My Life Journey
It's All About The Experience
Day4 (SR-PP)
Jun 25th
Breakfasted across the street again, only this time, we asked for bigger bowl (tolal RM17). The guesthouse keeper kept asking us where we were going today but having promised Mr. Ram, we said we will just walk around town. We then walked to the junction of the street hidden from the sight of the guesthouse. There Mr. Ram and his tuk tuk driver friend were already waiting.
Today the weather was fine and all was afresh again after a good night sleep. This morning, we were brought to a boat ride through the Tonle Sap lake, 12km away. The ticket cost RM20 each. The boat ferried just the five of us and as usual Mr. Ram explained things to us.
There were many boat houses along the bank, lake side. Speeding was not allowed because the water way was narrowed, so we cruised at quite a low speed. There were also school, volleyball court and more houses. In those houses, drinking water was accessible in tongs, bought from seller who came regularly. Bathing were often done in the lake. Wastes go straight into the lake as well. One can see canoe where people ply their trade, ferry goods and sometimes selling things to visitors like us. At one point, a girl from such boat jumped into ours. We bought one sprite from her out of courtesy, costing us $1. Most people living there were Vietnamese instead of Cambodian, said Mr. Ram. They lived by the waters rather than on land because they need to pay staying on the land. It’s cheaper that way. We went all the way to the wide open lake. It was really big. The horizon stretched hundreds of kilometres and fishing is the main activities here. Cambodian economy is based on rice, fisheries and tourism, in this order. There were as many as 200 different types of fish in this lake.
We stopped by at one of the place designated for tourists. Took some photos there and look around the shop where variety of things were displayed and sold. About 3 hours later, we departed back. It was a unique experience to observe people living on the lake. One wonder how they manage but of course they live their life simple and within means. The trip back was also slow. We tipped the boat driver and left for another place called Artisan Angkor where we witnessed the process of making sculptures, carvings, lacquer products and weaving. It was a short trip that took only about 20 minutes as we need to catch the bus for Phnom Penh at 1.30pm. We proceeded to an eatery shop for lunch. Bargained a little and chow-ed down our food quickly. We blessed the tuk tuk driver and Mr. Ram and thanked them for making our stay in Siem Reap an interesting one. Lunch cost RM48 for 6 people. We were sent back to the guesthouse, packed quickly and boarded the van that will take us to the bus station.
Other than the four of us, the van ferried a family from France. Both the parents fled to France when the kingdom was at war, and it was the first time for the twins, aged 24 (if not mistaken) to visit the land of their father’s. The van stopped for a drink as we had some time to spare. Everyone got down. Some drank coffee. Jesse and Chunaki joined the people there watching tv(s) on the wall – it looked like some sort of ‘cinema’ for them with many chairs lined up and few televisions with different films showing at once from which you are free to choose from. Kelvin and I on the other hand, chatted with one of the brothers and he showed us some picture taken from the silk farm where we did not have the time to visit. So that kind of made up for it.
Just like before, the bus left at 2pm sharp. This time, the bus was not pack at all, so we got a place each. The bus was moving faster than the one we took when we first came into Siem Reap which was also full. Here, we settled some money we owed each other up to this day and slept but poorly because of the bumpy journey and excessive honking.
Traffic was slow moving in the city. Among the traffic, you can see people taking a walk in the esplanade and parks. Some playing badminton, doing group aerobic and jogging. We finally arrived at Phnom Penh near 8pm. We waited at the bus company office (Malinh Group) for Chieat and his dorm friends to pick us up. Chieat was the eldest among them and the group leader in some ways.
The dorm stays mostly university students, some still schooling. This is a place of friendship and where brother and sister in Christ living together, caring and helping each other. It was a 3-storey building with 7 rooms shared by both guys and girls. We were fortunate to have received their hospitality and got to know them, despite only for one night. It was nice to mingle with the locals whenever you travel. All of them were very friendly.
Chieat brought us to a place he usually frequent for dinner after work. Needless to say, yes they were delicious. We also changed our remaining Riel back into dollar as we were leaving for Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) tomorrow. When we got back, we joined the group for some brief sharing and introduced ourselves. Coincidentally, they were celebrating birthday for June babies that night and I was one of them! They even had fireworks. It was so nice and the thought of getting to eat birthday cake soon evaporated as the celebration turned into a cake war. Everyone involved had got cake smeared on him/her in one way or another. The floor was oily and everyone was dirty at the end of the day but all was in done in the name of fun. After clean up, we grouped back for some photos and a simple game of big-fish-small-fish that was localised into ‘trai-tom-trai-tout’. Losers had to act monkey and piggy.
Everyone adjourned to bed at about midnight. We had a small room but grateful all the same for we not only get to stay the night for free but also made new friends. We learned the way of living from them. Some work to support themselves. They cook to save money. A third year student, Mom, have a dream of helping the children of her people. She wanted to do business and to apply what she will learn from other developed countries like Malaysia, Korea and USA to help her homeland. Such were the wonderful people we met and learned from through our trip. It’s difficult to not love the people of Cambodia.
Day3 (SR)
Jun 25th
This morning, we were slightly late ala Malaysian standard. Mr. Ram, our tour guide and tuk tuk driver were already waiting for us. We had a quick breakfast of noodle (RM4 per bowl), quite like yesterday night but tasted better, at the shop, just opposite of the guesthouse. Then we headed straight to Angkor Wat.
Mr. Ram, 24, still a university student studying English and Culture something something, was a chatty guy. He told us plenty of information and stories, and that his nick name was DJ Ara Black, or so it sounded. Although sometimes I’m at lost of what he said, he was a cool and fun guide to have with that day. Dragon fruits were sold cheaply there, so we bought 4 costing only RM6.50. Back home, dragon fruits are expensive but slowly getting cheaper because more and more people are planting them, following the footsteps of Cambodia and Vietnam. By the roadside you could also see bottled gasoline of cheaper grade, usually used by motorbikes.
One could not help but began to feel the majestic air of the ancient times and the tall trees lined at the road sides contributed to the cooling atmosphere as we breezed towards Angkor on a cramped tuk tuk. The fee to Angkor cost $20 each and all tickets will have the buyers faced printed on it. Pretty cool, isn’t? According to Mr. tour guide aka DJ Ara Black, the beautiful girls working at the counter were mostly university students who could speak English. There were also 3-day tour in Angkor Ruins alone which you can opt for but ours was a one-day trip. After a short briefing of our routing that day, we rode into the first destination of the old kingdom – Bayon.
You have not visited Cambodia unless a trip to the Angkor Wat. To see with your own eyes the wonder of the world is to be amazed by the grandiose structure stood tens of metres high, piled ceremoniously one on top of another. The sculpture and carvings on the wall of the sandstones blocks were masterpiece in their own rights, and they told about the tales happened long long time ago. Back then, sandstones cut with long knife into cubes were brought by elephants and labours to construct this magnificent fortress. Imagined how strong, determined and clever they were in those days to build something like this without the use of modern mechanism, save the pulleys. I was like “how the hell they build that?!?!?”.
For first-time visitors I strongly recommend hiring a tour guide to explain about the interesting stories. FIY, locals need not pay to see the Angkor Wat. Mr. Rom was more than a tour guide, he is a friend. He told us not just the tales from the walls but also his life, the past, present and future. It was too much to be told here but we thoroughly enjoyed his company and sharing each others’ stories. As much as the ruins were a sight to behold, it was also a borderless playground for photograph enthusiasts. One could spend the whole day capturing moments through the lens and still felt insufficient – such was the wonder of the kingdom whose land is huge beyond imagination.
When we finished Bayon, half of our energy was already exhausted from much walking and climbing. Make sure you have a good pair of shoe and prepared to climb steep stairs. We proceeded to another main temple, all along taking pictures and basked in awe of its mere presence that still stood through the times of war and savage. Children especially will come with goodies, asking and half begging visitors to buy things ranging from key chains to shirts and from fans to coconut drink. However tempting (some quite reasonable actually) we fended all of them away, no matter how pitiful they look. They could be really good in persistence, and sometimes it pays to be just that. At any place and time of the day, you could see foreigners all over the place befitting Siem Reap – the number one tourist area in Cambodia. Tourism in Cambodia was only much promoted few years back. Signs of pilferage were obvious as many statues of Buddhism and Hinduism influence were devoid of head and limbs. Some were taken back to France and some sold for their worth. Much restoration work still needed to be done in those ruins. Sometimes one could see piles and piles of sandstones lying on the ground that needed to be sorted out, cleaned and restored. The French, Japanese and Indian were the ones hard at work preserving and restoring the sites.
A visit to a sky kingdom (also a ruin) left us a dollar and 1,500 Riel poorer. Mr. Ram did not follow us all the way up, so we climbed ourselves to the top. There, two impeccably English speaking youngsters welcomed us and started explaining this and that without us asking them to. We were suspicious the moment we see them but being polite, we did not ask whether or not they are doing it for free. At the end of the short tour, they asked for tips. So if you encountered people like this, kindly ignore them and say no up front if you don’t want unnecessary guide. Furthermore, their stories weren’t quite accurate according to Mr. Ram when we told him what happened at the top.
At lunch time, Mr. Ram brought us to a nice restaurant which spelt “Place $pecially for foreigner$ to Empty their Pocket$$$” We were skeptical but sat down and looked at the menu. Once Mr. Ram went behind for his free meal, we decided to leave. Although it was quite a thick-skin kind of thing to do, we had to do it!! That moment, the waitress mentioned something about discount and that’s when we realised even the food was negotiable. We walked further down and settled at a small shop under the zinc. We had coconuts and ordered food from menu after bargaining for cheaper price. We managed to get some good offer and the food that arrived smelt so aromatic and tasted even nicer than food we had before. Curry chicken was sooooo delicious, so were the vegetables, potatoes, chicken and fish dish, and even then sliced ginger was all walloped! But the weather was so hot, and sitting under the zinc roof did not help. There were no fans too. So we sweated a lot while eating. Moments later Mr. Ram came worried. He said we should have just told him that we wanted to eat here.
One thing to note in Cambodia (and also Vietnam), is that their public toilets were quite clean, and tissues provided. After the hearty meal, Mr. Ram brought us to climb a tall tree. This passage was built by the Japanese in view of their good friendship with Cambodia. The scenery was okay at the top, nothing much to see but it was a really long way up. Mr. Ram said a lot of couples come here for dating. He sometimes brings his girlfriend here to talk and kiss. Cheeky.
To get married in Cambodia, the man will have to pay the girl’s family some amount. This amount depends on the male’s financial situation. If he is well to do with a stable job, he does not need to pay as much. If he’s poor, he’ll have to pay higher, kind of like a higher initial penalty for insurance. Mr. Ram is considered moderately okay, so he needs to pay about $2,000 but he only has $1,000 at the moment. So he’ll only get half of the girl (either bottom half or top half), we joked! Ahem, at this juncture let me report about the Cambodian girls. Generally, I think they are attractive, beautiful girls as Mr. Rom puts it.
Next, we went to more visiting at different parts of the ruins. By this time, the weather was scorching hot, and we were all weary but carried on nevertheless. To me, one-day trip to Angkor Wat was more than enough. We visited place where Tomb Rider was filmed. Angelina Jolie was here. Trees were big and huge and their roots intertwined with the blocks of sandstone and volcanic stones to extent of damaging them. And the authorities can’t do much about it. We finally entered the Angkor Wat (another main temple), no less amazing but with similar features -columns, statues and more carvings. We took less and less picture as we were tired. Here we sat down more and just talked. Mr. Ram was becoming more ‘hamsap’ relating us his friend’s one night stand with a Japanese woman. He showed us carving of women on the wall, naked at the top. From the picture you can notice the breasts and the faces were ‘cleaner, solid colour’ looking. The reason being, as he demonstrated, people like to touch those parts and therefore inevitably made them cleaner. No joking!
About 5pm, we exited through the gate by the bridge. There were carpet greens over the entrance with calm lakes where you could see the reflection of the kingdom. The scenery amidst the sun setting was beyond describable. You just have to go and see it yourself. We went outside the street to catch our tuk tuk. More children swarmed around to sell us things. Albeit tired we still refuse politely mostly by saying “it’s okay”. One girl selling postcards even had the cheek to reply “it’s okay for u, not ok for me” to Jesse. We chuckled but also sympathised them at the same time. They looked poor and hungry, and without sandals to protect their feet. Such were their life – difficult.
Not long into the journey, we arrived at the foot of the hill where we were supposed to climb to watch the sun set at the top. One lady selling coconut came to us and I told her that perhaps later we would buy on the way back. I was genuiene at that time. You could also opt for an elephant ride for about $20. We walked to the top and there sat another ruin, a location perfect for watching the sun set. There were already hundreds of visitors from all over the world. See the picture. We stayed there for about one and half hour until the sun hid behind the mountains afar. And soon after, we too left the place – Angkor Ruins the magnificent. When we got back at the foot of the hill, the coconut lady was there calling from the other side of the street. We ignored her and she swore at me saying I will not have a girlfriend. It went something like “u no girlfriend!!”. Sigh, what did I do to deserve that. The cost for an English tour guide and tuk tuk for whole day was $20 (through guesthouse arrangement). If you contact a freelance like Mr. Ram directly, it will only cost $15. Here’s his contact – Pheara.angkor[at]yahoo[dot]com.
We made a pact with Mr. Ram that tomorrow he will take us to visit more places before we left for Phnom Penh. He asked to keep it a secret from the tuk tuk driver as well as the guesthouse keeper because they will charge for commission. It was a win-win deal. We got back, showered, rested a while, and checked email before taking a tuk tuk to the same night market area. Again we enjoyed the food at a stall. The fruit shake drinks and the food were equally good, especially the tom yam. Indescribable!! Absolutely excellent (cost $1 each type). FIY, 1.5L of drinking water cost about $0.50. Try look for it or cheaper ones but don’t go above $1. We walked to the same night market for some more serious shopping. Jesse, Chunaki and Kelvin bought 6 handbags for $17 from the same lady that chided Kelvin “no good customer” yesterday. She was wide-eyed seeing us again but we gave her business, weren’t we good? I regretted having bought none there thinking they were more in Vietnam. We shopped some more and went back via tuk tuk (no more acting macho) as we were very tired. We washed some clothes, chatted and were sound asleep swiftly.
Day2 (PP-SR)
Jun 25th
I woke up flustered thinking that we were late and our friends waiting downstairs because it was already quite bright when my eyelids opened. Lo and behold, it was only around 7am. In Cambodia, sun rises at 6am. We casually washed and dressed for our second-day of visit in the capital of the kingdom. When we get downstairs, our friends hadn’t arrived. That’s when we checked email as Internet was available for guests use.
In the evening we plan to go to Siem Reap, the place where the majestic Angkor Wat sits. So we went first to the bus station to get our tickets for bus that departs at 2.00pm (RM20 each). As usual the streets were filled with life and crowded. There were stalls nearby selling breads and we bought some for breakfast. They were quite delicious (cost about RM2.50 each). They tasted like French bread, crunchy and a bit hard but the filling of pork floss and slight spread of mayonnaise made all the difference. I ate while riding pillion on the bike on the way to the Royal Palace (entrance RM25 each). The Royal Palace is recommended to visit if you were in Phnom Penh. The architectures were amazing and golden. Chieat, another friend, joined us today. Pictures are allowed in most places, only restricted in areas where there are a lot of precious gems and sacred. That place is quite huge, complete with pagodas, spacious gardens, replicas, statues and relics. To make it more interesting, get the locals to explain things around. The entrance charge for the locals are very much lesser, if not mistaken it was only 5000 Riel (RM 1). I guess it’s a very good way to promote foreign tourism. A lot of things to see and take picture, very nice there.. go see it!
The weather was hot, but not so humid as compared to Malaysia, so we don’t sweat as much too. One can observe that the city lacks of trees. Friends told us that’s what contributed to the hot weather. The previous government did not care much about this and resulted in many mature precious trees being cut down for various purposes including furniture making and firewood. The road was busy and honking was a normal thing and not perceived as rude, rather much like a warning or indication of “I’m coming, watch out!”. Next destination was the national museum. The architecture wonder was also seen in the building especially the roof. The only picture we were allowed to take was the outside and the entrance with the statue that looked like hippogriff. Inside, pictures were prohibited. A friendly reminder for travellers who do not have much to spare or in other words, stingy – whenever a staff offer you a string of jasmine flowers, refrain from taking it no matter how fragrant or good fortune it may bring because once taken she will point to a bowl just 3meters away where you’ll need to put some money and also place the flower into a container. See.. you pay but you’ll be asked to return the good-luck sweet-smelling jasmine. The museum housed many artefacts, statues of Buddha and Lord Krishna akin. They were taken from the Angkor ruins where they had fallen or destroyed in war. Unfortunately most of them were either without their limbs or head or both because they were dismembered (since the whole statue weighs like an elephant) and sold, for they are also valuable. Museum has lesser things to see as compared to the Royal Palace, and sadly pictures weren’t allowed. It only took about half an hour to walk around. If you hadn’t much time you can skip this part, especially if you’re visiting the Angkor Wat because almost everything is brought from the ancient civilization.
On the way out, there were some university architectural students sitting by the side and sketching the building. We had the opportunity to talked to them a while and took a picture for remembrance. Sweet! For lunch, Chieat brought us to a shop where he usually patronizes. Each person is given a dish and was allowed to eat as much rice as we want. There were seven of us, so there were seven dishes and we shared all of them and all were delicious. In general, Cambodian food looks simple, but they are tasty and reasonably priced. Cambodian plants a lot of rice. On the plane entering into this country, one can see millions of acres of paddy field, practically covering the whole earth. Chieat said his first year in UTP was a nightmare as the food was all too spicy (not to mention oily). Cambodian food is hardly cooked together with chilli. If you want spicy, you can always add the chilli sauce provided on the table. We ate to our hearts content and at the end, banana-sago dessert was served. The meal cost about RM6 per person. Absolutely satisfying.
After meal, we still had some time before departing to Siem Reap. Therefore, we were showed the university where Chieat, Raingsei and Putty studied before entering UTP. It wasn’t as sophisticated and grand like our own universities back home but there were plenty of trees and ponds where students sat on the grass and study, catch a forty wink and chatted. Students were required to wear certain uniform unlike the casual wear in UTP. The lecture rooms weren’t air conditioned and use black boards and chalks. Perhaps there were, but looking at the surrounding, their classrooms looked just like secondary (and primary) school classrooms in Malaysia. However, one can see the content, happy faces of proud universities students. Studying in university cost around $400 per year. That’s considered cheap for us but not for them. Some worked part time to support their education. That’s how resilient and strong they are and these are the reasons I admire the Cambodian and for their hopes in the future despite their country fell into the worst tragedy of human history, only decades ago. If you had time, go visit the genocide museum. I’m glad the new generation does not need to go through the cruelty. This country is slowly rebuilding and I wish them well.
Friends went to pick our luggage and send us off at the bus station. The Cambodians are very on time. So BE WARNED Malaysians. Our bus departed at exactly 2pm and this was not an isolated case; very much applicable to all things. So DO NOT practise the Malaysian culture there. We thank them for all they’ve done for us and bade farewell.
The travel to Siem Reap has improved a lot compared to last time. Only two years ago the road was properly built and it used to take 3 days to go from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap because of land mines. Buses used to follow behind specially designed truck to sniff out land mines. Now it only takes 6 hours, though still a back-aching journey. But it was a cheaper way to travel than to fly. Along the way there were more paddy fields, alternating with small shops, houses, temples and every way of ‘kampung’ lifestyle we had back home.
We arrived long after the sun had set. This time the guesthouse that we booked arranged a tuk tuk to fetch us from the bus station. The room is even more impressive than the one we had back in Phnom Penh, for the same price ($15) because we had a bed each, and the room was quite spacious, clean and the air conditioning was working better too. You have to buy drinking water most of the time as guesthouses do not provide free refill.
We bathed and rested a while before taking a tuk tuk to the night market. To go around Siem Reap area, tuk tuk cost $1 per trip. We had a simple meal but nice nevertheless. You can’t go wrong when it comes to food in Cambodia. Any food stall, no mater how simple it may seem, is able to churn out delicious food. We spent a total of RM23 for dinner. Then we walked across to the night market. The place was clean, well lit and moderately decorated. It was very nice to shop there. This place is frequent by foreigners/tourists so the prices are jacked up for bargaining. The general rule of thumb is to slash the price by 50%. Sometimes you can go up to 75% depending on the items. There are many interesting things to buy such as robes, handbags and various accessories. For instance, handbags are quite special, embroided and sewn silk, so buy if you are at Siem Reap night market. Opening price can go up to $15 but the lowest you could get is $3. Kelvin bargained a lot but did not buy from one particular girl so he got chided “u no good customer”. It was pretty hilarious. You’ll hear a lot of “i gip u good prai”; “only for u sir”; “u handsome, I gip u chip chip, sir”. They are generally good sellers, well behaved and don’t scold you like those in Petaling Street. Even if you were chided like Kelvin, you’ll still get a good laugh. I bought one silk robe on that night for $17 though it could get lower, like $10? It was my first buy there so my bargaining skills were not up to mark yet. Anyway, we left that place slightly past 12am and some stalls were already closing. Kelvin managed to get silk scarf (more like cloths to the rest of us) from a pretty girl named Dali (if I remember correctly). She looked way cuter in reality. Jesse said “ta mei aa” and half way into bargaining, she spoke in mandarin and we was like “ja tau”. From then on we spoke more in Hokkien instead. So we bought from her and the opposite grumpy aunty “beh song” when we left. She overtook us and said we bought it expensive and said she could have given us lower price. Sigh.. poor aunty, she was obviously jealous that we took picture with Dali and not her.
We left the market in jovial mood, still joking about what happened in the night market. Acting macho men, we decided to forgo tuk tuk and walk back to our guesthouse. We weren’t very sure but somehow we managed to string together the places and shops that we saw along the way in and out earlier and manage to get close but still no where to be seen. We always asked people around how to go about King Angkor guesthouse and ended up just wrong. Some point here, some point there and Kelvin almost got bitten by a big-fat-sausage shaped dog. In the end, we were exhausted and decided to call for a tuk tuk. A young driver came up to our ‘rescue’ only to get lost again. He himself doesn’t know the way to the said guesthouse, and after much unplanned midnight sightseeing, he arrived at King Angkor guesthouse of Siem Reap. Our relieve was short-lived as it clearly wasn’t the one we entered earlier. We can tell just by the look of the porch and it was obviously not situated at the main road but the driver insisted it was. Finally after much English-Cambodian and English+Cambodian and sign language debate we finally got it right that our guesthouse was actually named Home Sweet Home!!! One of the King Angkor’s personnel who was earlier in slumber got pissed and scolded us in English, Khmer style. At the end of the day the driver demanded $2. So much for acting macho and wanting to save that $1, we ended up paying an extra $1. Lesson learned and luck was on our side that we remembered the correct name of our guesthouse or outherwise we would have spent the night on the streets. We went upstairs after arranging our trip to Angkor Wat the next day with the house keeper. Exhausted but rested superbly well that night! Home Sweet Home!
