist

So as Lee May tried … Sister Number 1 and Sister Number 2 were …

…. freaking OUT ! HAHAHAHA

Imagine halfway through, Siya pointed out that certain part of the egg was like the pillow for the duck @.@!

I didn’t try.

So to recap, i never tried the insects in Phnom Penh and i never tried the duck in Siem Reap >.<!

After so many months of neglecting my Cambodia entries, i am finally writing again and hopefully i can be done soon. For the past 6 months i have been receiving messages, emails and even tweets regarding Cambodia. This has definitely given more the reason to complete the Siem Reap section

Siem Reap is definitely famous for it’s Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and of course the smiling faces just like the above.

As stated in my previous entry, there are 3 types of passes for Angkor Wat which are the 1 day, 3 days and 1 week pass. We took the 3 days pass which would cost USD40 per person and this covers all temples surrounding Siem Reap. Security is quite tight and the pass has to be with you at all times.

Upon arrival at the first stop, we were brought to the temple of faces. On each so called tower there’s faces on each side. I have seen this many times in books, postcards but to see it in person was simply awesome. I had the impression that the face was carved out of a slab of stone but found out later on that it consisted of a few stones. That’s why it looked like a jigsaw puzzle in the first pic.

Some of the faces were defaced due to time and also the war centuries ago.

Angeline and the face

The problem of having 7 photographers around is that they just keep photographing every single thing To the point that our guide, Siya, just sat and waited patiently for us.

I can’t imagine what will happen in Bali …. there’s gonna be 16 of us there -_-”

The whole day we went to different temples around Angkor Thom. Definitely a lot of walking involved. I would highly recommend you to get a guide if not most of the time you wouldn’t know what to do or worst still where to go. Thankfully, i managed to arrange a guide, Siya, prior to our arrival in Cambodia.

The ‘four sisters’ posing with their gong xi pose. Our trip was actually just before Chinese New Year. So it was kinda good timing cause when we reached back, all we had to do was receive angpow to replenish our funds

Some of the temples require you to climb a flight of steps … a very steep flight of steps. Like this one it has a handrail for you to hold on but there are others where you would need to use all four limbs to climb down.

These four really know when to pose, ROFL. It’s good to have a bunch of friends during trips like this because you would never be bored and there’s always laughter along the way.

The south gate of Angkor Thom.

Another problem with us is, we just stand where ever we liked …. even in the middle of the road -_-!

Hahahaha, i realized Siya kept looking out for us if any vehicles were to come by.

As evening approached, we left to witness sunset in Siem Reap.

To be frank i am not really a sunset enthusiast nor sunrise unlike the ang mohs you see above. There was already a huge crowd when we arrived. We all walked around to find our spots and waited patiently for the sun to set.

I got bored so fast that i ended up snapping Angeline’s D60, lol.

Guess how many pictures i took of the sunset ?

Two. The first one was overblown cause i had the wrong settings on and this was the 2nd one which isn’t sharp at all T.T

After the sunset we left and headed back. After washing up we walked around Siem Reap for dinner before calling it a day. We slept early cause the next morning we were off to Angkor Wat for sunrise.

The next morning we woke up about 5am and headed to Angkor Wat.

Everyone was still half a sleep and it was really cold.

I was shocked when we reached Angkor Wat as there were so many people already there. Some brought their own fold-able chairs, others stood and waited, some adjusted their tripods and camera as all of us waited for the sun to rise.

If you didn’t know, the weird looking cones in the middle are part of Angkor Wat, lol. I think i had more pictures of William and Aaron setting up their cameras then the sunrise -_-”

After breakfast, we headed back to Angkor Wat and this time we were at the place where Angelina Jolie made her mark as Tomb Raider.

The roots of the trees were all over, some even grew above the structures.

We had to pass thru some tunnel-like passage to get to the other side of the temples. Those who like hiking and adventure, Angkor Wat is definitely the place for you, hehehe.

One of the few group photos we took We then continue walking to a partially dried lake where there’s 4 elements that are built to channel the water to 4 smaller water catchment area. Along the way we encountered music in the forest, hahaha.

By afternoon, the sun was really blazing. Ai Ling herself had to shield using her hands The puteri lilin as usual was ever ready with her umbrella.

Besides the heat, we also had to encounter with dust all the time which is why i switched to my slippers from shoes. It’s easier to wash up and dry. Check out my feet !

We moved on to another temple where some of us had the chance to eat Balut ( egg with deform duck in it) which i will continue writing in the next entry.

Ming was eliminated in the final elimination of Malaysian Dream Girl and next friday would be the Finale. I was also at the final photoshoot where the girls finally had what they wanted; a male model named Ricardo. LOL

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To those who realized i blogged about the first day on Siem Reap, lol you are sharp and that simply shows i am freaking aging -_-!

Anyway the next morning was mainly on Tonle Sap. Initially we were suppose to take a ferry from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap via the Tonle Sap lake but after realizing that it would cost a whooping 40USD per person, we scrapped the idea and took bus instead.

Jasmine’s Lodge does provide us complimentary breakfast everyday and though it was just a simple one, i really missed eating their bread and egg. And at the same time franctically waiting for a place to sit

Hmmm the picture is blur for a reason. Not too sure where did i even focus. Breakfast consist of bread, fruits and egg … and also a cup of tea or coffee.

After that Siya our guide who was waiting downstairs greeted us and ferried us in our personal van to Tonle Sap.

The journey to the lake was about 20 minutes from Jasmine Lodge and upon arrival, our designated boat was already there waiting.

People living by the lake or on the lake have their lives revolved around the lake. The houses are on the lake, so are the schools, police station and not forgetting their only basketball court. The people here spend most of the time on tha lake rather than on the land. They are raised on water as well as die on the water. They even have a cemetry which is a site which is on the other far end of Tonle Sap.

For some reason the dog reminded me of the current news on Pulau Ketam where the dogs are left there to die. Pity the dogs. The difference is the dog above is taken care of even though the people of Tonle Sap aren’t well to do.

We were then brought to a floating crocodile farm which was quite far. It wasn’t something that i would recommend to anyone who plans to go to Siem Reap but if you have time to burn then by all means do drop by

Besides crocs, they had a python and ermmm i think that’s about it. Oh yes and a few display items which aren’t significant enough to be remembered.

This reminded me so much of the recent Malaysian Dream Girl photoshoot which involves a python. And no i didn’t have the python around me. Damn scared can -_-!

While we were goofing around with the python, we heard cries and little kids. I saw Emily walking towards the opposite direction towards the cry and we saw 2 kids, begging.

I have been to India and have witnessed how kids would beg but i have never seen anything like this before. I am pretty sure the rest too were surprised to see kids peddling their way to the croc farm begging us for money. The one thing that everyone should understand is, there are so many agencies out there that would help this kids by giving them education and sometimes giving them money wouldn’t solve their problems but in fact encourage them to beg even more.

On our way back to the van, we were approached by a number of people asking to buy the what nots. Then as i was in the van snapping, i realized something similar as i zoomed into my pics …

OUR FACES WERE ON THE PLATES !

Mine, Angeline’s, William’s and Emily’s !

They were fast ! Really fast ! I can’t even remembered when they photographed us. Efficient ! LOL

We then moved on to their famous Handicraft center which has all the replicas that you would see from the Angkor Wat.

This place is a bit special as they train the disable in terms of hearing and talking, the dumb and the deaf. The place is good for a tour but the price for the souvenirs were rather steep.

I am on a backing trip and i definitely can’t afford to be splurging, lol. Unless i am working already

In the morning, Mr Khun told me that he would be giving us free lunch … a 6 course lunch, or was it 7 ? and we were all excited cause for once we know we don’t need to fork out for food.

The food just kept coming and we were all stuffed by the end of it. The food was excellent !

After lunch we headed to the world of Tomb Raider, the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Before that, we were required to make our daily passes and everything was paid for when i arranged with Mr Khun before departing for Cambodia. So all we had to do was get our photos taken and the passes were then handed to us.

We took the 3 days pass which cost 40USD but since we came in a group, Mr Khun some how managed to get it included in our package

I will carry on with Angkor Wat in the coming entries

The top 5 girls of MalaysianDreamGirl had their photoshoot at Tunehotel, LCCT. It was a non elimination round before that and everyone was taken by surprise. So who do you reckoned will be cut off this coming Tuesday ? Btw check out the entry i wrote on their Marie France Bodyline Photoshoot.

I have also updated the extra photos in my gallery

After the Killing Fields, we rushed back to get our things packed and we roamed around in Phnom Penh in search of lunch. Easiest way was to find for their central market and that’s we did exactly. But to our dismay, there’s weren’t stalls nor hawker to be found. Unlike Malaysia where there would be plenty of food found around the market area, Phnom Penh wasn’t like that.

Knowing that we have less than an hour to get back to catch our bus out of Phnom Penh, we walked along their main roads.

And what did we find ? …

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Bak Kut Teh >.<!

Someone even suggested to try. LOL that would be the lowest point if we did actually have BKT for lunch. No No the lowest point would be Aaron having bak kut teh in Phnom Penh ! Hahahaha that’s because he is from Klang and that would be ironic.

In the end we had nothing for lunch. But on the way to the bus, we saw a lot of bread stalls beside the bus and all of us bought something that could last us throughout the 6 hour journey.

I had a hard time communicating with the lady selling the bread. I kept asking what’s inside the french loaf and all she did was show the good sign >.<!

I was hoping it isn’t beef cause i don’t eat beef. So to be safe, i bought a few other types …. just in case

The we boarded were packed with locals and it was really fun. The bus had a typical 2+2 seating arrangement and it was fully air conditioned. I sat with Dolphin.

When lady gave me the thumbs up sign when i asked her what’s in the bread, she really meant it cause it was very VERY delicious ! Really missed eating that bread. It had pork floss in it and it was da BOMB ! 50 cents US is what it cost.

I dozed off immediately after eating and woke up to the noise of people fighting. It was the tv and it was showing the latest fighting flick. I understood nothing. Hahaha.

All i knew was the locals were so hooked to it that majority weren’t even sleeping. I turned around to see if any of us were awake and i noticed Aaron and Emily had that @_@ look as the movie was played. LOL

We stopped in the middle of their journey and i guess i am appreciating our Stops on North South Highway even more. While waiting for the other passengers to board, we had ice cream …

… just to find out that it’s packed in Shah Alam >.<!

The journey carried on and this time i didn’t sleep much. The scenary of small towns were something similar to India’s small villages. As the sun was setting, it got dark pretty fast. Just before 7, we arrived at the bus stop.

“Satkuru ! Someone is holding a paper with your name on it ! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha”

That was Emily, ROFL. And so i asked the guy who was holding up my name and i found out he was the driver that i arranged a couple of months back. Very efficient

We were then brought to Jasmine’s Lodge by van. Yes we had our own air conditioned van and driver I will touch on Jasmine’s Lodge a little bit later. Upon reaching we were given our rooms but for the first night i had to sleep alone because the 4+3 room weren’t ready for all of us and since we had an odd number, i was alone. After washing up, we explored Siem Reap ….

… by foot.

Siem Reap is so much calmer and peaceful compared to Phnom Penh. I never felt scared walking about on the streets. Just beside Jasmine Lodge is a small hawker stall but we decided to walk further just to see if there’s anything else.

The roads were quite dusty and at some parts the roads are still under construction.

After walking blindly for 15 minutes plus, we decided to eat at this particular restaurant. Probably because it was brightly lighted.

The food and drinks were taste but it was slightly more expensive than usual. Nevertheless, no harm trying.

We then walked deeper into their town.

The girls couldn’t resist but to check out the heels that they had in Siem Reap. Their version of Vincci, lol.

Not far from the shoe shop was their central market. It was already very late when we reached there but did walk around just to see see. Realized that there’s a lot of jewelry and precious stones being sold all around the central market.

This is where it all started. Ai Ling and Emily finally coming face to face with the most original “Oh my gawddddddd”. Hahahaha from there on everyone imitated how this lady said her OMG. The girls did get a few things after a hard bargain and we called it a day.

On the way back we stopped by at one of the grocerry shop to simply compare the prices of their goods. Some where really expensive. We goofed around for a while before leaving cause they were already closing. By then it was already 10pm plus.

The walk back was far and by the time we reached back, we were already hungry. Aaron and William ate again.

T

At the end of the menu it was stated they had a special dessert with fruits. So Emily and I decided to try.

Finally we found out that the word special means sprinkles of milo on the fruits >.<!

I slept like a cow later that night.

The next day we finally were given the rooms that i arranged which is 4 to a room for the girls and 3 to a room for us guys. The guys stayed on the higest floor and the girls a floor below. The rooms were really good. Everyone had their own bed. Air conditioned, hot water, tv, free wife wifi and free breakfast Their service were second to none. There’s even a pool table, couch to laze around at the main area but the main thing for me was the food and wifi. Couldn’t have asked for more

I am pretty sure the other 6 will agree with me on Jasmine Lodge.

It was worth every dollar spent on accommodation and that’s 4.75USD a night per person.

For more information on Jasmine Lodge in Siem Reap, look for Mr Kunn

They recently upgraded their website and it’s easier to find the needed information.

More of Jasmine Lodge and the wonderful temples of Siem Reap will be posted in the coming entries, do stay tune.

Road No 6,307 Taphul Village,Svay Dangum Commune,
Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia
Phone:+855 (0)12 784 980 / (0)12 530 843 /(0)63 760 697
Fax:+855 (0)63 760 697
E-mail: kunn@jasminelodge.com

Now that my blog is finally UP Arghhhh for some reason this entry disappeared no thanks to the propogation delay -_-! Anyway i shall continue where i left on Phnom Penh. We were still on the Killing Fields and i didn’t feel all that confortable reading signs after signs indicating what had happened here during the Khmer Rouge. The cold breeze just made matters more eery than usual. This particular tree had a loudspeaker on it for a purpose …

… which is to drown the voices of the victims as they were executed in mass.

We later went into the building that stored all the remainings of the victims. Here’s William snapping with Angeline observing the skulls. I didn’t take any though I had to ration my memory card so that it could last me the whole trip which didn’t happened as i had to borrow 2Gb from Aaron.

Having barely 2 hours or so before our bus departs for Siem Reap, we rushed back.

Since we had time to spare, we roamed in Phnom Penh to find for lunch. We agreed to go to the Central market since it would be a good place to seek for food. But the thing is, the market in Phnom Penh isn’t exactly how we would see back here in Malaysia. The market was basically a market only, selling meat, vegetables, everyday utensils, previous stones, etc. There was no sign of hawker food, ROFL.

We left the market and walked to a few nearby mainroads.

We then came across this shop and i heard someone said, let’s have lunch here.

LOL. The thing about Phnom Penh is, if there’s a Bak Kut Teh shop here then the whole row would have BKT all over. Same goes for mechanics, sundry shop and also hawker food which we were yet to find any >.<!

We headed back to our rooms and decided to board the bus, in the hopes of finding something to bite on the way there.

There was this bread stand, i mean a few bread stand in front of the bus we were boarding and so we grabbed whatever we wanted. Igot myself a french loaf and asked the lady if it was empty or had anything in it. To my avail, we had some major communication barrier, lol.

Every where you go in Phnom Penh, you can easily find bread stands or even bakeries which have loads and loads of french loaves. I guess the French definitely did leave something behind when were in control of Cambodia.

After settling down in the bus, i finally had a bite and i tell you, it was one of the best french loaves i have ever had. Maybe because i was too hungry but for that price and to have pork floss in it, it was definitely worth it.

That ended up as my lunch.

The bus journey took about 7-8 hours if my memories serves me well. It was a 2+2 seating arrangement and it was one heck of a experience travelling with the locals. Even the movie played in the bus was a freaking eye opener. Hahaha. I quickly dozed off once i had my lunch but i was awaken to the sounds of the blaring monospeaker tv where it was showing a fighting scene from a local movie. I didn’t know basketball moves and gymnastics could be the basis of a fighting scene in any movie Taking a glance around, i could see how the locals were hooked to the tv set.

We did stop at their rest stop and it was just a normal shed with one stall and a sundry shop. We would try just about anything since we were in Cambodia and so we bought ice creams …

… just to find out it was packed in Malaysia.

Hahaha

We arrived Siem Reap when the sun was setting. As we got down from the bus, Emily yelled at me …

“Eh somebody the other side is holding a sign with your name on it.”

It was the driver who was assigned to be with us for the next 4 days in Siem Reap. I was actually prepared with other contacts in case the person whom i have been emailing back and forth for months didn’t turn. You know la, anything thru the net isn’t always guaranteed.

For USD 4.25 a night, we stayed comfortably at Jasmine Lodge. We were all divided the same way in Phnom Penh, where the girls and the guys had their own room. I stayed at the top floor and we even had our own lazy chair. Jasmine lodge is way wayyyy better than our accommodation in Phnom Penh and their hospitality was even better. Breakfast was included as well as free wifi. Now that’s definitely a bargain for any backpackers.

By the time we washed up and got ready it was already 8 something and we walked towards the town in search for food. Siem Reap is very different compared to Phnom Penh. It feels safe to walking at night.

After walking for more than 15mins, we finally decided where to eat.

The food was quite good and if i am not mistaken i ended up paying USD 4 plus, for the rice with pork and coconut shake. Some of us ordered mee soup which had lots of ajinomoto, lol.

Since we were already near the town center, we continued exploring the night life in Siem Reap

The girls totally zoned out when we came across a shoe shop ala Vincci/Voir/Nose. Eventhough it was cheaper with the current sales, the girls decided to leave empty handed

Of course that didn’t last for long …. LOL. I will tell you why later.

The central market was still operating so we had a look and slowly everyone started buying things like shirts, scarfs, elephant bags. Hahaha. I got my Cambodia shirt for USD 1.25.

Ai Ling and Emily made friends with this lady who had a unique way of saying, “Oh my gawdddddd.” ROFLMAO

Emily ended up saying that for the rest of the trip, she would just OMG anyone out of the blue, hahaha

Before leaving the town, we went to one of the sundry shops to get a few things. At the same time, we also did a price comparison with a few things, like liquor, chocolate, etc.

A few of us did become hungry when we reached back, so we walked to a nearby roadside stall and had supper.

Emily and I ordered this special fruit thingy. We just didn’t know that special means sprinkling milo all over the fruits >.<!

HAhahaha it tasted funny.

That’s the first night in Siem Reap. To be continued soon …

P/S: My blog is having some sort of problem, so please bear with me as i update a few things before posting the coming entries. In the mean time, do drop by Malaysian Dream Girl’s site to catch the latest episode of season 2

I was expecting to wake up to the sound of my alarm but instead i had the privilege of waking up to the sound of karaoke duet from a nearby marriage ceremony. I just lied there listening for the next ten minutes until it was my turn to wash up. I then briefly packed my bags as we would be rushing to catch the bus for Siem Reap once we are back from the Killing Fields.

We then went to the girl’s lair just to find out they haven’t got ready. Wasn’t a big surprise though, lolololol.

We all then rushed down to catch the van to the Toul Sleng museum but stumbled upon the wedding that i mentioned earlier. We came down in time for the bridegroom and his ‘rombongan’ to bring gifts for the bride. I think the folks were suprised to see so many photographers as they walked to the bride’s place. LOL.

We all then jumped into the van and off we went.

Today was all about history which made Cambodia what it is today. Many have asked why Phnom Penh first ? Visiting the Toul Sleng museum and the Killing Fields at the end of your trip wouldn’t be ideal. I rather be enjoying myself towards the end and not being disturbed by how one million plus Cambodian were brutally murdered during the Pol Pot regime. I was glad to have known my mum’s friend’s brother who has been residing in Cambodia for the past 15 years and he told me which places are a must go and we managed to cover those places in a short span of time

Besides that, feedbacks from a few more friends who traveled a few weeks before me, also mentioned which places aren’t worth the time.

Toul Sleng museum which was about 10-15mins from the place we stayed was a former school before being turned into one of the worst torture/detention/interrogation centre that i have heard of. We had an english speaking guide who explained every single detail of this place. Though it was hard to capture with her heavy Cambodian slang but after a while, i could roughly understand.

This place was actually used to get information from anyone who was against the ruling of Pol Pot. Previous politicians too were all detained in this centre, together with their family.

These were the few detention rooms which had the higher ranking officers of the previous government detained. In each room there was a bed, mattress and iron bucket for the detainees waste.

The first room had a picture of a tortured detainee on the bed and the guide explained how they were tortured until the information was retrieved. The cold breeze blowing from the nearby windows did sent chills down my spine. When she asked us to look up at the ceiling, there were still traces of blood. which splattered from one end to the other.

Others were tortured in other manners like hanging them upside down from the wooden pole with their hands tied to the back. These wooden poles were used by students to exercise when it was still a school back then. If the detainee doesn’t cooperate their heads are then dipped into the huge jar which is filled with human excrement.

In the next block, smaller holding places were built out of bricks. Family members are kept in these cells shackled to the floor. They aren’t allowed to speak unless they were allowed to and seeing how dark the place can be even in the noon, one could wonder how dark it gets when night falls. And all of them just waiting for their turn to be executed.

Some of the detainees who couldn’t stand being tortured did jump off from higher floors to end their miseries and this made the people of Pol Pot placing barbed wires all around the building to prevent anyone from jumping off. They even hooked it to an electric cable which would electrocute anyone who touches it.

In the last section of the museum, mugshots of all detainees were displayed. At one point it became disturbing because it was a sea of people staring at you. The way the photo was taken for some of the detainees were really inhuman. Instead of having their identification card pinned to their shirt, it was pinned to their neck.

We were then asked if we would like to go to the first floor of the building but had to politely decline as we had a super tight schedule to follow.

At this point i was already rubbing my arms for heat cause it was considerably cold in Phnom Penh. So i asked the guide if this was normal and she said yes it was. Since we will be in Siem Reap later that night which is way up north, i asked her what about Siem Reap, is it this cold ?

She replied, “Oh it’s like Paris …”

Great and i don’t have any long pants …

Next was the Killing Fields. This was where thousands were brought to be executed. This particular building was built in the remembrance of those who perished in the Killing Fields. In the middle of the building lies see through shelves which contained the skulls and bones of the victims.

We followed the path on ourselves around the Killing fields. Along the way there were explanation on what happened at that particular place when it was still the Killing Fields.

The huge holes you see all over the place are actually where the people were gathered into before being shot. And there were so many of this bunkers.

Babies and small children were brought to this particular tree. They were then swung or slammed on to the tree.

… to be continued

]]> http://satkuru.com/blog/2009/02/the-chronicles-of-cambodia-the-dark-side-of-phnom-penh/feed/ 13 http://satkuru.com/blog/2009/02/the-chronicles-of-cambodia-food-in-phnom-penh/ http://satkuru.com/blog/2009/02/the-chronicles-of-cambodia-food-in-phnom-penh/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:54:15 +0000 satkuru http://satkuru.com/blog/?p=1504

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The long awaited trip was finally here and to be frank i was more scared than excited. Imagine having the responsibility to make sure all six others were taken care off but at the same time enjoy the planned backpacking experience. I had request from a few on what they would love to do and see. So trying to please everyone was close to impossible. But i did try my best to incorporate all

The idea of Cambodia was actually first conceived when a few of us were in Redang and after scouting around for tickets on AirAsia, we finally found a suitable date. I have gone through tonnes of iternaries from different agencies, trying to a get an overall view on what is normally organized. But having pledged that i am gonna make it a backpacking trip instead, i had to make sure that the budget was kept to a bare minimum.

I had to read on main historical points in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap so it would be easy for me to set the route on where to go and when. After reading a number of blogs on how they experienced their trips to Cambodia, i decided to fly into Phnom Penh and fly out from Siem Reap. It cost slightly more compared to the typical Siem Reap first then Phnom Penh, if i am not mistaken about twenty five ringgit but it was a very wise decision. I would explain it in my coming entries.

Upon checking AirAsia’s website i could have snapped return tickets for Cambodia for a mere 280 ringgit but because i had to make sure the rest confirmed which took them an extra 24 hours, the price ballooned by an extra 100 -_-! Nevertheless, it was still considered cheap.

With the plane ticket finalized, all i had to do was get accommodations and have a drafted plan in coming months before the trip.

Google maps, lonelyplanet, blogs after blogs, all checked, double checked, triple checked to make sure where we would be stay and visit.

All communications for accommodation was done solely via email and though i had bookings before hand, i brought a few numbers as backups in case any miscommunication happens.

We had 7 people in total, 5 from Penang and 2 from KL. From Penang were Ai Ling, Emily, Lee May, Angeline and myself. From KL, it was William and Aaron.

For the Penangites, we were lucky to get return tickets from Penang to KL for only 70 ringgit plus. Upon arriving in LCCT, we had a few hours to hang around so we left for KLIA to meet up with William and Aaron.

Everyone was excited cause it was easily their first trip on their own overseas, lol.

We all had our very own 1901 hotdogs on board which i purchased upon booking the tickets and i didn’t know we were suppose to prepare it on our own. It’s smaller than the 1901s that we have it on ground but it’s the excitement of preparing it and eating it on air which counts.

After two hours plus, we finally arrived at Phnom Penh’s airport and we were approached by a bunch of tuk tuk people and was told one tuk tuk from the airport has a flat rate of 7USD >.<! which in my opinion is damn blardy expensive. But then again, which transportation from ANY airport is cheap ?

Having seven people we naturally took 2 tuk tuks which came up to 14 USD. This particular driver of ours had some serious issue. He asked me where was i staying and i replied Capitol Guesthouse. He insisted that the place was terrible and he would recommend a better place. He kept blabbering how nice the other place was and he would bring us there for free before heading to Capitol. When i said no thank you, his face changed immediately. And because he had a ‘black face’, he put on his helmet and never bothered to speak to us throughout the rest of the journey.

We conversed BM amongst ourselves and i tell you we strugled, i mean i strugled even constructing a normal sentence. After a while, it all came back naturally.

“Eh sekarang kita kat mana ? Tak nampak tuk tuk yang lagi satu pun ?”

” Yalah #$^#^#$% dia nak jual kita ke?  kerana tak nak pi hotel dia recommend ?”

With no sight of Emily’s tuk tuk, i panicked as always and was looking for signs if it showed we were going towards the town. Unfortunately most signs were in Cambodian since were still at the outskirts. I immediately dug for my E71 and turned on my GPS. Having preloaded it with the map of Cambodia, i was able to track our whereabouts and found out he used a different route but it was also heading towards Phnom Penh

Sitting on the tuk tuk alone was an experience itself. It was fast and bumpy. Traffic in Phnom Penh is totally chaotic and don’t let me start with their honking. It reminded me of India where everyone honks just for about anything. Traffic lights are well equipped with countdown numbers just like in Malaysia but motorist move on before it’s their  turn. Before you know it, there’s a big grid lock in the middle of the junction.

After thirty minutes or so, we finally arrived at Capitol Guesthouse and checked in to our rooms.

Two rooms, one for the girls and one for guys, having a total of 7 individual beds, air conditioned and hot water which worked like for a few seconds and then it’s all cold again That one night cost us 4.60USD per person.

After checking in and washing up, we went down to Capitol’s main desk. The main reason Capitol Guesthouse was chosen was because they had their own bus service. And the next day we would all be taking bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Behind the ladies above, is a big white board that shows towns of departure and what time does it leave.

We weren’t sure what time we wanted and in the midst of discussing, a lady asked me, ” Are you Satkuru ?”

LOL

I finally met the lady that has been replying my mails for the past 3 months and she was Ms Sidana Phann. She was in charge of the Guesthouse, restaurant, bus service as well as tours. I told her what i wanted to do in Phnom Penh the next morning and if she could help sort out a van for us which she kindly arranged for us. Upon confirming that, we finally got ourselves the 12.30pm bus to Siem Reap which cost us 5.25USD each. We had the option of taking a boat but it cost a whooping 35USD and furthermore, it left at 7.30am in the morning which didn’t suit our plan.

Bargaining has to come naturally in Cambodia. If you can’t bargain, then drag someone who can, else prepare to pay double or even triple the cost of anything, especially tuk tuks.

I grabbed 2 tuk tuks again, 1.50USD each, and headed to their coastal area which is along Tonle Sap. We later decided to have our dinner first and was brought to some restaurant which wasn’t really kind to our wallets.

If you are planning to have beer, Angkor beer is a good choice. It’s cheap. Do pronounce it properly as they also widely serve Anchor beer, lol.

One dish that you must try, let me repeat, MUST TRY, is Cambodia’s Amok fish. Till today i can still remember how it tasted like and this particular one was probably the best i tasted so far, even after comparing to Siem Reap

After dinner, we walked for a good 1km plus to their version of Gurney drive.

One thing that no one told me about Cambodia was, it was COLD ! It’s definitely a couple of degrees lower than Malaysia and standing by the coast didn’t help us. The super cold breeze kept blowing and i started shivering after a while. One glance around that area and i noticed we were probably the only ones in shorts and tshirt -_-! The locals had sweaters and long pants on.

Too bad the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda were closed at night.

So we did just like any Cambodian would do …

… having insects for supper. lol

Everyone’s eyes were like @_@ looking at what each stall had to offer. From afar it looked like crackers or dried chillies but upon close inspection, you would noticed fury tarantula, crickets and many creepy crawlers.

A few of us braved ourselves to consume and it definitely didn’t include me, hahaha. Definitely not for the faint hearted

Angeline and Emily joined me to support Vingie’s quest for PETA. Wait, does PETA include creepy crawlers ?

William was first then followed by Aaron which i didn’t manage to snap cause he chomped it down damn fast

The the pharmacist followed suit. Having a pharmacist on board was a good thing, hahaha.

Knowing Lee May tried, Ai Ling braced herself and had one, ROFLMAO.

She even prepared her bottle of water in case it tasted bad, HAHAHAHA

Then William decided to go for the bigger creepy crawler

A freaking tarantula. I can’t remember if he actually consumed any part of it but it was definitely disgusting looking at it. *update* i was told by aaron that he and william ate one leg each and it tasted like ikan bilis.

We then left for our guesthouse and since everyone was still hungry, we walked to a nearby roadside stall to try what they had to offer

There’s a row of stalls selling set meal which started from 75 cents US. The only thing that bothered me was the strong urine smell from that area.

For 75 cents you can get like what i ate. There’s rice, sliced pork something like lap cheong, veggie, fried egg, soup and unlimited amount of tea. It was kind of oily for my liking but hey, it’s hawker food and it definitely filled my tummy

After supper we headed to bed. I immediately dozed off after landing on my bed but was awaken by karaoke songs the next morning

… end of Day One (The Chronicles of Cambodia)

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