Jetstar Asia return flight: USD$173
4-Nights Angkor Star Hotel stay: USD$71
3-Day pass to Angkor Wat: USD$40
Airport tax at Siem Reap International Airport: USD$25
Transport and other costs: USD$100+
The experience of touring Siem Reap with an international mix of friends: Priceless.
Siem Reap Day 1 (Friday, 25th May)
Upon touch down at Siem Reap International Airport, one thing was clear – this was a really really small airport. The single-storey-ed airport had a nice cultural feel with roofs symbolic of temples (middle pic below). Clearing immigration was a painstaking process, but we got by nonetheless. From tarmac to exiting the airport building, it was no more than 200m. What caught us by surprise was the presence of someone holding up a signboard for my friend’s name “Mr Ken Lam”. The driver, called “B” for short, was sent by the hotel to pick us up in a 7-seater minivan. Thumbs up for Angkor Star Hotel!
4-Nights Angkor Star Hotel stay: USD$71
3-Day pass to Angkor Wat: USD$40
Airport tax at Siem Reap International Airport: USD$25
Transport and other costs: USD$100+
The experience of touring Siem Reap with an international mix of friends: Priceless.
Siem Reap Day 1 (Friday, 25th May)
Upon touch down at Siem Reap International Airport, one thing was clear – this was a really really small airport. The single-storey-ed airport had a nice cultural feel with roofs symbolic of temples (middle pic below). Clearing immigration was a painstaking process, but we got by nonetheless. From tarmac to exiting the airport building, it was no more than 200m. What caught us by surprise was the presence of someone holding up a signboard for my friend’s name “Mr Ken Lam”. The driver, called “B” for short, was sent by the hotel to pick us up in a 7-seater minivan. Thumbs up for Angkor Star Hotel!
It took us no more than 15mins to arrive in the city centre of Siem Reap, which was pretty small mind you. My parents had come to Siem Reap just 5 days before me for a separate community trip, and briefed me about some things, including how there was only 4 apparent traffic lights in the entire city. I wouldn’t have believed it until I saw for myself. Drivers here are “disciplined” and skilled in their driving, considering how motorcyclists go without helmets and sometimes sit a whole family on two wheels. With no marked lines dividing one lane from the opposing half on the roads, basically anyone can overtake anyone else via the opposite lanes at their own discretion.
After checking in to our 3-star hotel, we headed out to the Old Market, otherwise known as Phsar Chas (‘Phsar’ means ‘market’ in Khmer), which sits as the south end of the town on the river road. The river side of the market has dozens of souvenir stalls (right picture below) offering a fairly wide range of souvenirs, statues, silver, basketry, silks, musical instruments, handicrafts and lots more, while the wet market selling fruits, vegetables and meat is housed right in the centre. The opposite side of the market (middle picture below) carries items of interest primarily to locals and harbours dozens of reasonably priced “restaurants” serving inexpensive local delights that hygienically and gastronomically adventurous visitors may find inviting.
‘B’ brought us for lunch somewhere out of the central area, where we got our first taste of the famous ‘Amok’ fish Cambodia could be proud of. I’ll post the picture up once I get it from the others. After lunch, we wasted no time in visiting the Angkor temples.
‘Angkor’ literally means ‘Capitol City’ of ‘Holy City’, while ‘Khmer’ refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. In its modern usage, ‘Angkor’ has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the are of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries AD, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap (literally meaning ‘Siem Defeated’) are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.
With dozens of temple ruins in the Siem Reap area, any itinerary should include the legendary ruins of Angkor Wat and the giant faces of Bayon. These two temple ruins offer the most spectacular and unique examples of Angkorian art and architecture. As mentioned in the start, we each purchased a 3-day pass to visit the temple ruins at USD$40 (SGD$60).
After checking in to our 3-star hotel, we headed out to the Old Market, otherwise known as Phsar Chas (‘Phsar’ means ‘market’ in Khmer), which sits as the south end of the town on the river road. The river side of the market has dozens of souvenir stalls (right picture below) offering a fairly wide range of souvenirs, statues, silver, basketry, silks, musical instruments, handicrafts and lots more, while the wet market selling fruits, vegetables and meat is housed right in the centre. The opposite side of the market (middle picture below) carries items of interest primarily to locals and harbours dozens of reasonably priced “restaurants” serving inexpensive local delights that hygienically and gastronomically adventurous visitors may find inviting.
‘B’ brought us for lunch somewhere out of the central area, where we got our first taste of the famous ‘Amok’ fish Cambodia could be proud of. I’ll post the picture up once I get it from the others. After lunch, we wasted no time in visiting the Angkor temples.
‘Angkor’ literally means ‘Capitol City’ of ‘Holy City’, while ‘Khmer’ refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. In its modern usage, ‘Angkor’ has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the are of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries AD, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap (literally meaning ‘Siem Defeated’) are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.
With dozens of temple ruins in the Siem Reap area, any itinerary should include the legendary ruins of Angkor Wat and the giant faces of Bayon. These two temple ruins offer the most spectacular and unique examples of Angkorian art and architecture. As mentioned in the start, we each purchased a 3-day pass to visit the temple ruins at USD$40 (SGD$60).
Our first visit was Bayon, where the giant faces have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture. There are 37 standing towers, most but not all sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points. If I remember what ‘B’ said, there are 216 faces in all, giving any visitor the impression that he will be greeted by at least one face anywhere he looks to.
We wandered past Baphuon, which was undergoing extensive renovation and was not open to the public, though the exterior entry gate and elevated walkway were open. We reached Phimeanakas, an impressive laterite and sandstone pyramid.
The lack of surviving carvings leaves it artistically uninteresting, but it is the tallest scalable temple in Angkor Thom, providing a nice view from the top. As seen below, the western staircase (at the back) is the most easily ascended. Located inside the ancient Royal Palace compound, Phimeanakas served as the King’s temple.
By evening, we were “templed-out”, and decided to head back to the hotel to rest, until dinner again at night. Siem Reap’s nightlife stretches to near dawn these days with Pub Street coming to life around dusk and the last bars and clubs in town closing as late as 4am. Scattered across town, many pubs and restaurants are clustered mostly in the Old Market area, especially along Pub Street and the in-betweens. The bars in this area offer amazing happy “hour” deals, one of which was Angkor Famous Bar and Restaurant, which we had our dinner and one-for-one beers in.
To complete the day, we asked ‘B’ to take us for a good (and decent) massage. I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was definitely off the beaten path and still a huge bungalow with over 20 staff at hand (literally), ready to welcome visitors pining for a good massage. USD$7 for an hour got us a good massage to ease the aches, though I seem to have gotten a masseuse that stood on my back for a good minute while the others didn’t experience a similar torture. Comparing this with a 200 Baht Thai massage I had in Bangkok, I prefer the latter.
Siem Reap Day 2 (Saturday, 26th May)
As I had suggested, we woke up early to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat around 5am, a little bit later that I had hoped for, since we basically rushed in to Angkor Wat like how the rest of the hoards of tourists did at 5.30am. Frankly, it wasn’t as fascinating as I had imagined it to be (which I assumed to resemble the sun arising from the ocean when one looks out into the sea). After all, facing Angkor Wat with the rising sun coming up from behind the majestic ruin only turned the blue sky turn brighter with each passing minute. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience just being there with a fun bunch of (cam-whoring) friends. After we got “templed-out” climbing more steps, we agreed to head back to our hotel to catch some snooze before meeting again for lunch.
Siem Reap Day 2 (Saturday, 26th May)
As I had suggested, we woke up early to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat around 5am, a little bit later that I had hoped for, since we basically rushed in to Angkor Wat like how the rest of the hoards of tourists did at 5.30am. Frankly, it wasn’t as fascinating as I had imagined it to be (which I assumed to resemble the sun arising from the ocean when one looks out into the sea). After all, facing Angkor Wat with the rising sun coming up from behind the majestic ruin only turned the blue sky turn brighter with each passing minute. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable experience just being there with a fun bunch of (cam-whoring) friends. After we got “templed-out” climbing more steps, we agreed to head back to our hotel to catch some snooze before meeting again for lunch.
After lunch, we headed to the Floating Village, otherwise known as Chong Khneas, at the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake (Boeung Tonle Sap). ‘B’ encouraged us to purchase our USD$11 tickets for the boat ride near our hotel as it would cost slightly more nearer to the lake. It took us another 30 odd minutes before we reached our destination, 15 km south of Siem Reap.
Cambodia’s Great Lake, the Boeung Tonle Sap is the most prominent feature on the map of Cambodia – a huge dumbbell-shaped body of water stretching across the northwest section of the country. In the dry season, it spans 2500 square kilometres in area; in the wet season, it swells to an expansive 12,000 square kilometres, making it one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. Because of the unique hydrological phenomenon in how the river changes direction in filling and draining, so do the human occupations at the edges of the lake take on similar characteristics. This is the impetus for the floating village, towering stilt houses, huge fish traps, economy and way of life that is intertwined with the cycles of the rising and falling (flooding) waters.
During the boat ride, ‘B’ helped point out the differing Khmer and Vietnamese floating households, along with the floating markets, schools, and even a basketball court! We also caught a glimpse of pigs reared in floating cages, and later when we docked at the souvenir and snack shop, crocodiles!
Thereafter, the impending storm signalled an early departure. But it wasn’t long before we found out we were too late in avoiding the storm, and got drenched and swayed by the strong currents that everyone feared capsizing! That experience alone was well worth the USD$11 ticket to adventure! In the video below, you’ll hear me exclaim loudly “oh no! his stick, his stick!” because the boat rocked so much at one point the boatman’s oar placed on top of the roof fell into the water. I assumed it wasn’t important but he actually turned the boat around just to pick up that piece of wood (luckily floating within sight on the surface of the raging waters) because it was important to push the boat out of dock in a correct heading, before starting the main motor. The video looks like it was held so stable by a highly skilled videographer enduring the bashing rain that it undermines how terribly our boat was rocking in the waters.
When we neared the place where we first got on the boat, we saw how the locals took a bath and indulged in fun at the same time, contrary to our sheepish avoidance of rain that continued to taunt any remaining piece of dry equipment (like cameras) we carried. Thankfully no camera was lost in the adventure.
We returned to the hotel, soaked drenched and ready for dinner at the Central Market (Phsar Kandal), which ‘B’ brought us to. Admittedly, it was one of the best local meals we had, amounting to USD$1 per person for the 5 dishes we ordered to share amongst 9 of us. With our stomachs satisfied, it was time to satisfy our aching bodies next with yet another body massage.
Siem Reap Day 3 (Sunday, 27th May)
The next morning, after Mandy and EeRah left to return to Singapore, we continued our Angkor temples adventure, utilising our 3-day pass for the last time. One of the most prominent places we had wanted to visit was Ta Phrom, once featured in Angelina Jolie’s movie - Tomb Raider, where massive trees climb over the temple walls, quite literally. Internationally left unrestored, massive fig and silk-cotton trees grow from the towers and corridors offering some of the best ‘tree-in-temple’ photo opportunities at Angkor. Flocks of noisy parrots (and tourists) flit from tree to tree adding to the jungle atmosphere.
After Ta Phrom, the sweltering heat prompted us to head back to the hotel for a dip in the pool. After all, paying USD$36 per night for a twin room urged us to fully utilise the amenities one way or another. Having no idea what else we could do in the evening before dinner, our driver ‘B’ suggested we pay a visit to the Cambodian Cultural Village since the performances only take place at on the weekends.
At USD$9 per entry, we decided to give it a shot, and arrived there in the evening to catch the cultural performances. This unique, sprawling cultural attraction in Siem Reap is intended to introduce any visitor to Cambodian culture and history. However, by the time we got in, we already missed an entire day’s line-up of shows, including a Khmer traditional wedding. Imagine Har Par Villa. There you go. One of us even commented that it was the cleanest, neatest and most developed part of Siem Reap thus far.
We got ‘B’ to drop us off at the Old Market area for dinner, and finally agreed to try eating at one of the roadside stalls. Each dish cost only 3000 Riels or USD$0.75 only! LC and I thought we’d fill half our stomachs first, and grab pizza to go later.
Now, my parents had come to Siem Reap a week before me and returned before I left Singapore. So my dad was strongly recommending this restaurant by the name of Happy Angkor Pizza where he claimed had good pizzas but bad spaghetti. In a similar fashion, I had somewhat convinced LC we needed to find this Happy Pizza place around the Pub Street area. When we finally did, the girls looked at us with so much doubt and asked if we really wanted a happy pizza, while LC and I continued to assume the girls were questioning our hunger.
After LC ordered his takeaway Hawaiian pizza, Jun and Min asked us again if we knew what we were ordering, before finally revealing why they were worried for us. Their friend had also visited Siem Reap some time back, and told them the whole story behind Happy Pizzas. Apparently, they contain weed in them!
Everyone burst out laughing owing to the confusion arising from the assumption made earlier. In all honesty, LC and I were totally innocent in thinking that Happy Pizza would have any indirect references to weed. When I looked at the menu again this time, and saw a few tourists posing with their “Happy Pizzas” in the “best happy pizza restaurant” in town, together with the artificial leaves (weed) hanging by the side walls, it then struck us about their assumption of us knowing what we were ordering was not wrong to say the least. Moreover, when the girls kept hearing me repeat how my dad actually recommended this place, they thought it was a sign of approval! Hahahaha!
So, in order to affirm the assumption, LC approached a single American tourist sitting behind us, asking if a “Happy Pizza” had weed in it. He replied yes, only if we specifically requested for a “Happy” pizza. Otherwise they wouldn’t add it. When his came and looked no bigger than the diameter of a CD, his eyes beamed and he tucked in immediately, claiming that’s what he came to Siem Reap for. After his first bite, LC asked him for feedback, and it was just hilarious how the American guy described the pizza’s quality: “The taste - *signals with a thumb’s down*, the crust – tastes like crackers, but the weed, yeah you could taste it alright.”
We decided to pass on any more massages that night, after aching slightly from the previous two days’ massages, so it was back to the hotel for Round 3 of drinking games.
Siem Reap Day 4 (Monday, 28th May)
By then, we figured we already had covered most of the interesting things, and decided to go slow on our last day with more eating and shopping. We walked on foot from our hotel to the Old Market area, and passed by more Happy Pizza restaurants, and in the daylight, it all seemed clearer now what “Happy” and “Ecstatic” pizzas actually are.
We also experienced the Cambodian floods in the afternoon, sat Tuks-Tuks, visited the Angkor Night Market, and saw a pseudo 7-11 convenience store.
That night, we treated ourselves to a last meal in Pub Street, where we shared the famous amok dish, and enjoyed USD$2 cocktails. And that marked the end of an enjoyable “graduation” trip with an international mix of awesome friends I met thanks to Ken Lam, without whom the trip would not be as fun. The trip, while opening my eyes to the third-world lifestyle and prompting me to appreciate my Singaporean one, also leaves me pining for another trip with the spontaneously fun girls I had great opportunity in meeting – Edda, Min, Jun, Mandy, and EeRah. And of course, the ever-charming guys LC and Ken Lam, you guys rock!
For more pictures, check out Edda's blog here!
