July 21, 2013 Manila to Siem Reap
It was already 3PM and I am worried for my friend who was still in Surigao Airport. Weather is not that good in Mindanao that day. Our flight aboard a Cebu Pacific is scheduled to depart from NAIA3 to Siem Reap at 1945H. The turn around plane finally had their passengers boarding as mentioned in the text message I received. Good grief or else my friend will follow to Cambodia the following day. Around two hours later and soon I met my friend Homer at Burger King for some snacks and rest before we checked in. We had our Philippine Peso pocket money changed to US$ at the currency exchange, checked in at the Cebu Pacific open counter, paid the necessary travel tax on the other side of the airport, went back to the Cebu Pacific counter to claim our boarding tickets and proceeded to the immigration counter. This is not my first time to travel abroad so I knew the drill: fill up immigration cards then queue at the immigration for some interview and passport stamping. This is where I had to control my patience because this lady officer is kinda annoying in asking me the usual questions like: where are you going, how many days, what will you do there. I answered honestly with a smile every questions. Then she asked for the return tickets which I showed her also assuring that I will not go TNT there. There were a lot of questions since my entry point is Cambodia but my exit will be Singapore. This trip is a week long adventure from 3 countries, 5 cities... amazing race style. Should have been a real race, Homer and I will still be eliminated with all the bloopers and misadventures. Going back to the lady officer, she asked for some identification cards. I showed her the government ID's I have with me. She then was asked for my company ID which I told her I don't have it. But in the back of my mind, I should have answered that I don't have my company ID since I am going for a vacation. My passport was only stamped after I told her that I am travelling with a friend and he brought with him what she is looking for. Usual immigration stories. Finally I can sit and wait for the plane bound to Siem Reap.
Came boarding time and we slept the whole duration of the flight. The plane touched down Siem Reap airport around 2150H. This time, it really is welcome to the Kingdom of Wonders: Cambodia.
Came boarding time and we slept the whole duration of the flight. The plane touched down Siem Reap airport around 2150H. This time, it really is welcome to the Kingdom of Wonders: Cambodia.
After some documentation at the immigration counter, I searched for my name placard. I advised the hotel where we will be staying to fetch us at the airport. Prior this trip in spite of my busy work schedule (that includes shifting schedule), I already arranged the itinerary, made the flight and hotel reservations two months before so as to save time and money. We were booked for 3 nights at Siem Reap Rooms for US$54. That's already cheap considering we want to save as much as possible on expenses. We booked 3 nights since we arrived at night time although we only have 2 days to check out the city.
The Philippines is 1hour ahead of time so we have to set our watches to the time zone of Cambodia. No jet lag by
the way cause it's only an hour delay.
The Philippines is 1hour ahead of time so we have to set our watches to the time zone of Cambodia. No jet lag by
the way cause it's only an hour delay.
In Cambodia, the US Dollars is the majorly accepted currency since the Cambodian Riel is devaluated. Although the Riel is just used for loose change like cents. Note: US$1 = 4000 Cambodian Riel.
July 22, 2013 (Day 1) Tonle Sap Lake Half Day Tour
The morning after. We woke up early to plan todays trip. We arrange at the hotel front desk a 10AM-2PM tour at the floating villages of Tonle Sap. We checked the roof top pool of the hotel which gave us a 360˚ view of the skyline. A gray car came to fetch us around 945AM. After some introduction to our guide for the trip, the car drove us towards the countryside.
The tour costs US$25.00 which already includes entrance fees and lunch. The countryside is no different from our country. We passed through rice fields then saw houses built on stilts. Our guide told us that the area is frequented by
floods so as a precaution the houses must be built higher. It did not took us a long time before we reached the wharf. From there we took a boat which navigated along the narrow mouth of the lake towards the floating village.
floods so as a precaution the houses must be built higher. It did not took us a long time before we reached the wharf. From there we took a boat which navigated along the narrow mouth of the lake towards the floating village.
The river is dirty white but on normal day the water is clear. It rained the previous night contributing to the high turbidity of the lake water. Cambodia being a tropical country has wet and dry season also. Given the travel time we had, it really is the rainy season. The sun shined for a while until it hid on the clouds. At least no rains yet during the day.
At the floating villages of Tonle Sap, everything is floating: houses, basketball court, market, schools and even a church. The community has already adopted to these kind of lifestyle. To my surprise, most of the people living in the community are Vietnamese.
At the floating villages of Tonle Sap, everything is floating: houses, basketball court, market, schools and even a church. The community has already adopted to these kind of lifestyle. To my surprise, most of the people living in the community are Vietnamese.
Just looked at this floating school, the sign is written in Vietnamese. According to our tour guide, the people in the community are from the Mekong area. When water level is high, they have to seek a safer area of which the floating villages have to move near the mouth of the lake. We were able to see a floating house being pulled by a boat. New neighbor I guess.
Check out the sights and life of this community from the succeeding photos.
We temporary stopped at Koh Andeth Fish Farm Restaurant and Souvenir Shop. They have a view deck above the shop of which one can have a greater view of the floating community.
Fish feeding at the fish farm.
These are catfish. I will not dare eat them though considering the area where everything is floating. Esep Esep. Haha..
Fresh water crocodiles! Yes, they are alive at the farm. They are kept on a cage and taken cared of for the high price of their skin. Our tour guide told us that usually a family owns a crocodile at their home. The crocodiles are not for pet and when it is already around 10months old, it will be sold for croc leather. I wonder how fast and how big they really grow. Anyway, that's how they live in Cambodia.
Below the view deck is the souvenir shop. Here are the items for sale.
It's almost lunchtime and we need to keep moving. We boarded again our boat to transfer to this floating restaurant, the TARA.
The TARA used to be a cargo boat turned restaurant/bar with the roof deck as the viewing platform and the middle deck serving the restaurant/bar. Note: TARA is an acronym for The Amazing Race Asia. The boat is not related to the syndicated reality show though.
Aboard the TARA, this is where I had my first taste of Cambodian beer: Angkor Beer. I give 3 out of 5 stars for this beer.
For our lunch, it is already covered by the tour. We just have to select from the given menu. We choose chicken curry and fish, pork and chicken sweet and sour. The food tastes good. Rice serving per order is of cups if I am in the Philippines. But here in Cambodia, rice serving is bowlful. One serving is already good for two persons. Considering the vast lands for agriculture, I may say that they have surplus in rice production. I added extra weight for this trip.
After lunch, we took a short rest before heading back to the city. This was just half of our day in Cambodia but we already had learned so much.
July 22, 2013 Great Finds at Siem Reap Center
The Tonle Sap lake tour was finished at 2PM so we decided to be dropped by the market area instead of our hotel. We want to explore as much as we can during our 2 day stay in Siem Reap. We went straight to this bridge across the river. It leads to the Siem Reap Art Center Night Market. Here in this market, great finds await those really want great bargains. Souvenir shirts, pieces of art works (painting, wood works, stone works) and food stalls line up at the area. Everything is cheap. I manage to haggle for 2 shirts worth US$5. And of course, the easy to carry keychains. Although it is a night market, some people do check the area during the day. At night, tourist usually flock Pub Street for night life.
I told Homer that we also try the side so we went to scour the old market searching for something new. We were not disappointed though for we found plenty of new things.
I saw a lot these at the souvenir shop in Tonle Sap earlier in the morning. We all know that this is a wooden phallus. Reminds me of the keychains sold in Baguio City. But whatever the purpose of these, I don't want to know.
We even went inside the vegetable and fruit section. Something caught my eye among the fruits. This ones peculiar I said and then asked the vendor what it is. She said snake fruit. I asked how much does she sell and how to eat it. She answered politely of which I bought half kilo of it for US$1. Just to taste it. I tried eating one right there and then. It tasted like jackfruit but with some sort of cornstarch on it. It doesn't taste bad though. Then I shove the rest inside the body bag that Homer brought with since this morning. We'll just eat that later at the hotel I said.
We walked outside the market and saw this vendor selling rice cakes. We bought 2 pieces for US$1 just for tasting. We tried the pyramidal ones dangling from the basket. The said rice cakes are similar to the Pinoy suman but with a twist: inside was banana as a filler. Talk about palaman.
Instant Temple Run in Siem Reap
We are not yet tired of walking around the old market so we walked further along the streets. Until I noticed something like a spire of a temple. We followed the nearby street until we found a way at the main gate of the Preah Promreath Pagoda. It is a few blocks away from the Art Center Night Market. This pagoda is a Buddhist temple. Cambodia is predominantly a Buddhist nation, no wonder that many of the Angkor temples are of for Buddha.
Here are postcard like photos on the beautiful architecture of Preah Promreath Pagoda. We were able to inside also of the main shrine before their prayer time. There were just a few guidelines though to consider like proper clothing and removal of footwear before entering the temple.
Apsara Dance at Siem Reap Art Center Night Market
Our evening will not be complete with experiencing the night market at Siem Reap. We are already tired from walking all afternoon. We learned from walikng aorund earlier at the Night Market that there will be a free Apsara show at 8PM. We settled to a nearby bar from the performance stage. I ordered for a can of Angkor beer (US$1.60) again with free peanuts. Homer on the other hand ordered for fried frogs (US$3) and beer.
Then came the rain. It rained so hard that night that the Apsara dance started late. We waited though. The Apsara dance is a dance with a story. We were treated to four performances that night.
There are Apsara Dance Theaters that offers performances at night. Buffet dinner is included in such theaters. But why pay if you can have it for free right? After the Apsara dance show at the Art Center Night Market, we headed back to the hotel. Rain is still pouring when we reached the doorstep of the hotel. We have to rest now after an exhausting day for tomorrows activity, be a Tomb Raider!