Ancient Angkor Trip

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Date of Travel: April 4-6, 2012

For quite sometime, Angkor Wat has been in my bucket list.

Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple and the Roulos Group (Preah Ko, Bayon, and Lolei Temples) with its countless sculptural decorations. The Roulos Group are temples dating from the late 9th century, and therefore preceed Angkor Wat by two and a half centuries.

I have promised myself that for 2012 my personal travels would all be overseas, I booked flights from Manila to Siem Reap en route Saigon. A bit costly though since there was no direct flight yet from Manila to Siem Reap when I bought my ticket online. My airfare from Manila to Saigon to Siemp Reap vice versa costed me almost USD900. Starting April 19, however, a local airline will be making its maiden flight to Siem Reap.

To take advantage of the long Lenten Season holidays, I scheduled my trip from April 4-6, 2012. I made all the arrangements online (hotel and airport transfers, tour guide, transpo for my Angkor adventure). For my accommodation in Siem Reap, Anj Segovia, my previous officemate told me to stay at Jasmine Lodge. She gave me the email address of the hotel owner, Mr. Kunn. The rate for an overnight stay is USD12 inclusive of breakfast.

Mr. Kunn’s Contact Details:

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.jasminelodge.com

The place is very nice, safe, close to the airport, night market, and only about 30-minute tuktuk ride to the Angkor site.

I had an English-speaking tour guide, Sayun. The fee is USD20/day and a tuktuk for 12USD/day.

I arrived at Siem Airport on the night of April 4 from Ho Chi Minh City via Vietnam Airlines. Although I arranged for a cab to pick me up at the airport, I waited for almost 30 minutes before I decided to hail a taxi cab just outside the terminal gate since I did not see any placard showing my name. The standard rate is USD7. When I arrived at the hotel, Mr. Kunn was surprised why I arrived on a different cab. I told him what happened but he explained to me that the guy was still at the airport waiting for me. He was very apologetic and in fact he did not charge me for the pick-up.

After getting my room key and taking a quick shower, I had my first taste of authentic Cambodian dishes. I ordered fish amok (shredded fish meat with coconut milk) and fried seafood springrolls at the hotel’s restaurant which is just across the reception area. So far, I was satisfied. I love dishes with coconut milk. It was already around 1:00 AM local time (12MN Phil time) when I finally hit the sack.

While sleep was just about to engulf me completely, I suddenly heard a loud knock on my door. I opened the door and saw the hotel guard in front talking to me in his native dialect and pointing to a guy downstairs. Obviously the guard can’t speak and understand English so he woke me up to help the guy. I did not understand what the guard was saying. The guy downstairs was asking about his reservation and was apologizing for their late arrival. Oh please!!! I’m not the owner of the hotel, I’m just one of the guests here, I told him. He apologized for disturbing me and I told them to just wait for the hotel owner to arrive. We chatted for awhile and learned that they’re from Germany and travelling from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia and their next stop is Thailand before going to the Philippines. It was almost past 2AM when I went back to my room thinking that I need to get up by 4:30AM as the tour guide will be picking me up at 5:00 to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat.

April 5

My day started very early and the heat was scorchingly hot. My tour guide arrive at the promised time and the tuktuk driver who’s also a staff of the lodge was already ready. It was still dark when we started our ride to Angkor Wat and the streets are already getting busy with tourists heading to the same location. Before entering the site of Angkor, all tourists are required to purchase visiting passes (USD20 for a one-day pass, USD40 for a 3-day pass). I bought a 3-day pass. Have my photo taken and in a snap I got my pass with my picture. Tourists are asked to present the pass everytime we enter a temple site.

When we finally arrived at Angkor Wat, the number of tourists has already started to build up, others came in groups while I saw a number of couples and lone travellers like me---all hoping to get a good spot to catch the early morning majestic beauty of Angkor Wat. The temple is so huge and my tourist guide continued with his informative spiels. I barely listened to him as I was so awed with the magnificence of the structure. Somehow my readings about Angkor has better equipped me with helpful infos. Of course, the infos shared by Sayun is very much appreciated. At times I asked him questions. But more often than not, I just nod and kept busy taking pictures. Angkor Wat is just one of the temples. There are equally breathtaking temples within the complex like Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphoun, Preah Ko, Bakong, and Roulos Group which is 35 kms from Angkor Wat. We finally found a spot close to the bank of the moat where the image of the structure is reflected.

After taking our breakfast, we proceeded with the tour. We started at Angkor Thom as I have read from a blog that it’s best to start the tour at Angkor Thom to stay away from the crowd. Better for picture taking. With so much excitement, I forgot to put on sunscreen and bring a cap. I kept on reviewing photos making sure that I take the best shot without realizing the life of my camera’s battery. I don’t have any spare as I only bought the camera in Vietnam when I could not find a shop selling an adapter for a Sony memory stick. In fact, I went out of the terminal just to look for this. I was actually scared that I may not be able to find a shop since the driver can’t speak and understand English.

It was just 11AM when the battery became totally drained. And worst, I did not bring my charger with me so we have to go back to the hotel. I have no choice. We went back to get the charger and I was charged USD7 for the extra trip. We had lunch in a resto close to Angkor Wat while I was charging my camera. Fortunately, the resto staff did not ask me to pay for charging. After an hour, we decided to proceed with the tour and the sun was just so hot that by 4PM, I could no longer bear the pain of my migraine so I head back to the hotel. I dispatched my tour guide and the tuktuk driver. I rested and when I woke up it was already 3AM in the morning. I felt much better though. But oh no, I wasted a lot of time. I was planning to do some shopping at the night market of Psar Chaa. I went back to sleep and started my day at around 8:30 AM after a quick breakfast.



April 6

While I was having my breakfast, I saw the German guy whom the hotel guard asked me to help on my first night having their breakfast together with his friend. The guy’s name is Felix and his friend is Sebastian. I went to their table to ask them about their accommodation and if everything is ok. They told me that the owner arrived just 30 minutes after we talked. Felix told me that they’re coming to the Philippines. They’ll be visiting Banawe, Sagada, and Palawan. I told them that I’m from the Philippines and I offered my assistance just in case they’d be needing it.

Back to my tour, we went to see the collection of skulls, bones of the people murdered and massacred during the Khmer Rouge. I can’t remember the place but it is just along the road. It was a chilling experience seeing the photos of how they were tortured and brutally murdered by Pol Pot’s armies. After this, we went to see the Roulos Group, composed of 3 temples (Preah Ko, Bayon, and Lolei) situated 13 kms from Siem Reap.

I finished my tour around 1PM and together with my tuktuk driver and tour guide we had lunch in a nice restaurant. We had steamed fish, pineapple rice, tom yam soup and my total bill was only USD40. This is my simple way of thanking them for making my adventure safe and worthwhile. I managed to buy a Buddha sculpture made of marble stone as a souvenir of my trip and some small Buddha figurines for my officemates. Psar Chaa is just a walking distance from the resto where we had lunch. I head back to the hotel to pack my things, catch some sleep and freshen up for my trip back to Vietnam.

Inside the airport, I was alarmed to see a sign posted in one of the tv monitors showing that my flight to Vietnam has been cancelled. Oh no, I have a flight tomorrow morning to Manila. What would happened to my ticket to Manila? Would PAL still honor my ticket since the cancellation is not my fault? Should I just extend my stay in Vietnam? I only have USD120 on my pocket though I brought with me my cards. How much would it cost me if I extend my stay in Vietnam? When is the next flight to Vietnam? Should I go back to Jasmine Lodge? Several thoughts run over my head. I was not alarmed though as I know I can still survived regardless of what will happen.

I immediately approached the check-in counter and with a big relief, the guy told me that the flight was not cancelled. I don’t know what happened but a group of Japanese tourists also approached the guy on counter asking about the cancellation and the reply was the same. They have probably made some adjustments with their flight schedules as I later on realized that I was boarding on a flight that was an hour ahead of my schedule. The flight has been delayed for more than an hour already. Since I boarded on a flight ahead than my schedule, this has affected my airport pick-up in Ho Chi Minh. The same incident happened when I was in Siem Reap. I waited for almost an hour and I decided to just hail a cab. Initially the driver was asking me to pay USD25. Totally absurd. I negotiated for 15. I know it’s still expensive but it’s getting late already. So I have no choice but to agree with our compromise. I showed him my hotel address. When I finally reached my destination, I unloaded my things from the trunk and went to my hotel for check-in. I have to walk for about 10 meters from the main road as the alley was quite narrow. Admittedly I was a bit scared. I did not see the sign of the hotel as it was unlit. I approached several guys who were drinking where Kim’s hotel is and they showed me the location. After several taps, a lady opened the door and I told her that I was suppose to be picked up at the airport. I gave them my infos. I was told that they have to transfer me to their newest hotel. No problem with me. However, the lady told me that I have to ride on the motorbike with my luggage. OMG. I am not used to riding a motorbike and in fact I am scared. After several attempts and curses, I successfully managed to balance my weight and voila…it was fun riding with my luggage trolley sandwich between my ladydriver and me while I was carrying my other baggage on my right hand.

Kim’s Hotel is located along Bui Vien St., District 1. There are a lot of restaurants and bars nearby. This was a bliss for me and I want to savor some Vietnamese dishes. It was past 11PM already and this means that I only have less than an hour to order my dinner as restos close at 12MN. I settled with a burger instead.

Kim Hotel

Loan Pham

[e-mail]

http://www.kimhotel.com

My stay in Vietnam was just overnight. I woke up at 6am, ordered white noodle chicken soup and coffee to perk up my day. I headed to the airport to catch my flight back to the Philippines after.

I’ll just come back to Ho Chi Minh I promise myself. I want to experience the Halong Bay Cruise.

Coming back to the Philippines, not only have I enriched my experience but I have also gained new friends. Felix and Sebastian together with two of their friends are coming this week (April 15) to the Philippines. Felix is celebrating his birthday on the 15th of April.

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Photos

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Fish Amok served in coconut shell with its husk.

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Fried Seafood Spring Rolls

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This is my room at Jasmine Lodge.

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Tourists get their tour pass from this booth.

Comments

[Maru Ventura]

After reading your blog i can\'t wait to go to Siem Reap! For sure, i will not having a hard time looking for a hotel, tourist guide, food to eat and make new friends!

[Maurice]

Am pretty sure Maru :-) You'll definitely meet a lot of good people there.

[glenn balagot]

great information for developing thinking skills of children.
Yo dear! your travel was great. It seemed that i been to angkor wat too. I'll put that into chart. I would just seek your consent. It would make a difference in reading then. miss you..