Cambodia 2007 - Day 4

Cambodia 2007

Day 4:

A shuttle bus came at 730 am to pick us to the bus deport to board the bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (the Mekong Express).

I was quite pleased with the service encountered so far. Our room was clean, there was hot water, the guesthouse sent a tuk-tuk driver to pick us up from the airport and then there was also a shuttle bus that picked us up from our guesthouse to the bus deport if we purchased a Mekong Express bus ticket which happened to be 10 USD only.

It was almost hotel-like services. Someone to chauffeur us to the guesthouse albeit a tuk-tuk...and then someone to ferry us to the bus deport.

However since we did not plan for after Siem Reap, except for researching on how to get to Phnom Penh next, we had totally no clue as to what we were going to do when we reached Phnom Penh. We had a few options. We could search for a guesthouse in Phnom Penh and then tour the city first before heading to Kampot or Kep before returning to catch the flight back to Singapore or head to Kampot or Kep first before touring Phnom Penh. Much actually depended on whether there was a bus leaving for Kampot and Kep when we arrived in Phnom Penh. Since nobody knew...we really took it easy and I was proud of Gan. If it was before, I am sure she would have done all the research possible and panicked if we missed our schedule or something. However this time, she wasn't too stressed nor worried and we just came up with other options in case we weren't able to leave for Kampot or Kep right away.

The bus to Phnom Penh was full however we saw really ugly Malaysians. They actually acted like typical ugly Singaporeans !! Initally we thought that they were from Hong Kong as they spoke in Cantonese then some of them conversed in Hokkien and we were confused. We knew that they weren't Singaporeans because they sound a little different. It was only when they spoke a bit of Mandarin before we realised that they were Malaysians.

The fuss was over seats. Can you imagine that? The seats on the Mekong Express were allocated. I think that this Malaysian guy along with his girlfriend (OR NOT..since he really came across as a sissy) changed his seat because the group had got on first and perhaps he thought that the bus weren't full. Initially he was allocated the seats before the toilet.

Ok, so a Singaporean Indian family boarded the bus at the same time as us. The Malaysian had taken their seats. I didn't pay attention until I heard the father boomed something like, "No !! YOU change..." And then the Malaysian guy along with the girl went back to their original seats beside us and screamed, "WHAT THE F**K !!!!" Gan and I looked at each other in disbelief. I supposed he was pissed because probably the service crew had said it was ok to switch seats, not expecting that the bus would be full.

Still.....his reaction was really ugly and totally uncalled for, don't you think? I mean it was bad luck to be allocated seats near the toilet. We had seats right beside him so we were near the toilet too. Big deal. Being able to change seats is an advantage but it is not some god-given right especially since they were allocated.

Then we witnessed some uncles coming up to him and offering to change seats with him presumably so he could be out of his dire mood because he was sulking so badly he was affecting the air that Gan and I were breathing in. It was quite annoying having uncles and aunties coming up to him and trying to pacify the spoilt sissified brat and him having to make a whole show by declining loudly.

All Gan and I wanted to do was to 'stone' in peace and the racket was making it almost impossible too. I would call him a sissy because his gestures were so effeminate and believe me....he made a big show out of holding a piece of tissue to his nose throughout the entire journey before he changed seats after people got down at the rest-point.

I mean.....the girl beside him didn't do anything....we didn't do anything...or maybe we had a bad nose and didn't smell anything....hmm maybe the girl beside him was his sister and not his girlfriend....

Anyway we were glad when he changed seats...Gan was commenting that he was affecting the aura around us.. after he changed seats, uncles and aunties stop coming by to offer to swap places with him and we were finally allowed some peace and quiet.

So disgusting right...

Ah well.. we mostly slept or stared at the scenery or just..well 'stone'.

It was about a 6 hour jouney. The Mekong Express offers ok services. They gave out wet towels, everybody had a bottle of water and a box of bread..plus the bus had toilet except that we didn't use it. We used the toilet at one of the stop-over. Gan and I walked a bit in search of a spectacle shop to tighten the screw on the spectacles but we didn't manage to find any.

Oh and I developed rashes. It got really bumpy and itchy on my arms. It was the first time that it happened, a testimony to how dirty Cambodia is. However since I did not develop it until the 4th day on the bus, I have no idea if it was the bus, 3 days of Siem Reap's puffs of travel dust, the two bottles of wine that I shared with Gan in 2 days or allergy to any unknown spices that perhaps was included in our food.

Gan kept telling me not to scratch or it would spread. But it was simply....just so itchy !!! (>.<) Since I didn't want to get nagged at.... I scratched when Gan wasn't looking. =P

We reached Phnom Penh close to 1 p.m. When we got down, we hurried into the office to ask whether they offered services to Kampot and Kep. They didn't. However they were nice enough to tell us that Central Market did but didn't know what time the bus leaves. We were in such a haste, I left my painting of Angkor Wat behind. We rushed for a tuk-tuk and the driver said that he thinks that the bus to Kep and Kampot leaves at 1.15 pm but he wasn't sure. It felt like the Amazing Race. Seeing that we were in a rush, the driver probably took the opportunity to rip us off. He charged us 2 USD to get to Central Market which was actually just a few streets away but we had no choice as we didn't want to waste time bargaining.

When we got there, Gan rushed into the office to ask while I waited on the tuk-tuk with our bags. It was only then I realised that I didn't have my painting with me. Gan came out mumbling something which I couldn't catch and then we left for the bus deport. The driver charged us another 1 USD to get there. (-_-")

When we reached the bus deport, it was after 1 p.m. The bus leaves at 1.15 p.m and we haven't purchased the tickets. We found the counter that sells the tickets to Kampot and Kep and Gan instructed me to look for the bus while she buys our tickets. I mean it was really adrenaline-pumping...

I found the bus...hung around while keeping one eye on the bus and the other on Gan. She rushed over with our tickets which cost 4 USD. We dumped our bags in the baggage space and boarded the bus. *PHEW....Then we set off and somehow it was really hot. So we swapped places a few times before we finally found comfortable seats away from the sun.

I managed to reach the Mekong Express office after a few failed attempts. Everything was so confusing. They offered 3 numbers. However I think one of them wasn't it or maybe it was the country code and area code that we needn't dial. The person on the line couldn't really understand either. Finally I got the correct number and found a nice lady and we could mutually understand each other accented English. She agreed to keep the painting for me until we returned to Phnom Penh. So nice right...=)

And since Gan was worried about having no accomodations, she asked me to call and book because she was feeling anti-social. (-_-")

Actually there wasn't any need because people there really are quite eager to earn our money. However I did call though and her first choice was fully booked. She didn't note down the number for her second choice and so we booked rooms for her third choice. The guy said that he was out and needed to return to check for the availability of the rooms so I said I would call back later.

Taking the bus was quite an experience. Check out the video to see how bumpy it was. We actually flopped about in our seats !

It was a rickety old bus but I kind of enjoyed the quaint experience. =)

The views of the rice fields were amazing....

Rice fields after rice fields,

weighted down with rice ready for harvesting,
glistening gold in the light.

Kep and Kampot are 45 mins apart.
When we reached Kep, it was already 5+ in the afternoon.

All those pictures were taken from the moving bus so they weren't extremely clear or had good framing. But imagine how I felt.....being on a rickety bumpy bus, heading for a little quiet town that is not swarming with tourists....golden rice fields with cows and buffaloes roaming freely...watching all that serenity as people went about their work quietly...

Gan and I didn't speak much and just slept or stared out of the window, while swaying from side to side like coconut trees in a storm. The bus was probably only half-filled at most and I was glad for it. I like space. =P

Well...on the other hand, we noticed this shifty uncle who kept staring at us. When we first got on, we changed seats about three times to avoid the sun. The uncle changed along with us. Then he kept turning back which was like so weird because we were the only ones at the back.

I looked away from Gan and commented quietly that the horrid uncle seemed to be really pinning his attention on us. Gan replied that she noticed him too and we wondered if he was trying to steal our stuff or something...We resolved to be more alert and only heaved a sigh of relief when he got down at one of the stops and disappeared.

And then....we were the only Asians there that were not Cambodians. Gan noticed that the Caucasians seemed to receive preferential treatment. At least there was a guy on the bus who gave out name cards (I think) to all the Caucasians. I said that perhaps he thought that we were Cambodians. Gan pointed out that since she was wearing spectacles, it was hardly possible for us to be mistaken as Cambodians.

*shrugs...if they don't want to do our business, we can take it elsewhere. I wasn't particularly offended by it.

We passed through Kep and when we reached Kampot, there was a surge of people clamouring to recommend their guesthostels or asking us to take their tuk-tuks or motorbikes. They nearly gave me a headache. Luckily we had booked a guesthostel and they had arranged for someone to come and pick us up.

I was however a little taken aback when I realised that our mode of transport was motorbikes. I was a little sceptical about balancing both me and my backpack on it. The guy who I rode with perched my backpack in front of him while Gan had hers on. I have no idea which is safer. Hah. It seemed that having mine is front compromise the rider's ability to navigate whereas carrying a backpack makes keeling over more of a probability.

After the initial few seconds of adjusting, I cast away the doubts and really enjoyed the motorbike ride. I LOVE BEING ON A MOTORCYCLE !!

The wind in my hair...just feeling the whizzing past of everything...I wouldn't mind doing it forever, except that in Singapore I probably be a lot more worried about safety. However in Cambodia you just cast caution to the wind. We rode without helmets as pillions with strangers and it was totally cool.

I mean everybody will probably think that we were crazy and how dangerous it was. However it was Cambodia where it is the norm to do so. I wouldn't do it in Singapore because if some stranger offered me a ride without a helmet, I would really doubt his ability to navigate the traffic in Singapore. Besides it is not the norm to have motorbike taxis. However over there, there are fewer cars...the speed was slower and I suppose you can't go too fast on dirt or bumpy roads. And motorbike taxis are just as common as taxis here in Singapore or tuk-tuks over there.

We finally reached our guesthostel by the river. The room was a bit of a letdown although it was big. There were strong working fans but there doesn't seem to be an opening for fresh air. The ventilation fan wasn't working and we didn't want to open the windows. There wasn't a place for us to hang our clothes for bathing, nor a sink and the toilet door wouldn't close properly. The room looked pretty dismal. But it was only for 6 USD per night and I guess we just needed some adjusting after our better room in Siem Reap. I didn't mind everything and wouldn't mind staying there again if they fixed the ventilation fan because it offers a nice view of the river. You hardly notice the stuffiness of the room unless you go out and come into the room again. I mean..seriously..it only costed us about 4.20 SGD per night each.

We went to check in after we had deposited our luggage. It turned out that the guy whom I rode pillion with was a guide who spoke very good English. His name is Van Dad and he told us to call him "Dud". I could tell he was a big eager for us to go up to Bokor mountain on motorcycles with him. He kept reiterating that it would be fun to spend the night there, instead of following a car up. I was a bit hesitant as I've heard that the road is extremely rocky. I looked to Gan who seemed ok with it and eventually I decided that the locals are good at their stuff anyway so... I mean based on gut and instinct, I knew there shouldn't be any problem. However being rational, I still felt compelled to look at the issue from all angles and after weighing the various factors quickly, I agreed.

It was 25 USD each, to bring us up and back on motorbikes and 5 USD for entrance into Bokor mountain and another 5 USD to stay at the ranger station there. It sounded reasonable to me and we agreed. He said he would come to pick us up the next day at 8.30 a.m and we could leave our things in the guesthouse.

We then bathed and I had to clean up the mess in my backpack because the jar of moisturiser that I brought had spilled. Gan also hustled me to go bathe because of my rashes that were throughout my whole body. It was amazing how the lack of hot water didn't affect me. I think it was because of the rash, my skin actually felt warm when I palmed my arms and forearms... and it was lucky that the place wasn't that cold to begin with or I would have came out with chattering teeth like the stay in Chiangmai. After we bathed, we had this weird seafood fried rice for dinner at the guesthouse, eating and reading at the same time. The sun had already set by then.

Dinner was overall pale pink in colour and I think they fry it with salted fish paste or something. Somehow I was in the phase where I either didn't require much food intake or I was gradually losing my appetite because the food didn't really agree with me. But I think it was the former because I wasn't turned off by the food. I just didn't feel hungry like the periods where I will not binge and binge again. I finshed 3/4 of the plate and had to compelled myself to polish off the rest.

Because of the rashes, I slept in my sleeping bag. It wasn't that the bed looked dirty but at least I know that the sleeping bag was guaranteed clean. I also messaged my consultant in Aust, Jac, and asked her if I have no known allergies to food and never had rashes because of alcohol, could the rashes throughout my body be due to dirt or something. She said that it was probably heat rash and I should apply calmine lotion or get an antihistamine from the pharmacy. It is so cool to have a pharmacist friend who knows her stuff isn't it? =P

Anyway, it is amazing how much we sleep in Cambodia. By 9 p.m I think we were already fast asleep. Even though we didn't tour today, I still really enjoyed the road trip. And you know what? I bet I will still enjoy it as much as the first time if I do it again. *beams

Cambodia 2007 - Day 3

Cambodia 2007

Day 3:

- Sunrise at Sras Srang

We got up early again for a sunrise at Sras Srang. It was serene and beautiful. There were hardly any tourists however there were many kids clamouring to ask us if we wanted to have coffee, breakfast or purchase postcards and scarfs. With the colour of the sky reflected in the water, the place had a mystical beauty. It was however dark and we didn't have any torchlight. The weirdest thing was....Gan actually did pack a torchlight, we just never thought to bring it everytime when we needed it.

I actually got rather annoyed at a point in time when trying to focus on the sunrise because the kids just wouldn't give up. They were overly friendly, like pushing bangles made onto our wrists. We tried to return it to them but they refused, telling us that it was a gift and that we needn't pay them. Gan and I thus felt obliged to have breakfast there. I asked for tea with milk and I got a weird concoction. I think they used green tea instead and the tea was cream with a hint of green. It tasted superbly sweet too. Somehow I don't think they drink milk tea over there because it wasn't even on the menu.

I was constantly pestered by a boy who wanted to sell me postcards. Initially he pestered Gan, however after I bought a scarf from this cute little girl who looked to be only 5 or 6 (I'm sure she is older) and after Gan got rid of him him giving him Oreos, he started to repeat for me to buy postcards...and he wouldn't stop. The locals were very friendly. However I am not altogether sure if they were friendly because it was a ploy to get us to buy something. I bought a pair of fishermen pants and when we left, a woman said that "You don't play fair, you know?!!" presumbably because we didn't get an item from everybody. I think an older girl also cried because I didn't get anything from her.

It was then I got the feeling that I was supposed to do charity and 'help' the Cambodians because I came from a more affluent country, never mind if I needed the items they were selling or not.

Initially I felt bad about not getting stuff and then it changed to being annoyed over being made to feel obliged to buy their items from them. Oh well......

- Banteay Srei

We headed to Banteay Srei next, one of my favourite temples. It is made of pink sandstone. When the morning light hits it, it gleams of rich warm browns and copper tones. The place is small (relative to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom) but rather serene with the carvings still visible. When we went there, the place wasn't overcrowded with tourists, possibly because it was out of the way. We even napped on our tuk-tuk. However when we left, busloads of tourists were just beginning to arrive.

We bought a book each for about 7.50 USD. Considering that it was colour printed on good quality paper, it was quite worth it. However it was only later at Phnom Penh when we realised that we must have gotten a 'pirated' book.

Oh and we had some local food at some roadside stall. It looked really messy. It look like a tangled mess of white rice noodles or mifen in some beige colour soup. It tasted quite exotic and we were later informed that the bowl contains lotus and banana flowers. I actually had to force myself to finish it. The road-side stall located next to the dusty road was pretty unclean with flies flying around and sometimes landing on the plates and pots or even food. As you can well imagine, vehicles sometimes produces puffs of fine sand and dust. However logically speaking, a little inorganic dirt would not cause too great a harm to the body.

There was tea provided however I didn't dare drink any of it as cups were used only to be overturned for the next user. I wasn't that thirsty. From that, I knew they probably didn't really clean the utensils properly. Still that is quite all right. I am not usually so picky about the cleanliness of the eating place abroad. Quite gung-ho in fact. My stomach is quite strong after all the years of eating dinner only when I was ready to. So I sometimes only ate dinner that have been around for more than 6 or even 9 hours. I mean.. it is an experience right...=P

However even though I didn't feel like puking the food out, it was certainly a challenge to finish my bowl. We only had it because our tuk-tuk driver actually enthusiastically promoted the stall when we came out of Banteay Srei. He said he had two bowls. Frankly speaking the local fare didn't appeal because it just isn't what I am used to. It was definitely the exotic taste and how everything was cold, clammy and messy. One bowl of that messy noodle regardless of where it appears in, is quite enough. Thank you very much.

Anyway.. here are the pictures of one of my favourite temples.

Then it was back to the clusters of temples. I think we visited East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah Khan. There were so many temples and I think we visited some of the minor ones that I simply cannot really classify anymore. Neak Pean was quiet and I am sure it must have looked very pretty in the past when the water filled the ponds.

at Neak Pean...

at Preak Khan...

Preah Khan was relative free from tourists too. People who came were mostly on their own or in small groups. The place was only recently discovered (in the nineties, if I am not wrong). Parts of it were in disarray with certan sections having already crumbled. There are plans to conserve and maintain the place but the ruined parts have already become part of its charm.

Walking alone in there,
time seemed to have stood still.
If I could read there forever,
I would,
until only all that is left around me was dust.

Well, we didn't know what to do after we finished with the temples so guess what.. we returned to the hostel to zzz again !! We ventured out late afternoon to explore a bit of the town, bought more silk scarves and had an early dinner ar Pub Street in a different restaurant that offers Apsara dancing. However we were too early and finished dinner and decided that we didn't want to wait.

town of Siem Reap...

Pub Street at night...

Reading while waiting for dinner to come....

We had a cup of tea at a cafe that called itself Bubble Tea Cafe or something like that before deciding to get a bottle of red wine at the convenience stall. Clumsy me actually broke a small bottle. Luckily it only costed only 1 USD.

Back in our room, Gan only drank like 1/4 and promptly declared that she had enough and was going to sleep. Since I felt that throwing it away would be too wasteful, I finished it. The world tilted from side to side when I finished. It felt like I was walking on a little sampan. However I managed to brush my teeth and packed the clothes that had dried while making space for those that hadn't.

Slumber definitely came easily. Even without the alcohol, our room was really easy to sleep in. =)

Cambodia 2007 - Day 2

Cambodia 2007

Day 2:

- Sunrise at Angkor Wat

We got up around 4+ because our driver was scheduled to come at 5 a.m. It was a great feeling, taking the tuk-tuk. Heading to Angkor Wat under the cover of darkness, with the skies incredibly starry and the cool wind in my hair...I kept poking my head out to look at the skies, I lost my cap. It must have been as thus a few centuries ago with the same stars and Angkor Wat in the distance. The journey that morning will be etched in my heart forever, close always.

When we reached Angkor Wat, we had to make our way in the dark and we didn't have a torch again! So we depended on minimal lighting from the torchlights of other tourists. We didn't really know where to go and ended up following masses of dark shadows around. Finally, we reached a spot where most of the people settled for.

Angkor Wat is magnificent. One can scarely believe that it was built a few centuries before. The grandness of the buildings, the intricate carvings and how everything is so unique. I've read that at one glance the many asparas looked to be the same but in fact they are are all unique, different in their accessories or in the position of their hands...=)

The morning sun hitting the courtyard was also a sight to behold. What one sees is probably the exact same scene an observer standing in your place would have saw centuries earlier. Treading grounds that have seen the passage of time longer than our brief human lifespans is an incredible feeling. Touching the pillars, knowing that someone probably rested against it or have laid their hands on it just makes me feel that the long passage of time between us is but a moment's respite.

- Angkor Thom

I believe we went in through the South gate where there were rows of stone figures holding up the body of a naga (supposedly depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk). Gan was the one who brought the iconology to my attention and then after which, I saw them like almost everywhere...

It has its roots from the Hindu epic Bhagavata-Purana. The gods and demons churns the ocean of milk in order to obtain an elixir that will make them immortal. The gods and demons work together by pulling on a naga's (serpent) body.

It's really amazing how they managed to build all those massive monuments, isn't it? And I realised that the picture I took at the South gate of Angkor Thom would pass for a classic picture of a car advertisement.

Angkor Thom is not a temple but a city although there are ruins of shrines in the compound. Cambodia is definitely a hot place and the sun shines so brightly that I can really tan within two days. But I love it when the rays hit the ruins and puddles of light and shadows form...



We went to Bayon, within Angkor Thom first. It was a bit weird to see a balloon bearing the name of Tokyo University there. It totally didn't fit in with the decor. They were there to help to maintain and conserve the ruins. There were signages to explain what they were doing, the problems faced and the progress so far. An example I remembered was how sand was used to mould the blocks so that they fitted exactly but due to the nature of the stones, water has eroded them such that they no longer fitted exactly like before and have become fairly unstable.

As with maintaining historic sites, there is always the factor of authencity. It is not possible to remove and rebuilt everything for then the heritage would be lost. In trying to limit the replacements of stones (they also had to find matching stones) as well as having to work with the ancient design and workmanship and environmental erosion part of the authencity, one can imagine the difficulties that they face are of great consequence.

There were also many large faces and some of them were seen in temples later on too. I love this picture with the face catching the warmth of the sun because along with the aged stones that has transcend the centuries, comes with life on it that seemed sort of symbolic to me. It was totally apt that life should be there along with the ruins that have already weathered the elements over time.

Angkor Thom is big. In fact we headed to the Baphuon and I think Gan didn't want to go up. We wandered for some more before we got really quite tired. Not tired of taking in everything but our legs simply couldn't carry us in the fierce heat anymore.

In the grounds of the Royal Palace, I replaced the cap I lost with an extremely wide-brimmed hot pink hat. I do wish there was a better colour but given a choice between hot pink, a trashy red one that says New York and one with *ahem flower printed motifs, I chose the hot pink. I was pleased that it cost only 2 USD. I bargained of course. I can't remember what the seller quoted me. I was eager for the wide-brimmed hat just not in that colour and started to walk off before the seller called for me and agreed to sell.

Had to really wash it when I got back of course. But given the huge brim that totally cover my face, I probably will bring that pink hat with me on hot holiday trips.

Gan and I then flopped down under shade to sit, relax and take in the surroundings. We really couldn't walk anymore and it was not even noon yet.

We headed back to our tuk-tuk and he drove us to the North Kleangs that I noticed not too far off but was reluctant to walk to. I just wanted to see how they look like at close range. After which we left by one of the gates and headed to the next temple.

After which, we went to a series of temples, some were like little ruins hidden away in the jungle, others were the ancient version of skyscrapers that we needed to climb up to. There were still others that were fighting not to crumble under enormous roots of trees.

Here's a short video of what we saw when we sat and stare. We jus sat quietly, watching the leaves fall when the wind came rustling...

After which we headed back to the hostel around 3+ to...sleep again. Hah. We decided not to go and watch any sunsets after our tuk-tuk driver charged us extra. We woke up in the evening and headed to the Soup Dragon in Pub Street to eat our dinner. It really is quite a nice place and we had seats on the second floor. Across the street, there was a projection of Spiderman 3 on a big screen so we could watch if we wanted. I mostly read and wine was cheap. It was around 10 USD for less or a bottle and we finished our wine there and then.

We walked back...bathed and then finally climbed into bed around 10 or 11 pm.

Cambodia 2007 - Day 1

We took the last train to the airport and sat there waiting for about 6 hours before taking the 6 a.m. plane to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Siem Reap

Day 1:

- Silkworm farm

silk worms...

they are ready to be left alone to spin when they turn yellow

coccoons

extracting the fine silk

After they are dyed, they are spun into smaller bobbins for weaving.

The silk farm utilises traditional methods and instruments were crude. To extract the raw silk, workers would just throw silk coccoons in a bowl of hot water and patted the coccoons using a wooden U-shaped paddle. The fibres when passed through the narrow crevice would then be spun into a thread of raw silk.

They separate the raw sillk (outer layer of the coccoon) from the fine silk (inner layer of the coccoon) by looking at the colour. When all the raw silk have been extracted, the coccoon will be very yellow and the texture will be different. That is when the extraction of fine silk begins.

The silk threads are dyed with bark or various other organic material to achieve the colour that they want. However the colours are all so vibrant that the threads don't look as if they have been dyed with mere bark or grasses.

The fabrics are hand-woven and it is definitely a complicated process. It can take them 3 to 5 days to finish weaving one piece of fabric depending on how intricate the design is. However, hand-woven silk scarves (cheapest in SR) can be bought so cheaply there (2 for 5USD), it makes me wonder how do we attach the prices to labour..

- West Baray

I didn't take much pictures at the West Baray because it was noon and freaking hot. The picture is a river leading from the Baray. The lake is much bigger and it even has an island. The place has not much shade and many stalls with not much tourists, probably because we went at noon. However, there were still people taking boat rides and playing with the water. Gan and I got good deals for our silk scarves and fisherman pants. I think if it was cooler, it would be a good place to just sit and look at the sky.

(courtesy of half of Gan's stitched picture)

- War museum

Somehow I feel that we got duped into visiting the War museum. I guess we thought that it was about the wars in Cambodia and all. It was actually just a big compound showcasing old war equipment.

Ok, I wasn't really sure if there were land mines there or they just put up the signs to be funny. However I was careful not to step there and took a calculated risk in putting Evil on the signs. Maybe only guys will be interested in old war machinery, detailing when they were manufactured and destroyed. It was interesting no doubt but I wouldn't pay 3 USD (if i didn't remember wrongly for the admission.

Reaching for a gun...

It was only till later on then I came across a sign
that we are not supposed to help ourselves to them..=P

The gun was superbly heavy, it was a wonder people could aim with them...

An old helicopter outside the compound.

- Wat Thmei

The driver asked if we wanted to visit the Killing Fields and we agreed. However, it is not similar to the one in Phnom Penh. It does have a monument that consists of bones but it is located within the grounds of a temple to commenmerate the mass graves that was near Siem Reap. The temple murals were interesting. However without a guide or signage to explain, we felt quite.. well lost there. The place was also quite quiet with only a few pockets of Korean tourists with their guide on a short trip there.

We then went back to the hostel to rest because it was so hot and sunset was still far off. We napped before trudging down to an oily dinner at a nearby eatery and boarded our tuk-tuk at 4.30 pm. Portions are usually generous and oily. We orderd a platter of fried dumplings and there were puddles of oil on the plate. On occasion, oil would drip from the dumpling and not to say the least, there was a layer of oil on the sauce of vinegar when we were done.

The driver drove us to get temple pass. It was 20 USD for a day and the cost was proportional to the number of days you require at least up till 3 days (I didn't bother to look at the cost of temple passes for a week). We bought a 2 day pass. However the start selling at 5 pm or 5.30 and the thing kicks in then so a 2 day pass is good for 2 days plus an extra sunset. We had to linger around and wait along with everybody else for them to start selling. They needed a photo go with the temple passes previously but now with technology advances, they have upgraded to using web-cams to take still grainy shots. It takes a while before the big floppy laminated paper pops out with your picture but otherwise its not too bad a wait...

-Sunset at Phnom Bakheng

the world at Phnom Bakheng

The sunset was nice but the place was choked full of people. It was quite a walk up and since by the time we got there it was already sunset, we didn't get down until the sun had almost set. It was quite a feat trying to navigate the rocky road in semi-darkness and we had to be careful lest we slip on a loose rock and turn an ankle on the first day of our trip. An advice is to bring a torchlight if you are planning to stay late. The ruins does offers a different sort of charm in twlight.


We asked our ever-friendly tuk-tuk driver to bring us shopping so we could buy washing powder to wash our dusty clothes. I swear that if Gan had given me a hard pat on the back, she would see a cloud of dust form.

We also went to the night market to walk and I got silk scarves and a painting of Angkor Wat. We then headed back to the hostel to wash our clothes and rest. Gan was vastly amused by 'Mythbusters' on Discovery telly. In fact, come to think of it, she was very amused by the telly in the entire trip in Cambodia. Her excuse was that she doesn't watch telly in Singapore. I think on one occassion in Phnom Penh, I started blinking at her, appalled when she flipped the channel to TCS 8 showing the drama starring Li Jingmei and Edmund Chen..because it was easy to watch. I think the title was Birds of Paradise (which I also believe to have ended its run before we reached Cambodia.

*shakes head...............anyway then its off to bed with us...

Incidentally I was quite pleased with our guesthostel, recommended by YJ's friend. Our room was quite big and airy and had clean white sheets and white tiled floor. The fridge, the television, well everything worked fine. We actually took our shoes off in our room. The toilet was also reasonably clean and had hot water. The guesthouse was a tad spartan but for 10 USD a night for the both of us, it was good enough. Oh and they clean your room everyday. =)

It's just one or two streets away from Pub Street (the 'happening' eatery place). If anybody is interested, the guesthouse is Seng KY guesthouse (or something like that)

Tel: (855) 63 964 034
H/p: (855) 12 630 943
Address: #15 , Sivatha street ,close to OLD MARKET, next door to Carnets d'Asie.