Siem Reap, Cambodia

Some Tips

2009-03-24T09:03:00.002+08:00

With so many entries, you might be lost as to what to do. Here are some tips.

1. Bring some pencils and notebooks if you are going to Kampung Phluk and/or Chong Khneas.

2. Bring sweets to be given away to the children. It's sad enough for the children to be working after school and here we are rejecting their offer to buy their stuff.

3. During the hot and dry season, remember to wear light clothings. Jeans is a no-no. Sleeveless is fine.

4. Remember to bargain during shopping. However only bargain to the price that you think is right. Don't over bargain. Don't walk away without buying when the price is lowered to your desired one.

5. Sunblock...lots of sunblock

Do feel free to email me should you need more advise. boogieans@gmail.com

Day 4: Going Home

2009-03-20T09:32:00.002+08:00

Our flight is 7.45am and we thought we should reach the airport 2 hours earlier. Hence we arranged with Songpiak to send us to the airport at 5.30am. It takes about 15minutes to reach the airport. Guess what, the airport staff are still having briefing. We start to check in at almost 6.30am. At the airport, we still need to pay US$25 of airport tax. So expensive.

After all the procedures, we proceed to breakfast at a cafe. We have to wait very long for our sandwiches to be ready. Kaiyi and Xiulan ordered tuna sandwich. The girl could have prepared two portions of tuna together. Instead, she prepared one sandwich at a time. *Faint*. The oven is so big and they only toast one sandwich at a time...

A tired passenger...

This crazy woman decides to jump again. She didn't jump at Tonle Sap. Maybe too tired and hot. So today jump twice to make up for it.

Going home...

P.S. This is not the last entry. Look out for the next entry for other photos that I didn't include in my entry and some tips.

Day 3 (Part 6): Lunch - Dinner at Red Piano (Bar Street)

2009-03-18T08:45:00.005+08:00

After Tonle Sap, it was only slightly into late afternoon. We were so hungry. Hunt drive us back to Jasmine Lodge. We are surprise to see an old lady in the van. It is Hunt's grandmother from the countryside. She is going to stay with Hunt's family in the city.

We have our lunch at the restaurant opposite Jasmine Lodge. Wrong choice. Food is expensive and not very nice. We order fried rice. Xiulan's is beef fried rice (above). Kaiyi and I have Chinese sausage fried rice (below). Each plate cost US$4. This time we have coke because beer is too expensive. Coke is US$1 each. By the way, Xiulan's fried rice taste better.

After lunch, we proceed to petrol kiosk (2min walk from Jasmine) to buy potato chips and an ice cream. Then we head back to our room to watch cable TV and take a nap before going for dinner.

Dinner is at a restaurant that we read about in Lonely Planet. So many foreigners. Another expensive place.

Though expensive, this place has one of the best food we ever had for our past meals in Siem Reap. The amount of meat and rice is totally inproportionate. Xiulan's dinner: Curry vegetables, rice and beer. Kaiyi's dinner: Chicken, rice and lime juice (it's fine to drink with ice here. The ice is made from purified water.) My dinner: Beef, rice and lime juice. Then we order a plate of fries to share.

Bar Street aka Pub Street. Red Piano is located at the junction. As a local and they can direct you to it.

If you are game enough, eat at one of these stalls. It's opposite the Pub Street.

Reminds us of the desserts that we ate during our first day.

Where's Kumar?

An interesting gallery. Like those vibrant colours used on the painting.

Tips: Remember to book your transport with Jasmine Lodge to the airport the day before. Ours is early in the morning. Tuk tuk transport to airport is US$4. It's Songpiak again.

Day 3 (Part 5): On the way back to shore

2009-03-18T08:34:00.003+08:00

On the way back to shore from Kampung Phluk, we have to pass by Chong Khneas again. We stop by a restaurant cum souvenir shop which also doubles up as a museum. I have thought of eating in one of the restaurant on Chong Khneas but starts to be reminded of the bowl washing incident at the school earlier on. Better not...

The cat fish that they rear.

And crocodiles too.

The fishing tools that the villagers use.

Shore is not far from us.

What auspicious cigerettes pack.

Day 3 (Part 4): Kampung Phluk

2009-03-17T08:47:00.008+08:00

The weather is getting hotter and our dear Miss Tay has to wrap herself like she's in a desert.

Then put herself into the sun...

Our captain bringing us into a "jungle" of tall houses. This is the dry season which explains why the land is dry. During the wet season, water will rise to cover 3/4 of the stilts that supports the houses.

The girl in green has never had proper English education but speaks fluent English. She learns from tourists. She has a good knowledge of her village.

Auntie cutting food.

This is the whole village...

Their way of life.

Their snacks. It's a type of snail.

Shrimps, another type of snacks...

This is how they make the shrimp snack.

Cook in boiling water.

Pick out those that cannot be eaten.

Then dry in the sun. A wedding. But we didn't manage to see the bride and groom.

Waiting for the invited guests to be seated.

Their cold dish.

The chefs...(above and below)

Decorations

These children go to school that Singaporeans built.

NUS Project Angel 10. A school for the children.

Some go to school, others work.

And some simply have fun.

Some just sulk in a corner.

But they are all happy children.

The big and the small children.

Time to say goodbye. These children have tried to sell books and pencils to us. But only when we are saying goodbye. The bulk of the time when they are with us, they are acting like little tour guides. Then a friend. The boy (not captain), starts to tell me his dream of working on a boat like the captain. Then I give him a bigger dream; to own a fleet of boats to bring tourists to his village. We did not buy anything from them but give them US$1 each to wish them a bright future. Yes, indeed these two children will have a bright future in front of them. One of the main reason is that they are people who treasures what they have.

Day 3 (Part 3): Chong Khneas

2009-03-16T08:41:00.007+08:00

桃太娘。。。

The sunglasses babes...Oink oink!

The population of Chong Khneas consists of mostly Vietnamese. These Vietnamese do not have passports (information supplied by captain). They are very poor people.

This boy keeps asking for US$1 from me.

This is a floating church for the residents of Chong Khneas.

These children have to row their way to school.

This is the school. In order to visit the school, you need to have something to give these children. The captain of the boat suggest that we buy books and pencils for the children. We bought 10 sets of notebook and pencils cost US$10. Wha liao, so expensive. We could have gotten much more with that money if bought from Popular. If there's a chance to be back again, I will come prepared.

These children are buying desserts from the auntie from the boat. I have wanted to try but seeing the way she washes the bowls, I've decided to give it a miss. The auntie dips the bowls into the murky river and considers that clean...

Not for the weak stomach.

The class is waiting for class to start. The teacher doesn't even know how to speak English. I just leave the notebooks and pencils with the teacher and proceed to take pictures of the children.

After Chong Khneas, we proceed for another 1hr boat ride to Kampung Phluk. This time round at Chong Khneas, we did not see the begger children rowing in their tub, asking money from tourists. I am a little disappointed but at the same time happy that the children need not do this anymore. I wonder if I played a part to help in the economy of this little village. Hopefully, the other visitors after me will never get a chance to see the scene.

Day 3 (Part 2): The journey begins.

2009-03-13T08:53:00.005+08:00

Finally, after an almost 25min ride in a van, we arrive at the ferry of Tonle Sap. Today we wear slippers and have small inconvenice. We alighted from the van and have to walk down a bumpy slope. Then climb onto the boat. Cambodians are really honest people. The boat is hired by per booking basis. If the booking has one pax, the boat will only ferry one person. For ours, the whole boat belongs to the three of us. The boat next to us ferries a couple and the woman fell when walking on the front part of the boat. So be careful. Slippery.

The boy in red is 16 yr-old and is the captain cum tour guide of our boat. The other boy is about 10 yr-old and he's the vice captain cum crew.

The friendly residents of Tonle Sap. These people relies on ferrying tourists to and fro the floating villages of Tonle Sap.

I take my place at the front to feel the breeze and got myself an unwanted tan.

The life on water doesn't restrict them to water sports. Volleyball is a daily affair for these students.

This lady is rowing her boat out to Chong Khneas to sell food to the residents.

Aye aye, vice captain!

Day 3 (Part 1): On the way to Tonle Sap

2009-03-13T08:41:00.003+08:00

Today is the first day we get to taste the breakfast of Jasmine Lodge. We are so happy to have breakfast that we forgot to take photos of it. Breakfast at Jasmine Lodge starts at 6.30am and is a standard one with egg, bread, fruits and coffee/tea. The choices are only the different types of bread and the different way the egg is done.

After breakfast, we set off in a van to Tonle Sap ferry terminal. We bought our passage to Tonle Sap the day before with Jasmine Lodge. Each pax is US$21 (incl. of transport to ferry terminal and boat ride, return trip). Instead of a tuk tuk, we travelled in a van. These are the things that we see along the way. It would have been great for photo taking if we travelled in a tuk tuk. However, the route to the ferry terminal is really bumpy even in a van. The amount of dust stirred up is enough to cake my face like a wayang actor.

Lotus field.

"Cab-sharing"

Wedding.

Day 2 (Part 8): Srah Srang & Silk Lounge

2009-03-11T23:45:00.011+08:00

Our last stop, Srah Srang, opposite Bantaey Kdei. It's a beautiful lake.

This girl tried to sell use drinks and trinkets. She's very shy. She sits down beside Xiulan to tell her how she usually spends her day. She goes to school in the morning, sells things to tourists in the afternoon and does her homework at night.

Xiulan notices her little notebook scribbled with Cambodian writings and a few alphabets. So she helps the little girl with her A-Z by writing the right sequence in the notebook. The little girl listens attentively. 不愧是未来的老师。郑老师好！

After Srah Srang, Songpiak sends us back to Jasmine Lodge. We fall asleep on our beds even without showering. We are too tired to do anything. After waking up from a nap, we walk 3 min to the right of Jasmine Lodge to arrive at Silk Lounge. This lounge has a nice ambience. Before 7pm is happy hour when you can get US$3 for a cocktail and get one free.

In the end, we choose beer instead. This time, we decide to go Japanese. Asahi beer. US$1.50 per can.

The ambience is good but food is not really. Small portion. Kaiyi is having the noodles. We know it's not enough for her. I am having the tom yam soup (below) with rice and Xiulan is having the black black soup with rice. Since we had a hard day, we decide to order something extra. Fried finger food. Better not order that. Oily and don't know what we are eating. We suppose vegetables and fish are wrapped in the fried batter.

After dinner, we are in a daze. To prevent constipation, we decide to order a glass of banana shake. Really good. 通常无阻。

I don't recommand Silk Lounge for large portion and good food. But the ambience is good and the shakes are good. Best of all, it is near Jasmine Lodge. Perfect place for chilling out. We spend about US$16 for all the food and drinks we ordered. This is the kind of place where you do not see many locals coming. A group of 6 locals sit down and order only one bottle of 1.5 litres mineral water for US$1.50. They chatted for about an hour and decide to leave. So this kind of restaurant is opened for tourists. If you are game for food that locals eat, there are roadside eateries right beside Silk Lounge.

After dinner, it's back to Jasmine Lodge to clean up and watch cable TV. That night, we learnt quite a bit of entertainment gossips from a Taiwan variety show.

Tomorrow is Tonle Sap. Remember to book for Tonle Sap the afternoon the day before with Jasmine Lodge. We book ours after our Angkor temple trip at about 5pm.

Day 2 (Part 7): Banteay Kdei

2009-03-11T23:20:00.006+08:00

Finally our 2nd last stop, Banteay Kdei, yeah!

By this time we are almost half dead. We are so tired and hot. At this point in time, we are just dragging our feet, trying to be true to our objective, 凡走过毕留下痕迹.

The sun creates a beautiful and warm shadow on the building.

Xiulan and I decide to join in the jumping fun but exhausting all our energy.

Day 2 (Part 6): Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider Filming Location)

2009-03-10T08:49:00.006+08:00

After Ta Keo, we board Songpiak's tuk tuk and head to the famous Ta Prohm, the filming location of Angeline Jolie's TOMB RAIDER. Ta Prohm was built within the jungle so we have to do a short trek of 10min before we can see it.

No matter how majestic Ta Prohm used to be, it cannot avoid being destroyed by something greater; nature.

The roots of huge trees wrap around the building, destroying it and at the same time supporting it. Building and tree are now interdependent.

Almost all the trees are of this size.

Restoration work has began a few years back and proper bridges were built to ease the trouble for visitors. However this bridge is hardly used. Visitors prefer the uneven road beside it than climbing stairs. We have come a long way.

This is the side of the temple. The core cannot be reached as a huge restoration work is going on. But the peripheral is good enough to blow our mind away.

Always wanted to take a picture of a temple with monks. Thank God for the opportunity.

"Angelina" and "Jolie" are tired.

This caption is for the pictures below: 为了弥补过去所办不到的，Kaiyi决定在这里跳个够本。像不像小丑？

又给我拍到一张。

Day 2 (Part 6): Lunch! & Ta Keo

2009-03-09T22:50:00.009+08:00

After a whole morning of walking and climbing, after Terrace of the Leper King, Songpiak drive us back to Bayon where the food stalls are. He takes us to his female friend's stall for lunch. Here's what we ordered. Kaiyi orders chicken noodle soup, Xiulan orders beef noodle soup and I order pineapple chicken fried rice. Ever since I've touched down in Siem Reap, I'm eating more rice than I have for a month if I were in Singapore. We decide not to have beer for lunch. We still have a long way to go. So coke is the way.

Food is not cheap. 3 cokes and three main courses you see above, cost about US$13.

Great news! Xiulan receives an sms to confirm her acceptance into NIE to be trained as a Chinese teacher. Congratulation, 表妹!

After lunch, Songpiak drive us to Ta Keo. One of the most memorable part of our whole Siem Reap trip. We are going to climb all the way to the top.

The stairs are steep...

These children go to school in the morning and sells trinkets in the temples to the tourists. If they know that you are not buying, they will ask you for sweets. Bring lots of sweets to give to these poor children. We have a hard time climbing the steep stairs but these children take less than 3 minutes to climb one flight of staircase. We take more than double the time.

It is not easy climbing up the stairs make me look slimmer. Hahaha! At this point in time, I have no mood to do pretty poses. My foot can only fit into each step when they are placed side ways. And the sign at the side says, "Climb at your own risk"

Such a memorable climb, we definately need to take one photo each. This is just the beginning. Actually Kaiyi doesn't want to climb up after seeing the sign. But Xiulan says, "凡走过比留下痕迹". Refused to be left out, she climbs with us. See below for what happens.

This is Kaiyi coming down from the highest point. Frankly it is scary. The sun has heated up the side stones to so hot, it's almost scalding to place our hands there for support. We resort to using our bums for support. Like babies coming down the stairs. Kaiyi stops halfway, complaining and weeping at the same time about her "jelly" knees. Chinese-teacher-to-be Xiulan rubs it in by saying, this is what you call "骑虎难下", "进退两难"。

When we are at our last flight of stairs down, a little touting girl gave out instructions to the easier route down the steps. She uses the side stones. No wonder she is giggling at the tourists' clumsiness when climbing the stairs.

At this point in time, you might be asking, where is Kaiyi's jumping pose. You think "jelly" knees still can jump meh?

经过这次的经验，我深有感触。Kaiyi因为我们的激发而决定豁出去陪我们一起爬上去。下来的时候，Kaiyi因为脚软而差点下不来。Xiulan和我一前一后，牵着Kaiyi的手，让她靠，鼓励她走完全程。就是因为我们一起度过困难，互相扶持，才能在今天一起回味当时的酸甜苦辣。有感动，有感动。。。

Day 2 (Part 5): Terrace of the Leper King

2009-03-09T22:26:00.002+08:00

Just 20 sec walk from the Terrace of Elephants. Mind you, the king who built this is not a leper. He was called the Leper King.

A narrow maze that doesn't allow anyone to stop for a long time to take photos.

I took this photo accidentally. I just happen to click my camera when I held it up.

Day 2 (Part 4): Terrace of the Elephants

2009-03-08T10:06:00.005+08:00

This is the Terrace of the Elephants. It is within walking distance of Baphuon. So no need tuk tuk. Nontheless, we are still tired, especially with the heat and the hunger that we have to endure. At the Terrace of the Elephants, the artisans of those days carved elephants out of stones. Impressive...

Two girls feeling at ease posing as elephants...

The clown pants...hahaha...

After we did this pose, the tourists queuing behind us did the same thing.

Day 2 (Part 3): Baphuon

2009-03-08T09:47:00.004+08:00

Baphuon from afar. At this point, we are quite tired and hungry. But it's only 10am in the morning. We only had a packet of biscuit for breakfast. Though that's not true to Kaiyi who had more than that.

Kaiyi dragging her super hungry body...

We can't climb the stairs as the main building is under restoration. The reason why this temple is falling apart is due to bad architecture. The base was not strong enough to hold what's built on top. That's why the temple is falling apart.

After the short trip to Baphuon, we stop to buy a coconut. US$1 each. The coconut juice is not cold at all, although it has been soaked in ice water for quite sometime. Of course it's not cold. The coldness can't even penetrate the thick husk. Wha liao...

After drinking, take the coconut to the vendor and they will break it into two halves for you. Spoon? Don't worry, a piece of the husk is cut off to function as a spoon. Cool!

After the cool down session, a huge lizard drop down from a tree, in front of Kaiyi. Xiulan looks on a staring session between the two of them.

Day 2 (Part 2): Bayon

2009-03-06T08:47:00.007+08:00

The entrance to Angkor Thom of temples. Songpiak drops us at this point and we are supposed to walk through that gate to board his tuk tuk again to Bayon.

Bayon is a temple filled with faces. Without modern technology, the people of ancient times really took a lot of effort to stack the carved stones.

明知故犯。。。

These faces do not belong to any buddha. It is the King's face. Bayon really signifies the popularity of this King. So many of his faces.

The whole Bayon. Yes. we climbed up...

No wonder Cambodians are slim. So many stairs...

She is determined to jump at every destination. Even if it means to look silly.

Day 2 (Part 1): Angkor Wat

2009-03-05T22:59:00.006+08:00

Early in the morning, at 5am, we set off for the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Songpiak, our tuk tuk driver will be with us for the rest of the day for the temple tour. Arrange with Jasmine Lodge for your transportation for the day. US$12 for a tuk tuk for the whole day. The entrance ticket (US$20) was bought on the previous day.

We arrive at pitch dark. Slowly the sky become brighter. But where is the "egg yolk"? Angkor Wat is not as pretty as before. The ugly scaffolding is very obvious even from afar. The original five towers has become six (incl of scaffolding). Restoration works have to be done to preserve this majestic architecture. It has been a long time since I get a chance to see the sky slowly brightening up.

Though there were many people catching the sunrise together, the atmosphere is surprisingly very peaceful. Everyone waited patiently to catch one of the most renowned sceneries of Cambodia. The sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Still waiting for the "egg yolk"?

People from all over the world gather together.

Yes...this many people from all over the world together, just to catch Angkor Wat's sunrise. While waiting for the sun to rise, the person sitting next to me started meditating.

Yes, the "egg yolk". But it's not outside the Angkor Wat. It's from inside. We should have waited outside at the original place till 7am.

The carvings inside Angkor Wat.

Happy to see the "egg yolk" even though it is not the postcard view.

Day 1 (Part 7): Night Market & Dinner

2009-03-03T23:29:00.005+08:00

After watching the sunset, Songpiak drop us Night Market. Shopping again. That's what Singaporeans do best.

Fish massage or so it is called by the Cambodians. It is actually the fish eating the dead skin. US$3/15min. In the end we had 30min (free 15min). 5 min after we sat down, a Canadian couple join us. Then another dunno-come-from-where western couple sat down. It seems like the two of us are crowd pullers. No wonder the boss is so willing to give us free 15 min.

Hungry fishes and very big too...Feed the fish first. Later then feed ourselves.

Dinner time! We decide to enter an empty restaurant. After about 5 min, more customers came. We really 招财进宝。Bring business to the restaurant. Very soon it is full.

Waiting to be served, Xiulan a bit stoned...

Food here are not cheap. This is considered one of the cheapest.

After afternoon's first taste of Angkor beer. We have two bottles for dinner.

Xiulan's Vietnamese soup with chicken.

Kaiyi's beef noodle. It's like beef hor fan.

My Khmer green curry.

We ended our first day with a hearty meal with good beer and then a ride back to Jasmine Lodge in a street hired tuk tuk. US$2. Too tired so skipped the bargaining.

Zzzz...

Day 1(Part 6): Sunset @ Phom Bakheng

2009-03-03T22:19:00.009+08:00

After changing into our shorts and slippers, we booked a tuk tuk for the whole sunset trip from the guesthouse (US$4). Our driver is a 25 year old shy man called Songpiak (sounds like but I think wrong spelling). It's 4.00pm and we are all ready to set off.

Selling of the entrance ticket for the next day starts at 4.45pm. This ticket though it's for tomorrow, we can use it for the sunset trip today. We are buying the one day pass (US$20). The queue starts to form at 4.30pm when the ticket sellers take their place behind the counter. Even though the place is starting to get congested with tourists, the authorities refuse to start selling the tickets. So the ticket sellers and tourists stared...

While we queue, Songpiak (in green) waited together with other drivers of tuk tuks, motorcycles, cars, vans and buses for their clients.

Finally the ticket in hand...(this is Kaiyi's)

Immediately after we got our tickets, we hop onto Songpiak's tuk tuk and start to rush to the ticket checking entrance. It's like the Amazing Race where all the transportations start to race towards our destination. Must get a good place to catch the sunset.

Go! Go! Go!

Finally we have arrived. Huh? Where is the sunset? "Climb to the top of the temple" said Songpiak. But where's the temple? "Walk on the dirt road up hill" offered Songpiak.

And so we started to walk in slippers... We are not the worst. Some Korean aunties wear heels... 佩服佩服。

After 15min of walking, the temple is in sight. But climbing has not ended.

STEPS!!!!

All the effort was worth it...

Yeah!!!

Day 1 (Part 5): Butterflies Garden Restaurant, Wat Bo & Psar Chaa

2009-03-03T08:36:00.005+08:00

By right, we are supposed to visit Wat Bo before relaxing at the Butterflies Garden Restaurant. However, due to the extremely hot weather, we decide to make the restaurant our next stop. According to the guide book, we are supposed to see butterflies flutter in the garden while we enjoy our food and drinks.

Our first Angkor beer and many to come in the days we are there. When we get in, there are no butterflies. Instead a few children carrying cages of butterflies sit in a row in front of us. I guess they want us to pay them to release the butterflies. Well at that point in time, we were not keen on butterflies but a cold beer and some food. We had our breakfast at Changi Airport at 5.15am. So at about 11.30am, we are starving.

We ordered a bottle of beer, fish and chips and 2 chicken wings that cost us about US$13 in total. Expensive... But at the time, our pockets are full and no one blink an eye when paying.

Finally we are ready to set off to Wat Bo. We do a back track to see Wat Bo. Can't wait to finish visiting this temple and get away from the heat once more.

After Wat Bo, we are on our way to Pasar Chaa when we discover Blue Pumpkin which is recommended by Xiulan's (my cousin) friend. It's just about 2 hours from our finger food at Butterflies Garden Restaurant and we decide to once again escape the heat and laze in the aircon cafe in the shopping centre. We order some deserts and drinks to cool ourselves down.

At Pasar Chaa, we set off to our first day of shopping, knowing that we won't have much shopping time in the days to come. Shopping here needs some bargaining skills. Usually prices can be slashed up to 40%. Don't jump into buying from one store first. Look around. We discover that there are sisters who ran different stores, some are relatives. So they help each other to look after the stores when the other person is not in. However after bargaining to the price that you want, please buy. Don't bargain for fun.

Day 1 (Part 4): Walking Trail - Wat Preah Inkosei & Market

2009-03-03T00:06:00.007+08:00

After leaving our luggage at Jasmine, we take a tuk tuk to our starting point of our walking trail. This trail is featured in Lonely Planet, Siem Reap. Our first stop, Wat Preah Inkosei. Not a big place to visit. So we took some pictures and left.

Beside Wat Preah Inkosei is a school. It's recess time. When I gestured to them to offer to have their photos taken, they smiled shyly and motioned excitedly to their friends to join in the fun. Though we do not understand each other, we share the same laughter. The clanging of a rod and the rusty tyre rim marks the end of recess time. The future of Cambodia...

A group of older children are playing on a tree by Siem Reap river. A hammock is tied on two branches, offering a place for reading or nap for the youngsters. They wave at us, shouting "Hello!" while we are crossing the bridge to reach to their side of the river. One by one, they create splashes as they jump into the river to remove the heat off their back. At this point, I wish I could cut off the jeans I'm wearing. It's too hot...

The morning market along Siem Reap river.

This little girl could not talk properly. Not even Cambodian. She makes sounds and smile for the camera. After seeing her picture in my camera, she smiled shyly and run towards her laughing father. I'm the enrichment for her young daughter.

Along the market, there are barber stores and shops that has one to three televisions. People can pay to sit and watch all three televisions at the same time.

We actually took the opposite direction of the river and ended up at some unfamiliar place not shown on the map. We interrupted a hair cutting session and the barber pointed out the right direction. He then told his onlooking son that we are actually asking for the direction of Wat Bo (our next destination). It seems like he is teaching his son some useful English so that in future he can make a living for himself by serving the booming Cambodian tourism industry.

Day 1 (Part 3): Jasmine Lodge

2009-03-02T23:47:00.004+08:00

Finally we arrive at Jasmine Lodge, our home for the next 3 days. Along the way, we see a few other budget guesthouses that we read on the internet and guide books. And along the way, I keep thanking God that I did not choose to book that hostel.

The front entrance of Jasmine Lodge is already so welcoming. It's already like home. This guesthouse is made up of two buildings. The one on the left is where the lounge and the reception is on level 2. There are some rooms on this block at level 1. Our room is behind this block sharing the same corridor as the owner, Kunn and his family.

Nice and warm lounge where I only get to enjoy it for one morning for breakfast and one afternoon to recollect all my experiences from different places. Shoes are not allowed to be worn at this area. They are left at the foot of the stairs. This place is so clean, I roll myself on the floor. The family of Kunn helps to maintain this lodge.

This is me checking in after a long walk in the city. The check in is in the afternoon, so we went for a walking trail in the city after leaving our bags at the reception in the morning. Can't wait to see our room. We were so tired...

If the lounge can be so clean, I look forward to our room. We are greeted by a bright room with clean sheets and a gleaming floor. I hardly find a strand of hair on the well cleaned floor. We could see our reflection on the floor. Gosh...that's really cleaning. The en-suite bathroom is clean except for some black water spots on the white washed walls. Can't believe that we are only paying for US$18/room/night for three people. And it comes with free breakfast! Cool!

Check out Jasmine Lodge at http://www.jasminelodge.com/

Day 1 (Part 2): Lazy Siem Reap Morning...Yawn

2009-03-02T23:32:00.006+08:00

We are expecting a van or even a car to turn up for the free airport pickup arranged by Jasmine Lodge. It turns out to be a friendly looking tuk tuk.

Thanks to the tuk tuk, we were able to experience first hand the morning traffic of Siem Reap. No one is in a hurry. Motorcycles with carrying 3 people is a common sight. The biggest crowd I've seen in Siem Reap, on a motorcycle is 3 adults and 1 child.

There are different mode of transport in Siem Reap. For us, a group of 3, tuk tuk is the best value for money. Motorcycle usually carries 1 passenger for US$1 for a short trip. Tuk Tuk is about US$1.50 - US$2 for a short trip for 3 people. If the trip is really short, US$1 will do. Another transport that is commonly used by tourists is the taxi. Too expensive to be our cup of tea...

Can't wait to see what our lodging will be like...

Day 1 (Part 1): Hello, Siem Reap!

2009-03-02T23:20:00.011+08:00

26 Feb, 2009
I dragged my tired body from my comfortable bed. It's 3am in the morning. My sister and I are meeting our cousin at the airport to catch the 6.05am plane. As we are taking the budget airline (Jetstar), we have to settle for odd timings. I have everything all planned out. It is going to be a tiring yet fun trip. I start to have butterflies in my stomach. I say a silent prayer for a smooth and fruitful trip.

This is my first time taking the budget airline. There is no complimentary water and snack. A bottle of water cost a freaking S$3! There is a delay in the flight.

Finally at 7.30am (Siem Reap time), we touch down at the airport. I have just woken up from my short nap on the plan, feeling thirsty. After checking through the immigration, I search for the cardboard that bear my name. I have booked for a airport transfer to our lodging, Jasmine Lodge.