Siem Reap - Angkor Wat Part 1

After getting our 1-day pass ticket, we were off to Angkor Wat! I was so excited! Remembering just 2 months back in Bangkok where I took a photo of the model of Angkor to inspire myself to come here. Finally, I was gonna see the real thing!

The tuk-tuk driver dropped us at the entrance, and I told him to come pick us up 2 hours later. Even if I finished earlier, I don't think I would mind just spending more time here. To be frank, I didn't know what to expect. My research hasn't been exactly that extensive! So from the main entrance, I started walking towards the main attraction. Above is actually taken on our way back. As you can see, Angkor is quite far from the entrance, and it was quite a walk to get there, in the morning sun!

I read that Angkor Wat was designed with some reservoir around it. So walking through the bodies of water, was kinda like a cleansing ritual towards the sacred temple, right? It was a beautiful day. No rain in sight!

After walking for almost quite a long time, I was beginning to wander if 2hours was even enough since I haven't even reach the temple! But in front of me, slowly but surely, Angkor Wat started to appear. I always that Angkor Wat was made up of three towers. Now I know there are actually five...

The path towards the temple were filled with stone guardians from another world, standing gallantly at each crossway. It was like entering into another era, another world. Something you only see on movies. But this time, it was real. At  least, it used to be real. To think that long time back, this was the center of the Khmer Empire. Something I hardly know about. 

Even before reading the main temple, you can see minor structures along the way. I didn't detour to check them out. But what a beautiful day it was, to capture the greens and the blues of nature. I was quite overjoyed at the sight.

Here is a view from after reaching the actual entrance of Angkor Wat. Look how far we had to walk! I was also wandering, is the way back the same? Cause I would have to make my way back to meet our driver later!

Moving into the temple, I really did not know what to expect. I though it would be an open space, a temple like building for worship like the usual Thai or Chinese temples. But what I found at the perimeter, were corridors and corridors of stone pathway. It was like I was walking into a pyramid. I've never been into a pyramid before, but I guess this would be how it felt like from all the movies I've watched!

Passing through the perimeter structure, inside the walls, there are further temples in the middle. I took so many photos that day, but I can't upload them all here. But every turn, every wall, every corner, where beautiful sand stone carving. I will do a dedicated post of those carving after each temple I visit. For they were so detailed, so beautiful and grand that I felt that whoever worked on this place, must have loved it very much, either the empire, or the gods, or both. I did find some materials on youtube that state that Angkor Wat was built by slaves. But looking at all these artisan carving, I find it rather hard to believe.

Above are court dancers carving into the sandstone of the walls. I find them so delicate and feminine. 

There were also stoned stature along the corridors. Mainly Buddhist or Hindu in nature. Most were without head. I also wander why that is. My husband said that they were probably stolen long ago by thieves.... I like that the corridors were quite empty. It was the rainy season when we visited, and one hour earlier than most Klook tours would have started. I like the feeling of having the place all to ourselves to explore. 

Right at the end of the temple, were the dreaded small and steep stairs of Angkor Wat that had given me much doubt on whether to ever visit this place. I am not good with stairs as I tend to get dizzy. But as long as there are hand rails, I was ok to climb it. My fear of stairs have somewhat subsided after climbing a ridiculously steep rock steps in the Kunisaki Peninsular last year in search of Buddha carving on rocks. After that tripped, any manmade stairs doesn't really scare me as much anymore. I'll post about that one day of my Kyushu trip in 2023.

Here is the beautiful view from the very top of Angkor Wat. You can see the areas surrounding the temple. You can see the straight roads leading towards the north south east west. It was a very organised structure!

There are some statue of Buddha you can pay your respect to at the top. I like that it wasn't anything fancy. 

Above is one of my favourite Buddha Statue, mainly due to the single lotus flower placed slightly off center of it. After working on this blog collection, I think I roughly know why I like Siem Reap so much. It was the simplicity, and the nature. Just like the temples I see in Japan, they were always simple, made of stone or wood, and always surrounded by nature, water and plants. It was similar here, and I think that was what I was drawn to.  It was an interesting reflection, cause it was rare that I would like a place so instantly. I usually take some time to warm up to a foreign place. 

As we were making our way back, we found the pond where most photos of Angkor Wat was taken with the reflection on the water. There are many photographers that offers to take a photo of you for 1USD. If you just see where they stand, you can just go there and take a similar photo on your phone for free :P

I love the colours of the photo above. 

And the lack of colours of the photo below. 

Siem Reap - Second Day Breakfast at the Hotel

 

Apologies for the brief 20days break from posting. I had guest over at my place, and I also spent some time travelling to Beijing. These days I have more trips than time to post them! So many backlogs! But I'm back now! For a while at least. So let's continue with my Angkor Wat Adventure! 

Did you know that French once ruled Cambodia? Yeah, I did not. I know very little about Cambodia except that it was famous for Angkor Wat, and also Pol Pot. But the selection of books in the hotel kinda gave away that most people who visited here were French. 

I can't read much French, but I can roughly make out a little about this Le Club Des 5 book content from Enid Blyton! Lol. My brother has the whole collection when I was a kid!

It was a quiet morning in the hotel. I was rather anxious about how to visit Angkor Wat at this point. I didn't know how to get there, where to buy the tickets etc. I just know that I wanted to get there on this very day. I had taken down the whatsapp QR code of the tuk tuk driver that drove us to our hotel the day before, so I texted him to see if he was interested to bring me and husband around for a one day arrangement. Luckily, he said yes. Else I really wouldn't know what I'd do. I'd probably find another way, but I was really relief that he said yes. So on that morning, he was to pick us up at 8am, and breakfast was supposed to start at 7am. Plenty of time! So we made our way to the cafe to enjoy our breakfast. It was a rather nice quiet hotel. I like it cause it has a sleepy cat there, and also a friendly dog outside. I don't often warm up to dogs, but I did like the big puppy that followed us around yesterday evening. 

The breakfast didn't start at 7am. 7am was just the time the staff arrived to start opening up the cafe! After ordering, the food didn't reach us till around 730am! We ordered 3 sets of breakfast for the 2 of us. My friend don't do breakfast, and I see no point in wasting a perfectly paid breakfast set! So we ordered all 3 sets on both days we stayed there.

It was quite a substantial set. The omelette was just so so, but the other two set was quite nice. But it was quite a rush, and I had to eat the remaining of my baguette on the tuk tuk cause the drive also came at 730am!

I love travelling by tuk tuk. Is one of those slow joy of travelling. I love the roads of Siem Reap that is so green, and the wind in my face as we drove along. I told the driver that we needed to get tickets first, and lucky for me, he knew where to take us, cause I sure didn't! Apart from the ticket purchasing, I have told him all the temples I would like to visit, and he had quoted me 30USD. It was a bit on the high side, but I was quite desperate to see Angkor Wat on that day itself before the weather forecasted rain in the upcoming days! Anyway, it was still cheaper than booking a tour with a guide!

Interestingly, the tickets to Angkor Wat Archeological Park can be purchased at the Angkor Wat Panorama Museum. Now who would have guess that! Luckily there wasn't much queue to get an individual one-day pass to visit the park. Before landing here, I always though that Angkor Wat was a single location to visit. After landing here and reading up before the trip, I realised that I wasn't going to be able to cover every single thing in the park! So I've listed the following for my driver to bring us to: Angkor Wat (2h), Bayon Temple (1h), Preah Khan (1h), Ta Prohm (1h), Banteay Srei (1h), and Phnom Bakheng (1h). The "h" stands for "hour", and yes, you need at least 2 solid hours to see the whole of Angkor Wat alone! Factor in also maybe an hour for lunch. I also understand that my driver cost 30USD because Banteay Srei was a lot further off from the other temples. Lucky for me, it was a good arrangement, cause the long ride there actually gave us time to rest in between all the other temples!

Here's my 1-day pass ticket. You have to show it everywhere you go for entrance to the temples. I like it that it has my face on it :) Makes a great souvenir! And yes, it cost 37USD for a 1-day pass. There are also 3-days and 7-days pass you can get. And to be honest, for the amount of stuff we saw on that day, I don't think 37USD was expensive compared to the historical treasure we saw. Just note that before you come, please do your research and know where you want to go. It is a very huge park! For example,  Banteay Srei was a good 30mins by tuk tuk away! Do you really want to save money and walk or cycle there in the heat and dusty road? 

Let the adventure begins!

Siem Reap - First Day Walking Around

On our brief walk on our first evening, we came across a few international schools around the area, especially this huge American International School. Is that why most people here speaks English so well? I love that they have the local statue as part of their main gate welcoming feature. 

 

We also came across a huge supermarket and went in to explore. Lots of things were on sale, but all the prices were in USD. Things weren't exactly cheap. I didn't buy anything as I wasn't sure if I have enough cash for the trip. I wanted to buy the Amok spice paste, but it was almost 1.50USD! 

My husband did get this local beer to try. It was nice, kinda like shandy. But after this, we actually went into a craft beer shop, and wow, you could really taste the difference between the two beers!

Above the craft beer shop which happens to be just next to our hotel. It was opened by a German guy (I think). We actually met him when he stopped by after his boxing session and chatted a while. 

The made the beer in-house, and it was interesting to see all the equipment in the shop.

Each bottle of beer cost around 3USD. Below are the three they recommended. We tried the yellow bottle one, and it was delicious! Fruity and refreshing. However, I didn't react too well to it, so my face was all red with just a few sip. Still, it was a good evening to start off our short trip. It was the raining season in Cambodia, so I was gonna try to go to Angkor Wat as earlier in the trip as possible. Angkor Wat was the only bucket list item I have to checked off in this trip. Nothing else matter!

Siem Reap - First Day Dinner

After checking in and settling down, we headed out to find dinner. The receptionist told us we can turn left and walk down to find some local food, and find we did! We saw a few options along the way, but when we came across this meat broth soup, everyone more or less collectively agreed we were having out dinner here! Lol.

I wasn't even sure what meat it was. Probably pork or beef. Luckily I didn't really minded what I ate. The soup was slightly more oily than a normal vietnamese pho soup, but it was still delicious, and very affordable. 

And I just love the cut cat bowl they serve the soup in!

This is the nice lady who sold the soup. She spoke good English. Actually, almost everyone I met could speak or understood English. To be honest, I thought Cambodia would be quite tough to navigate and travel through, but I was pleasantly wrong. 

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and came across a bbq store. I was full and didn't feel like any more meat. But when the seller said the magic word "liver", I immediately said yes I would like some! Lol. Bbq liver was a rare find!

We ended up having two beef and two liver stick to try, while my friend ordered a whole lot more. It was delicious! It was so good that we ate it again the next day. I super love the bbq liver and still think about it often. First impression of food in Cambodia? Delicious and affordable! I was looking forward to more delicious food. I have compiled a long list of food I wanted to try on this trip. 

After snacking, it was still early and I didn't really want to go back to the hotel yet. It was so bright, so we decided to walk down the streets and maybe find the main road where most of the shops were. It was a lovely walk, and I love the neighbourhood. I love that there were so many kids playing outside, and that neighbours were just sitting outside in the streets chatting. I love it that when I smile at people, they smile back at me. I love that the road was wide, and that the dogs on the street was friendly. It's not often I feel totally comfortable in a foreign country instantly, but I felt very much at home in Siem Reap. From the first encounter of the Grab driver coordinator at the airport, to the hotel receptionist, to the food vendors. There was just something very familiar and welcoming about the people here that was hard to described. It felt almost like home, like I belong.... 

Siem Reap - A Last Minute Impromptu Trip

 

After my Alor Setar trip with my friend, I decided to join him to Siem Reap as I've always wanted to visit Angkor Wat. It was a very impromptu trip as I booked my flight on Monday 5-Aug-2024, and flew off on Wednesday 7-Aug-2024. The flight itself was rather expensive as I needed to be back by Sunday 11-Aug-2024 since I have agreed with my cousins to go out with them on 12-Aug-2024. But since, if not now, then when? It was hard enough to find anyone who wanted to go Cambodia! So on 7-Aug-2024 morning, I found myself in the Penang Airport and wondering how to enter the domestic departure gate! Lol. Yeah, this was actually my first time flying domestic from Penang. I was surprised that they have better shops inside the departure hall, and a big Old Town Coffee inside. Why like dat!

I flew Air Asia, taking the same flight as my friend, and transiting at KLIA. It was also my first time in KLIA, lol. I had high expectation, but boy was I disappointed. The transit area that I went through was utterly boring. My husband actually met me inside the airport, as he has decided to join me since I've already paid for the hotel. If only I know free lodging was all it took for him to go to Angkor Wat with me, I would have gone earlier! 

Above the gate at KLIA as we waited to board our connecting flight to Siem Reap. 

After touching down, there were some confusion on how to fill in the electronic entry form.  Once that was done, we waltzed through immigration, and out into the arrival hall. I was selected to do the Grab booking, and happily booked a tuk-tuk for the 3 of us. Luckily we all had just a backpack, and the seat was just enough for all of us to squeeze in. And what a ride it was! Almost an hour to Siem Reap, through the country side and highway, thru rain and shine! I love Cambodia already! The tuk-tuk ride alone made my day and welcome me into this beautiful country with it's friendly people. Yup, I fell in love with Siem Reap at first sight :)

My friend booked us a nice hotel slightly off the main road, and quite a distance away from Siem Reap River where all the touristy market was. Frankly, I like this quiet hotel a lot more than the 2nd one, even though it was quite far from everything else. It was quiet and relaxing.

It even had a beautiful pool just outside our room. Sadly I was having my delightful time of the month and can't really wander into the inviting waters. But on the whole, I love this hotel. 

Day Trip to Alor Setar - Pekan Rabu

 

Pekan Baru, the inspiration of my day trip! Why did I want to come here? To eat local food and see local goods of course. I would have like to spend more time browsing here, but it's kinda hard to do with friend who don't shop. This Pekan was quite a walk from the KTM station. And it's also famous for being the place that Dr M used to sell fried banana fritters when he was a kid. 

Before we went to Dataran Alor Setar, we did stop by for a light lunch. I have two things I wanted to try here, laksa, and nasi lemak royale. Well, no nasi lemak was in sight, although the rice dishes looked tempting to me. But I like to savour and enjoy my food slowly, and it was hard for me to do so with a companion with me. Anyway....

We did tried the Laksa Utara, which translate to laksa from the north. It looked suspiciously like Laksa Penang, which is asam(tamarind) laksa, except it comes with hardboiled egg, and no prawn paste. Verdict? Penang Laksa nicer lah.

My friend also ordered this laksa tanjung kechai. I tried the soup and it was refreshing. I didn't like the noodles much, but I definitely like the soup! I wish they would serve it in smaller portion so that I can just savour different laksa soup! Each bowl of laksa cost 6rm, which was normal local price. 

After the hot walk around Dataran Alor Setar, we came back and had some cendol and lengcheeice. Each cost around 5rm. I'm not much of a shaved ice person, but it was nice to have something cold after walking in the hot sun. A tad too sweet for me. 

Above is what the whole pekan looked like inside. Floors and floors of stores. And I as aiming for the top floor where they sold traditional food and snacks! There were a few rattan stores at the ground floor which I liked too. But I was too lazy to carry a bulky rattan goods back with me. Plus, it wasn't as cheap as I thought it would be....

I love browsing here. So many goods! So many snacks. I came with a list of things I wanted to try. And the people were nice enough to chat with me. So I did ended up buying a few stuff. Lucky for my list, I could shop quite fast so that my friend didn't need to waste his time waiting for me. 

I bought two of these salted fish to try too, since they were famous in Kedah. Haven't cooked them yet. I just received some sambal from Malacca today, so maybe I'll cook some nasi lemak soon and try it with them :)

After shopping, my friend wanted some hot tea, so we went to have tea. Before that, I saw a store frying fried cempedak (jackfruits), and this was a snack I love. So I asked the owner how much they were selling them. She told me that they were not for sale. I didn't quite understand, so I asked why they were frying them for? She told me that they were cooking it for their own consumption. She ask me how many I wanted, and told me to just take and eat, lol. I didn't know how to react. But I really really wanted to eat those cempedak! So I asked for 4. She gave it to me and refuse any payment. I didn't even buy anything from her! I was too shocked by her kindness. They taste so good too! It was the first cempedak I ate this season. I love the smell and the taste of it so much. I've been haunting the fried banana vendor near my house to see when he would start selling them.

All in all, I don't know about my friend, but I had a great time in Alor Setar! When we reached Penang in the early evening, we went to have some Bak Kut Teh at Weld Quay area. It was delicious! 52rm inclusive of drinks for the meal above. If it's herbal bak kut teh, it can never go wrong for me. And I love it that they have mixed parts inside the bowl too. My friend ordered the mushroom version, and all he got was mushrooms in his soup, lol. But luckily we also ordered a side of extra pork belly, so I tactfully let him eat more of those. After chatting a while after our meal, we went our separate ways home. Thanks for accompanying me to Alor Setar and entertaining my crazy day trip!