Hei people, just to let you know that today will be my first day being unemployed... Yahooo !!!! Well some of you may think that I should be getting worried finding a job but thank God being in the service industry, Im blessed having strong connections with people around offering me a job any time I want. Therefore, all I wanted to do right now is to take a step back, relax and enjoy every single moment spend.
I have already made a few list that I wanted to do, hopping I will be able to use my time wisely. One of it is to update my blog more often and the other is to travel either to Istanbul or Korea which I have planned for a very long time. But to the fact that my budget is quite tight, I eventually opted to go to Bandung, Krabi, Ho Chi Minh and the last stop will either be to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.
Siem Reap is a beautiful place I've visited early last year. Totally amazing people with fantastic history and culture. Thats the reason why I wanted to go there again eventhough I have not been to Pnom Penh yet. I have already booked my tickets via Tiger Airways with a super duper great deal except for Siem Riep or Phnom Penh. Sorry, I still can't decide !!!
Anyway, let me share with you the experience I had in Siem Riep. Back than, I stayed a total of 5 days and 4 nights at the Mulberry Boutique Hotel. Located a few minutes walk away from Pub Street, the staff were incredibly friendly to the extend that they had arranged a free pickup from the airport to the arrangment of planning an itinerary for me during my stays there.
Mulberry Boutique Hotel.
Most people including me come to Siem Reap to check out at the Unesco World's Heritage which is the temples of Angkor Wat. Sad to say that I arrived at the hotel around 4pm and there was not much of time to visit the temples. Therefore, I spend my first day wandering around Pub Street. This place is totally awesome. It consist of lots of bars and restaurants and one can totally be spoiled of choices. I finally decided to spend my first night at The Red Piano Bar. I heard that this place actually got famous when Angelina Jolie used to hang out every night while shooting for 'Tomb Rider'. They even had a cocktail named after her.
The next day, I woke up early to check out the temples of Angkor. Got a tuk-tuk arranged by the hotel and paid a total of 30 USD for a whole day ride to the temples.
My tuk-tuk rider a.k.a my guide first brought me to a gate on the way from Siem Reap to purchase a one day pass which cost me 20 USD per person. This pass will allow you to visit the entire temple at Siem Reap. Our first stop was at Angkor Thom. Im not gonna bored you with all the historical story but just to give you a few highlights that this place is actually an old city built by King Jayavarman VII and it was believed to house about a million people mainly of priest, officials of the palace and military. This temple was said to be the last capital of the Khmer empire.
As we rode a little further, there's another temple called the Bayon and it was also built by King Jayavarman VII. It consist of 54 towers and 216 huge stone faces of Avalokiteshvara. This temple is so beautiful whereby you will see many huge stone faces looking down at you.
Next, we continued on to Banteay Kdei ( a citidel of chambers ) temple. My tuk-tuk guide told me that this place used to be a Buddhist monastery from the 12th century and it was also built by King Jayavarman VII. Banteay Kdei had been occupied by monks at various intervals over the centuries until 1960s.
I shall admit to you that Im already starting to feel tired and that my leg hurts as it was a long journey with the tuk-tuk ride after only visiting 3 temples but my guide told me that we still have a few more places to visit which I was about to give up. To make me feel better, he told me that our next stop will be to the temple where Angelina Jolie shoot a scene for Tomb Raider and it did make me feel somehow excited. So here we are at Ta Phrom. I found out that this place was actually a Buddhist temple too but it is dedicated to the mother of King Jayavarman VII. The fascinating thing about this temple is the trees stretching its roots covering the walls. Some of it as you can see from the pictures that the trees are growing above the temple structure.
My final stop of the day was the main highlight of all, The Angkor Wat. Before reaching, you will see a beautiful lake surrounding the temple. I was blesses to catch the glimpse of sunset when arrived. Angkor Wat ( City of Temples ) as some of you have heard is the largest religious monument in the world and is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. I would say it's truly a masterpiece of an architectural. The main tower of the entrance of the temple represents the mountain (Meru), which is the centre of the universe for both Hindus & Buddhist.
After that, it was back to the hotel and I said goodbye to my tuk-tuk guide after tipping him. I can see from his face that he was really tired yet he did not fail to smile and was so polite entertaining me the whole day. After a cold shower, I just stayed in bed the whole day ordering room service as I was out of energy and feeling so dehydrated after a long day.
The very next day after breakfast, I stroled around Pub Street area again and ended up in one of the massage parlour. I swear that having a message here is beyond cheaper compared to any places I have visited before. A foot massage will only cost you 2 USD an hour and an oil body massage is 8 USD per hour. Manicure and pedicure is only 6 USD. I simply couldn't believe it. After having pampered myself, I opted for a sumptous lunch at a cozy french restaurant nearby, Le Malraun. Awesome food and extremely cheap.
By evening, I had an enjoyable time shopping for some souveniers at Angkor Night Market. The reason why I love so much about this place is everything here is extremely cheap compared to where I lived.
Even when I was at Temple Pub, the drinks will cost me 3 USD for a shot of Black Label. This is one of my favourite restaurant that I spend most of my nights. Nice concept with a traditional Khmer dance on the first floor while having your dinner and second floor for a better chill out to end the night. The staff here are very very friendly especially Sony which I became friends instantly.
Overall, Siem Reap is a wonderful experience. Its not only rich in culture and heritage, also people here are so humble to the max and living in a place where everything is super duper cheap is an added advantage. This is the reason why I couldn't decide whether to come back again or go to Phnom Penh instead for my next plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment