Cambodia Trip

The moment I decided to join other Sky Adventure Club alumni for the Cambodia trip..as usual..i would always up for anything that could enrich my life..and I trusted them..this tourist destination has chosen for some reasons..for sure travelling there would be worth it..

1st time Air Asia experience

and I believed in their organisation..since when Sky Adventure people screwed??? hehe

Flight Delayed..Couldn't wait to get onto the plane and continue dreaming

1^st Day

Well the first day I almost fainted..temples temples and temples for the whole day..imagine..i didn’t really sleep for three nights before the trip..i was blowing my runny nose non stop since 2/3 days ago that I felt like punching it..and my skin was burning under the scorching sun..again I was suddenly in high demand..as usual with the presence of the hot sun..as I was always holdingumbrella ..generously waiting for people to share with..but the lousy umbrella couldn’t stand and broke down after the first day..

Cambodia is all about temples with histories

On the first day we tour around Angkor Thom which was the capital during Angkor’s King Jayavarman VII's time. We had a close look of the Bayon temple (the official state temple of King Jayavarman VII) and Baphuon Temple (Built in the mid-11th century, it is a three-tiered temple mountain built as the state temple of Udayadityavarman II dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva <>). Next we got to admire the beauty of the ancient ruin, Prasat Sour Prat. .

Prasat Suor Prat is a romantic name for a set of twelve towers located in front of the Terrace of the Elephants, which means "Towers of the Rope Dancers". The Terrace of the Elephants was used by Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army.

Prasat Sour Prat

Leaving Angkor Thom through Victory Gate..passing by Ta Keo Temple we visited another 2 temples, Ta Prohm and Prasat Kravan temples. Interesting dinner followed at Dead Fish Tower. Interesting name huh..Interior design not bad..nice atmosphere..watched an Apsara dance for free

2^nd Day

Hike up all the way to the peak of the hill just to see a waterfall..what’s so special about the waterfall?? well I was stunned at the fantanstic combination of nature and man-mades. Unlike the usual waterfalls which we would enjoyed the sound of water splashing, what amazed me was the series of stone carvings in and around the river. A formation of rainbow could be seen due to the perfect coordination of the sunlight and the reflection of water.

Waterfall

Followed were visits to the two temples that were dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, the Bantrey Srey and the Pre Rup temples.

We had the most scrumptious dinner at that night at Kui Lun II restaurant..with US$10 per pax we could enjoyed unlimited Khmer cuisines..and some other food..but the thing that disappointed me was that drink was not provided AT ALL!! Is that the way they earn money?? Buffet with no drink and extra charges for additional orders of drinks..At about 8pm the Apsara dancers came out..while they were dancing..i could hear ‘people’ beside me discussing about the looks of the female dancers..fine..i admit that I was staring at their faces too..Each dance and gesture had their own meaning..the only dance that we somehow understood was the Fisherman Dance which a boy was flirting with a girl and the girl showed her interest in him. TO my pleasure I discovered that our guide had a book which explained the interpretation of Apsara dances and gestures..he let me own the book!!! hahaha

Photos with Apsara Dancers

3^rd Day

Angkor Wat was the main attraction of the whole trip..heard about it for years in History Classes..finally I could “dissect” it in a close distance..5am in the morning..we were heading to Angkor Wat..admist the darkness there was a big crowd..ready for the sunrise..well..it wasn’t really a breathtaking view..as the sunlight was partially blocked by the buildings..it appeared as the outline of the buildings..

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

After the usual sightseeing at Angkor Wat, Neak Pean and Preah Khan, we took a 20 minutes hike to the peak of the Phnom Bakheng..i was so exhausted after the exploration of the three temples that the hike up was so forceful..waited for nearly two hours..everything was worth it as that was the first time I spend such a long time to view the whole process of sun going down..watching the egg-like sun disappearing bit by bit..

If you do not wish to tire yourself walking up and down the hill without missing the breathtaking view of sunset..riding on an elephant is an option..if you dun mind paying

we strolled along the night market at that night and savoured the cheapest food for the whole trip..others bought banana pancakes at the roadside and fell in love with them..which erm..i didn’t try

4^th day

Nothing much on that day except the boat ride to the floating village..thousands of innocent looking people..the olds and the youngs..living a free and easy life on the Tonle Sap lake..the kids were so cuttttteeeeee and friendly..waving and smiling at us whenever we passed by..those were the things that we wouldn’t always have chance to see..floating grocery shop..floating crocodile and snake farm..

On the way back

from the floating village

we stopped by at a paddy field

The rest of of our day was commercialised..visits to jewellary and cultural products showrooms..At Artisan d’Angkor we learned the process of making Cambodian fine arts and crafts

5^th day

Welcome back to Malaysia!!!

What’s my impression towards Cambodia??

Well Cambodia was all about treesand carvings..joking..but quite true..MOST kids are properly educated..but they could speak English so well..to earn a living by selling things to foreign tourists..everywhere u could hear ”Madam, u want buy scarf? Its only 1 Dollar”, “ Please buy from me, I got no money to go to school, it is only 3 dollars” ..haiz..i am always easily defeated by softness..luckily I insisted not to buy any souvenier from this trip..buying things from the kids couldn’t really solve the problem of poverty..they would continue selling and not going to school..this was what I read on a tourist guide book..not buying from them indirectly encourage them to find an alternative way of improving their standard of living..thank God..the statement which I completely agreed with reduced my guilt..the main transportation means there were motorcycle and Tuk Tuk, something like a trishaw in Melaka but instead of a bike it was a motorcycle..interesting..

we took a 3 minutes ride on it in the last evening..Cambodia likes to build steep stairs everywhere.. a challenge for those having height phobia..Cambodian never miss a chance to lie down and relax..Cambodia was a heaven of Vegetable..there were plenty of vegetables on plates regardless of the types of dishes that we ordered..be it meat or fish or taufu..vegie would be the loyal companion..Cambodia has a real hot weather!!! Which made the trip less pleasant even with an umbrella..

Thanks to www.asiaexplorer.com and www.wikipedia.com for providing related information