Day 3 - Sunset at Angkor

By day 3, we had gotten quite bored with stones and temples, and were moving on from site to site at a rather quick pace. Whenever Mr. M told us that this site would probably last us 3 hours, we completed it in 1.5 hours. As such, we came up with a new touring strategy.

Whenever we arrived at a site, we did a quick scout of the area. Then we would find a cool spot, in the shadow of a building away from the sun. At that spot, we would sit and read our guide books, or sleep.

By doing so, we were able to relax and at the same time understand more about what we were viewing. It was a good feeling, to sit on a collapsed column, which probably dated back 1000 years ago, eating a modern day ginger biscuit.

There was always a serene aura around these temples, cows grazing casually near the walls, monks taking a stroll in the park, naked kids running around like no one's business. While at one of the sites, I saw this Chinese tourist taking repeated camera shots at a child peddler with his SLR. The kid probably didn't think much about that, the curious tourist had a bewildered look on his face, like he was shooting some animal in the zoo. After he was satisfied with his photography, he just walked off, without buying something, and well, not even a thank you.

I walked up to the girl, bought a bunch of handmade paper cranes, which cost on 1USD, and took a picture with her. She was rather sweet, though she could do with a good bath.

In general, peddlers in Siem Reap were polite, and not too insistent. If you want to buy, then he/she will be most happy to do business with you. If you are not interested, they aren't looking for trouble and would just smile back. Everyone has this simple easy way of dealing business. Except for one little girl.

When she asked CCY to take a look at her items, he smiled and walked off. The girl was persistent but after a few failed attempts to win his heart, she started to hurl some verbal abuses at CCY. Though rude, the conversation was rather funny.

Girl: "Why you no talk?"

CCY: Smile.

Girl: "Mr. Don't Have Mouth. Why you cannot talk?"

CCY: Laugh

Girl: "Mr. Don't Have Mouth. Mr. Impolite"

Come dusk, we headed to a mountain, phnom bakeng to catch the sunset. You could choose to walk up the winding path or choose to pay 20USD for an elephant ride. As abled-body young people, we chose to walk (as stingy young people, we chose not to part 20USD). At the summit, facing North direction, we could see Angkor Wat on our left and the sun setting on our right.

It was rather easy to walk up the mountain, but difficult to climb the steps of the temple because the steps were high and slippery. But we could not complain, as we saw there were quite a number of elderly climbing on all fours, just to reach the top to catch the beauty of the sunset. Full admiration to them.

CCY and I found a spot which had a good view of Angkor Wat. As the sun slowly set, Angkor Wat was slowly being bathed in a holy golden colour, until eventually everything grew dark. We reckoned that it would be very difficult to descend the mountain in complete darkness and hastily made our way down. True enough, we tripped over tree roots and rocks a couple of times, but still managed to reach our driver safely in the end. Though, Kenneth went missing for 20min, but rejoined us eventually.

Mr. M brought us to a restaurant which served Khmer food, buffet style. It was a bit pricey, but there was traditional Khmer dance as well on stage hence rather worth the experience. I am sure Mr. M had a commission for bringing us there, but he was not aggressively recommending it. He told us to go in, check out the restaurant and if we like it, then stay. The great thing about him, and the Cambodian people is, nothing is compulsory. They are polite, they don't force people. Buddhism way of life I guess.

Indeed it was a worthy dinner. The food was mediocre, but the ambience was fantastic. Khmer dance and music, traditional decoration of the open air restaurant. I called Michelle on the spot and shared with her this experience. I am sure, she would like it if she were here with me as well.

Day 2 - AngKor Wat (16 Nov)

A bright sunny day to start our exploration of Angkor Wat. First, we had breakfast at the guesthouse, and since cambodia was once under French colonial rule, I decided to try their French toast.

Wrong move.

They were pieces of oily fried bread. The other 2 travelmates didn't enjoy their breakfast either. We decided to boycott the breakfast from this guesthouse starting tomorrow.

Siem Reap, literally means "Siam Defeated". Not very sure of the history, though I aspire to be a history teacher, haha. Most probably there was an invasion from the Thais centuries ago but the Kampuchea people held strong.

We took our own sweet time to finish the breakfast as there was no reason to rush. Lazing around at the breakfast lounge, playing with the dog, watching Stephen Chow movie (唐伯虎点秋香) in Cambodian language, until it was past 10am and we went to look for the tuk-tuk driver we met yesterday. We kind of promised him that we would hire him if we needed a tuk-tuk driver. Before coming to Siem Reap, we were contemplating whether to rent bicycles and explore the place on our own. But given my condition was not very good, and we were unfamiliar with the place, we decided to hire a guide on day one first.

The guest house we stayed in fact was called "Good Kind Guest House", not "Happy Guest House". "Happy" was fully booked and we were asked to move to this one, which was ran by the same family, a subsidiary guesthouse I would say. One thing for sure, they all have very simple and catchy names.

We could not find the tuk-tuk driver, as we set off too late. People usually start work early, around 7am, break at 11am, and continue after lunch until 5pm. In the end, the lady boss of Happy helped us to get another driver who came within 10min.

He called himself M. A very courteous and simple man, I liked him straightaway. He showed us the locality map and briefed us what would be installed for us for the next 3 days and told us the price. We said we might only want his service for day one, and he said not a problem. So off we went, to the tourism office to purchase our 3-day pass.

It was the first time I sat on a Tuk-tuk; not as bumpy as I thought, and much windier than I expected. On the way, my cellphone suddenly rang. Please, please, not ROY please...

"Hello, cheehian, this is ROY!"

WTF. Really was my client.

"How's the holiday?" he asked sheepishly.

"What's up?" I snapped back.

"Are you able to check your email now??"

"Definitely not! I am in the middle of a forest!" And I ended the conversation swiftly and rudely. CCY and Ken both were shocked by the sheer studpidity of my client for calling me, knowing very well I am on holiday. Now, both of them supports my decision to quit. (But I have withdrawn my resignation at the last minute...)

My dampened mood slowly recovered as I entered the compound of Angkor Wat.

It was a long aisle leading to the ancient temple, with 2 ponds at each side of the aisle. As we walked towards the temple (Wat in Cambodian), we could see the 3 looming towers, thought to be representing some mystical mountains in India. There are supposedly to be 5 towers, but the 2 outer ones had crumpled over time.

It is quite unbelievable that the entire compound is so well preserved, after what seems like a thousand years ago. What captivated me most was the galleries of bas-reliefs. They surrounded the inner-most of the temple, walls of carvings sectionalised in North, South, East, West. Each face is a narration of some mythical stories like battles of the demons and gods, victory of some god, etc. As we circled the perimeter, we observed the carvings and I, as the stand-in tour guide, narrates the story from my guide book.

After spending 1-2 hours, we moved on to the next destination, Angkor Thom, a much larger attraction. Angkor Thom comprises of several tombs and temples. Among them, one stood out most is the Bayon. It is a group of towers, each with carving of a Buddha face. Such art is known as gopuras, and the smiling Buddha face seems to come to life, as it protrudes out of the tower.

As the compound was very big, more like a city and said to have housed a population of a million, CCY was separated from me and Ken. So me and Ken were just wandering within Angkor Thom, and eventually got tired and rested near the Terrace of Elephants, eating ice-cream which we bought from a pink ice-cream van. It was indeed a luxury to have a cup of Milo ice-cream under the scorching sun.

Just as we were cooling ourseleves with this yummy treat, dark clouds begin forming over the sky. Run.

So we quickly find our way to the Tuk-tuk driver and sought shelter in the tuk-tuk. Shortly our travel buddy CCY came running to join us but he was already partially drenched. As we were leaving Angkor Thom, the rain suddenly stopped, just as abrupt as it started minutes ago.

We visited a few more smaller temples which I had no memory of, except for Preah Khan. This temple is so deep in the jungle, trees were growing all over the places, and a lot of the gigantic trees were actually merged with the walls and towers. It looked a little scary, as if the temple has come to life and sprouting trees all over its body. And when I say gigantic, I mean it is the biggest tree I have seen in my life. The roots are taller than me! What I fear is eventually the temple might be completely destroyed by the powerful roots of the trees.

The stuffy atmosphere of Angkor was even more eminent at night. Not a slightest breeze could be felt. We had an agreement that we would eat only Khmer food during this trip. Hence, we stepped into a traditional Khmer restaurant, packed with tourists just like us. I had already forgotten the names of the dishes we ordered, but to sum up, they are all very Thai-style without the spiciness, and with also a tint of Vietnamese touch.

Next up, we went to "Dr. Feet" for Cambodian massage. This massage parlour is highly recommended by Lonely Planet, but as usual, I am always skeptical of the creditibility of this guide. Nonetheless, we gave it a try. This is my first ever massage session, hence I have none other experience to compare. I had a rather heavy-weight lady providing the service, while Kenneth had a gigglish little girl. It was a rather comfortable experience, though there were certain sensitive parts she had pressed too hard.

With our bodies fully recharged, we headed to "Blue Pumpkin" for dessert. The cool thing about this place was the white furnishing of the second floor. We could laze around on the comfortable couch, enjoying the ice-cream. But to be frank, I had a rather unpleasant dessert. I couldn't remember what flavour it was, tasted like coconut milk, the expired kind. Maybe it was indeed expired.

Day 1 - My first holiday (15 Nov)

I was still feeling very groggy and tired, due to the effect of the medicine taken in the morning. I was down with fever and cold for the past 2 days, taken 2 days of sick leave but only managed to utilize one. I was still working on Friday. And the break on Thursday was bombarded by calls from colleagues; even to my hotel room to wake me up to take a look at an email.

But soon my unwellness was cured by the chatty taxi driver. I normally dislike talkative taxi driver as I prefer to have a quiet ride. But this time, I welcomed the upbeat tone the taxi driver had, who kept my spirit high for this anticipated trip. He knew I was heading for Cambodia, and he assured me that a city-boy like me would find it memorable.

As the taxi slowly crawled along Clementi Ave 4, I saw my 2 backpack-buddies-to-be; CCY and Ken, both had been with me to Tibet in 2005, and had been my longest friends.

"Yo, Ho Seh Bo! (in Hokkien)" I greeted them. When was the last time I saw them? Must been months. Nothing much has changed from them. CCY with his thick hair and specs still looks like William Su and Ken, as usual cheerful like a kid.

During the ride to the airport, we did some quick catch up, mainly on my crazy life in HK. Then I broke the news that I had resigned.

"You mad!! Everywhere is in recession and people are losing job, and yet you QUIT!" Both CCY and Ken could not believe my decision, like many other colleagues and friends who heard the news. But there is a limit which one can work, and I certainly have passed that threshold and could not work for money anymore. What is left is to exit, to escape.

Despite this piece of news, it didn't spoil our mood for this adventurous trip. Being very old friends, they soon accepted my decision and felt glad that I can be happy at last.

Soon we reached Changi Airport, the most familiar place in Singapore I known over the past months. I once told someone that since I travel so much for work, I most likely would lose the excitment of being at the airport ready to go on a vacation. Glad that it didn't have that effect now. I am super high and ecstatic!

Our flight, SilkAir MI633 was not a direct flight to Siem Reap. It actually stopped over at Siem Reap and continued on to Da Nang Vietnam later. On the plane, I tried to focus on reading the travel guide about Angkor I bought in HK. But soon, I knocked out unknowningly. Guess I was still too tired. It had been less than 24hrs since I was last on a plane as I just arrived back in SIN last night.

Siem Reap airport was a little shabbier than I thought.

Of course I do not expect a world-class airport like Changi, but being a popular tourist attraction, I thought it would be bigger. Small it might be, it was very clean and had a traditional hut-like structure. It looked more like a chalet resort than an airport. At the arrival hall, we were unsure if we needed visa, and felt a bit confused. But since SIN is part of ASEAN, I guess we do not need a visa. True enough, we passed the custom easily.

Prior to coming to Siem Reap, we had not gave serious thought on the accommodation. I had 2 recommendations, Happy Guest House (thanks to Than Ha) and Molly Malone (thanks to SH). In the end we chose Happy Guest House, which was cheaper but it was a distance away from the town.

We hired a van for 7USD and the driver was very friendly. Along the way, he told us about what to see in Siem Reap, about the government, the fighting at the borders and how it had affected toursim. Indeed, there were not many tourists around. Many fear that if war broke out, they will be trapped in Cambodia and cannot return. Well, I hoped that would happen, so that I don't have to return to HK, haha.

The locals here are mainly Cambodians, dark skin, like the Malays we see in SIN. There are some Chinese as well, who can speak Teochew, Mandarin and Cambodian. I once had an acquaintance with a teenage Cambodian Chinese in France who invited me to his house and treated me with his mum's home-cook food.

The guest house was situated in a very layback neighbourhood. In fact, Siem Reap was less developed than I thought, with dusty or muddy roads, dilapidated houses, kids with dirty faces collecting trash; a symptom of corruption and poor governance.

As all the big rooms were full, we got a small one, and had trouble to squeeze an additional mattress. But it was not a problem for us, we had survived harsher conditions in Tibet. Besides, there was aircon, and we were promised that tomorrow, we would get a bigger room.

After settling down, we slowly made our way to the town on foot. There were no pedestrian crossing or traffic lights most of the time, but it did not pose a problem for us crossing the road because the traffic was quite slow. The motorcycles, cars, and Tuk Tuks were all going about at a leisurely pace, safe enough for us to cross as we wished.

It was not difficult to find the town, even without a map, thanks to the great navigation skill of CCY.

"Just walk along the river la!"

The town was bustling with tourists, mostly Caucasians, and there were a lot of restaurants, pubs and massage parlours. Despite all these activities, it was still considered pretty quiet. We picked a restaurant at random and tried their traditional Cambodian food. Speaking about food, while walking to the town, I stopped by a peddler and bought their local snack.

"Can I have a hotdog please?" I asked sheepishly, because I was not sure if that thing was a hotdog. It was like a baguette kind of snack, with pickles and pieces of meat. 1200riels, which is about 25 cents. Cheap and tasty but maybe not very hygienic.

The restaurant we picked was rather mediocre, in fact it was not the best Khmer restaurant we had. But we had a first taste of what Khmer food is like. It tasted like Thai food, some spice and sour but not hot at all. The spicy part has been replaced by sweetness instead. The most famous dish would be Amok, and different restaurants would prepare it differently. It is a mixture of Khmer spices, onion, eggs and your choice of meat; fish, pork, chicken or beef. And their soups, whatever kind, always taste very appetizing, the sweet version of Tom Yam. There were traces of Vietnamese cuisine as well, especially true in their spring rolls, either the fried or fresh ones.

We had 2 long hours of dinner, and it was barely 9pm only. Life here definitely is very relaxing and slow-paced. We strolled back to the guesthouse under the guidance of very dimly lit streetlights. Being still in a sick state, I washed up first and concussed on the bed immediately, while the 2 stayed up to watch football. Hopefully my form will be better tomorrow, for Angkor Wat.