Cambodia, I'm in Love (part 1)

Okay. So, I went to few places lately but still got no time to share the itinerary, pictures and stories. In January, I went on a solo birthday trip to Yogjakarta. After a few months break, I went to Sarawak with my family and Sabah with few friends. I guess I'll spend some times to write 'bout them later but am now excited to share a little bit 'bout my recent trip to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

It was a 4 days 3 nights trip well spent although I have to skip a few places due to time constraints. However, I'll make sure to pay another visit there maybe next year for my Indochina trip. Started this trip from KL to Siem Reap on 28th April 2017. Took an Air Asia flight on 1.05 pm and was supposed to reach there by 2.10pm. Lebih kurang 2 jam 5 minit. Waktu Malaysia is actualy an hour earlier. 

Day 1 (28 Apr. 2017, Friday)

Touched down 10mins earlier from the schedule around 2.00 pm. Settled all checked out, Custom & Immigration at around 2.30pm (local). Waktu Malaysia, 3.30pm lah. Flight penuh juga with local people but I could only see less than 10 ladies in hijab like me. Most of the passengers are foreigners.

From inside of the airport, keluar je gate, my favorite Tuktuk driver, Mr Nasri was waiting outside. I could clearly see my name on the card. To my surprise, waktu awal-awal texted him through FB Messenger, dia reply my message in bahasa melayu. He speaks Malay fluently. Rupanya, pernah duduk Nilai for 2 years. So, bab communication over there, checked! Senang. haha.

Naik tuktuk, terus ke hotel which is about 9km from the airport. Dekat setengah jam jugak. The traffic wasn't that bad but Siem Reap was very hot. Lagi panas dari KL. Berdebu sikit jalan kat situ. Sampai, checked-in at Oasis Capsule Hostels, situated very near to the Night Market. It is on the same street to have fun at especially at night. Next to it were few cafes and restaurants, massage parlous, boutique hotels, banks and even 24 hours mart. Very very convenient I would say. I booked a female dorm, consisted of 4 beds (capsules) with private bathroom. Well that is the best part of the dorm. Owh, another best thing is I only bought it at RM21 ++ from Agoda.

Layan angin atas tuktuk

Checked-in done, so it's lunch time. It was kinda late for a sight seeing since by the time I reached the restaurant, it is already 3.00pm ++. So, while waiting for the lunch to be served, I went to the mosque next door for jama' taqdim. Waktu tu belum masuk Asar. 

On the first day, I had my lunch at Halal Backpackers. I tried its Nasi Goreng ($2) and Amok ($3.5). Amok is quite similar to Malaysian masak lemak or gulai lemak but here, they are using fish. It is Khmer specialty, one must try when visiting Cambodia. Halal Backpackers is one out of a few other Halal restaurants in this area that served halal foods. According to Nasri, this small area managed by muslims from Kampuchea, migrated from Vietnam. The food is nice and it feels like home. Cuma, tak pedas except the sambal belacan which was very spicy.

Nasi Goreng with Amok at Halal Backpackers Restaurant

Next, pergi beli simcard at only $1 with $1 reload. Yes, Cambodia is using USD as the currency there especially for trading. They do have their own currency which is Riel, that is gonna be used as a small change. Artisan Angkor is the first place to be visited. Just paying a visit sambil tengok handmade items at the workshop inside the artisan. Boleh shopping some souvenirs kalau nak but I choose to do it other times. 

Lepas tu, sebab nak malam dah, terpaksa cancel Killing Field and Lotus Farm. Memang tak sempat. Well, keep it for the second day. Lotus Farm seems beautiful in the pictures but it is best to be visited in the morning. Petang, bunga dah menguncup... nak tengok apa, dak? 

Night Market

So, since those places were cancelled, I pi singgah jap dekat Night Market, nak amik feel sebab hostel dekat sangat dengan tempat tu so hati sangat meronta-ronta nak pi tengok. Hehehe. Sempat lah stranded kejap sebab tiba-tiba hujan lebat. While waiting for the rain to stop, I went on some window shopping sambil survey harga barang. Dah renyai, balik dorm, mandi dan solat baru keluar gi Angkor Hard Rock Cafe. Shopping sikit & layan live band. Not bad, band from Philippines. Agak happening sebab tu dah 2 jam lebih baru teringat nak balik. Haha.

Done there. Balik, jalan kaki je. The hostel memang walking distance je dgn tourist spot. Malam kat area situ sangat happening. Foreigners sangat ramai sebab beer & liquor sangat murah kat sana. Bila lalu dekat area Pub Street... Wow! More fun. The street, waktu siang takde apa, but waktu malam jadi pub. Happening... Best jalan-jalan cuci mata tengok orang dancing, orang jual cicak, katak & ular goreng.. Hehehe.

Souveniers

Singgah semula dekat Night Market, jalan-jalan buat pedicure for only $3 and 10 minutes foot massage for $1. Balik capsule, tidur awal sebab esok pagi nak layan sunrise di Angkor Wat. Tuktuk is around $15 per day, unless u can negotiate the price. Haha. But, worry not. Usually, the airport pick up is free if you wish to hire the tuktuk for the whole day.

Day 2 (29 Apr. 2017, Saturday)

Konon nak keluar pukul 4.45 am, tapi almost 5am baru turun. Terlajak tidur lak. Penat sangat. Huhuhu. Subuh awal, around 4.25 am macamtu. Tuktuk dah tunggu. 

Best betul layan angin pagi-pagi nak ke Angkor Wat. Dalam 7km jugak... Sejuk menusuk tulang. Nasib bawak shawl tebal. Mula-mula singgah beli tiket dulu. One day pass untuk ke semua temple kat situ. Kena amik gambar... Muka awal pagi, memang tak semenggah. Harga untuk One Day Pass adalah $37. 2 tahun lepas baru $20 je camtu. Semua naik harga. Huhuhu.

Tapi, puas! Worth the price. Start dengan Angkor Wat. Takde pun sunrise sebab hujan semalaman so mendung je ha sepanjang pagi. Kalau tak, boleh dapat view kemerahan je.... Tengok gambar-gambar dekat google aduhai cantiknya ciptaan Allah. But actually, tak dapat layan sunrise pun takpe. The place itself pun dah banyak benda boleh rungkai... No wonder it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. 

View dari depan. Belum masuk dalam

Banyak jugak si Nasri TukTuk cerita pasal sejarah-sejarah binaan kat situ. Tapi nak tulis balik, dah tak ingat the details . Ngeee. Angkor Wat tu asalnya istana, tapi raja dia bina tempat untuk ibadah sekali, which is the temple. Wat means temple or pagoda. Nak buat setiap satu binaan tu makan masa berpuluh tahun sebab dulu, mana la ada kemudahan mesin & pengangkutan. Setiap satu batu-batu tu diangkut oleh gajah... Daripada tempat yang jauhnya berpuluh kilometer dari angkor wat & wat yang lain. Dan ukiran setiap batu kat situ adalah hasil tangan! Cantik. Memang cantik. 

Angkor Watt

Now, most of the temples are under renovation atau pemulihan semula. They preserved the place as historical yet tourist attractions. Ukiran dan senibina kat situ memang jelas pengaruh agama hindu & buddha yang awal-awal bertapak. Raja tak paksa rakyat pilih agama apa tapi kebanyakkan raja-raja di awal-awal pemerintahan mengamalkan agama Hinduism. Ini menurut apa yang diceritakan oleh Nasri lah. Tak sempat nk baca lagi cerita-cerita sejarah kat situ.

Lepas Angkor Wat, masuk pulak Angkor Thom atau The Bayon. Seni & ukiran dekat sini lagi cantik! Very detail & halus. The Bayon ni ada 5 entrances atau gate. Kalau tak silap, masuk ikut gate north dan keluar ikut eastern. Pintu keluar tu, dipanggil Pintu Kemenangan, atau Gate of Victory. Sebab, kalau raja masuk ikut situ maknanya dia dah menang perang. Ada salah satu gate, pintu kematian sebab pintu tu hanya akan dilalui untuk bawa orang-orang mati. Pintu kekalahan, rasanya yang north tadi tu. Menarik, kan?

Monuments at the Entrance Gate

Dalam Angkor Thom jugak ada Terrace of The Elephants, tempat raja tengok pertandingan gajah. Gajah yang menang game tu, akan dipilih oleh raja untuk bawa berperang... Kat wall sepanjang terrace tu, ada ukiran gajah & padang yang luas untuk gajah lawan. Ehhh... Macam story teller pulak I ols ni kannnn.

Amacam?

Lepas Bayon, terus ke Ta Phrom. Tempat ni famous dia lain macam sebab Tomb Rider buat kat sini. Mula-mula bila tengok movie tu ingat buat kat cave, rupanya takde cave pun. Ta Phrom ni special sikit sebab pokok-pokok dekat situ, memang sengaja dibiarkan tak ditebang untuk preserve the unique of the nature. Besar giler baq hang pokok dia. Serious besar! 

Told ya it's huge

Nasri cakap, temples lain, government tebang pokok-pokok tu tapi di Ta Phrom, sengaja tak ditebang sebab nak tunjuk dekat orang & future yang asalnya tempat2 lain pun kedapatan pokok-pokok bersaiz gergasi macamtu. Akar dia je dah besar macam gajah. Huhuhu. Kuasa Tuhan. 

Here's another one - inside Ta Phrom

So, 3 main temples done. Actually there are more temples, pagoda and castle but.... dah panas and penat. 

Next was Killing Field. Tempat sejarah pasal pembunuhan kejam di zaman pemerintahan Pol Pot, since 1975. 5 years of mean government which taken lives of thousands Cambodian. It was a heart breaking story. Dekat Phnom Penh ada satu lagi Killing Field yang lagi besar sebab kebanyakkan mangsa-mangsa yang bakal dibunuh disimpan di situ. Kejam!

This is the government under Pol Pot regime

Okay, now my tummy is hungry. Perut dah bunyi so went to grab some heavy lunch. This time,I dined in at Muslim Kitchen, at the back of the mosque. The owner is able to speak malay very well. Dekat sini, tried out its Lok Lak, which is actually masak black pepper. Sedap! Not spicy, but the sambal belacan is very spicy. Berpeluh makan. 

Dah makan, buat jama' ta'khir dekat masjid. Siap terlelap 15-20 minit. Kesian orang-orang yang tunggu. Minta maaf lah ye. My eyes can't resist the sleepy head. 

My Lunch - Lok Lak with white rice

Before heading back to hostel to pick the bag and things, singgah sekejap dekat Senteur's d' Angkor Workshop. This place is a workshop of handmade products from scented candle, coffee, tea, soap to craft items. They produce and sell it there. All are nicely displayed in pretty nice packaging, good as a souvenirs. 

After a short tour at the Senteur's and tried out a few rare flavors of coffee and tea, i bought myself the roasted ground coffee. I've repeated the Night Market to find any possibility of item to be bought over there. Was trying to get myself a set of local made necklace and bangle but those were quite expensive. I finally get myself an express manicure for $3. Did I buy anything there? Owh, I guess I got myself t-shirts from a shop and...that's it. 

Went back to Oasis Hostels. Actually, the hotel service was very good. They allowed me to keep my bag there upon checking out. And, they also gave me to use the room and bathroom to get my shower before taking the bus ride to Phnom Penh. Great hostel and service! It is highly recommended for backpackers. They have 3 types of dorms consisted of 4 beds, 6 beds and 10 beds. Each comes with private bathroom inside the room. So, yeay! No need to peek out at night to go to the lou. 

Okay, enuf 'bout that. I can't remember the exact time I was ready to go to the bus station. Maybe around 9pm like that. I had maggi curry for my dinner. Actually the pizza cafe next to the hostel looked really tempting but besides being was-was, am trying to squeeze my expenditure as well because am gonna shop a lot at Phnom Penh. Nasri came to pick me up to Giant Ibis Bus Station. The last bus was scheduled at 11.30pm. So, I kept the bag at the counter and went for a walk at Pub Street for the last time. It was only a 5 minutes walk from the bus station. 

By 11pm, the bus was ready. It is a huge bus with double decker bed, which is only available at night. the bed is big enough for one Asian size people like me. If you are taller, you might have to fold your leg a bit. I took the top bed. It is equipped with power plug, toilet and wifi. It is clean because you need to take off your shoes and placed it the plastic bag given. Cold, with a not so thick blanket, I was sleeping soundly while the bus speed smoothly on its 7 hours road trip. 

It was a goodnight.





Goodnight

To be continued. Day 3 and 4 at Phnom Penh.

...Nkay

I can be a story teller