Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean @ SiemReap

THE FINALE @ SIEM REAP



I've decided to merge my final day into one post. Day 3 first destination is Banteay Srei, it also known as citadel of woman or citadel of beauty. One of the earliest structure in the Angkor region. Comparing carvings and structure this would be one top spot to see, it is miniature in size compare to those mega temples you see else where. The building is also made of different materials, It is made of red sandstone, therefore it is maroon and beautiful to look at under the sun.

Next we head to Kbal Spean, we have to pay more to our driver due to the distance. It is the National Park. Traveling time is about 30-40mins from Banteay Srei. We hike a total of about 4-5KM here in the National Park. Saw some really cool ancient carvings now under a stream. There is a tiny waterfall here. We did the craziest things of all which is strip down to our undergarments and go for a freezing pour under the waterfall. We brought no spare clothes and the initial plan was to go commando after the dip. Eventually we hike down with wet undies/boxers.

We missed Angkor Wat too much so we decided to drop by again for our second sunset viewing. I could come back and see this over and over again. Its just so pretty. When night comes we headed back for a shower and rushed for our dinner because we need to do our souvenir shopping and our massage session. The night lasted till 5 in the morning. We slept for an hour and woke up to go the air-port. We were like zombies i swear. We sleep almost at any moment that is possible for us to do so.

Ta Som, East Mebon, Ta Phrom @ Siem Reap

Ta Som
After visiting Preah Khan, we had a long day more to go, we first stop by Ta Som. Ta Som is a temple dedicated to the King of Khmer. It is still very untouched because not much restoration was done and vegetation is growing over the walls. We did not stay here for long as there isn't much for us to explore.

East Mebon
This is one of my favourite destination. East Mebon is the name of the place, it is a temple built in the 10th century. The architecture here is different from the typical ones we visited because this temple was build on an artificial island at the center of the now dry East Baray reservoir. Here you could see elephant statue at all corners of the building and it is wide and spacious compare to all previously visited temples.

Ta Phrom
This would probably be one of the famous tourist spot, because Tomb Raider was filmed here. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Trees sprung out of the ruins here and it became an attraction, trees here were few hundred years old. This place is relatively cooler because it is surrounded by trees. A total of 39 towers can be seen here in Ta Prohm.

-Day 2 end-

Preah Khan @ Siem Reap

Our first destination on day 2 is Preah Khan, Preah Khan was built in the 11th Century. It also sometimes known as the temple of Sacred Sword. We saw the King's father's tomb and also the Queen's tomb. This place is interesting as the entrance has like a path of never ending doors. Some so small that it is design for you to bow down in respect of the King on your way entering. We saw the hall of dancers, and a two storey building with unknown purpose. We also went off normal visitors path and climb up the building's roof illegally just to take a look from high up. It looks spectacular until someone ask us to come down in a really polite way. We even spotted a really cool lizard with stripes like Adidas on its back. There is this freelance tour guide there that will take you to the Queen's tomb for $1 but unless u really wanna see it if not why pay. We have our dear Dave sponsoring us to see the Queen's tomb, the King is such a player because he had two wives and they were sisters. So we saw two tombs for the Queen, both Queens.

Preah Khan is beautiful but a little left to be explore because not much restoration is done. Pics here.

Night 1 @ SiemReap

We went back to our nest after Angkor for a shower and out again for dinner. We head straight to Lucky Plaza for their local fast food chain, Lucky Burger. I had Lucky Pork burger set. The fries here is so far the best fries I had, McD is just not close enough to be in comparison. We wasted nil seconds, after our dinner we head to the night market, there is this shop which sells bags along the way and i went in and got my first ever DEUTER FUTURA 45L+10L backpack. I'm so happy to own one because now all three of us carry a DEUTER backpack on this trip. Let's just say i got the bag for a good bargain. We continue to the night market and had Lok Lak which is the local fried vegetable and meat. We scout around and i think we didn't shop much as we planned to do it one shot on the last day. There was this pub street there as well filled with foreigners. We quickly head back to catch some good rest for the next day as we haven't rested for more than 24hours. Back at Garden Village, we first go for some Angkor Draught @ Sunset Bar. Sucky beer but for the thrill we cheers and gulp it down. KSeng ordered CharKdao (pronounce as: Char Ke Dao), we laughed so hard cause we also "ZharKdao" by the name. CharKdao is awesome compared to my retarded pork burger served with sweet potato wedges.

The night ended after we played a few rounds of pool.

*People whom are afraid of lizards, frogs are not advisable to visit this place unless you stay in a good hotel. I see them everywhere and the frogs looks so freaking fat.

Angkor Wat @ SiemReap

Angkor Wat is best viewed either at dawn or sunset. We made it just right there for sunset. Angkor is surrounded by pool of water, it is part of the strategy that time. Another fun fact is that due to the geographic condition in SiemReap with mainly flat land, buildings were raised up by digging sand, stones etc. from the groud. This explains why there are many pool made in the palace and in the vicinity. Instead of just making it a waste pool the hole they dug was decorated and filled with water and voila you have like olympic sized swimming pool in the palace.

There is some restoration work here at Angkor Wat, wall paintings and carvings here is spectacular. From far there is a hot air balloon which if you're interested you could go up for an aerial view i believe it will be hell nice to try but we are short of time. We head to this pool infront of the main building to take pictures of the reflection of Angkor building. This is famous for that. The building structure is wierd and there is alot of questions in my mind on the function and purpose of certain buildings.

Pics of Angkor Wat here.

*travel guide tips, Angkor closes at 6-6:30PM, you could bribe them to let you stay for awhile but it is not worth because the guards usually asked for $10.

All currency mentioned are in USD.

Angkor Thom - Phimeanakas & The Royal Palace @ SiemReap

Can you just imagine how big is Angkor Thom itself? Its almost 3PM, we were walking blindly to this place and we were asking directions every now and then. We reached this pyramid shaped Hindu temple. On top of the pyramid is a tower. There is a story behind it where you can actually search on the net.

We were surrounded by kids here and we rejected all the offers for keychain, silk scarf and bamboo whistle. We climbed up the temple, steps are small, slippery and steep. There is a warning sign but we can't be bothered as we are too adventurous.

Pics of Phimeanakas here.

I first thought it was "female nakas" when i heard people talking about it, flipping through the guidebook only I notice i was wrong all the time.

Angkor @ SiemReap

4th Jan 2010

After enjoying the sun over at Tonle Sap, we hop on our tuk-tuk to Angkor Thom. I think it will be better to describe places I go with a map attached here.

So the top of the map will be north and bottom south. Tonle Sap will be down south from where I stay and Angkor will be up north.

There is this check point where you need to pay $40 for a 3 day pass. Keep the ticket safely as you'll need them everytime you pass this check point and the guards at every temple.

-If you are travelling with more than 3 friends I would recommend that you hire a tour guide and a van(with driver). Not only you save time travelling, the place can be quite dusty is better to have air-cond. We took the tuk-tuk because we are backpacking and it is not backpacking when your treated like a king.-

Tonle Sap @ SiemReap

4th Jan 2010

Our first destination after we done checking in Garden Village was to Tonle Sap. I believe we all studied this way back in our highschool years. Tonle Sap is the biggest fresh water lake in South East Asia. Tonle Sap is important for the people here as it provides them source of water and also source of income. Tonle Sap water flow changes direction twice a year and will shrink dramatically during dry season and increase rapidly on rainy season. The lake is huge and it is connected to Mekong river. We were lucky to be there during the dry season because it can be quite dangerous to visit during monsoon when the water reverse flow.

-I wouldn't recommend anyone to visit this place as it is costly which is about $20 and there is really nothing to see except a huge lake which looks like sea and poor floating villages with lotsa bucket kids begging.-

my ratings: 1*/10*

If you have spare money to spend and just want to be there to shout out that you've seen Tonle Sap Lake then you may.

Pics of Tonle Sap here