Stories of a visit to the Khmer Kingdom

Here's some stories to be shared about my recent trip to Siem Reap. I have typed halfway of the write up on notepad but I lost it sebab mati karan and I didn't save it. ( note to myself next time must save from time to time ). The trip I went is an airasia.go package. First time cuba the airasia.go and I found it not bad juga lah. =)

• Highlights of the trip

Airport

And why in the world I have to highlight the airport? Because it is SO QUIET!  Touchdown then I was so surprised that everyone were taking photos at the tarmac area. ( Well usually they will warn you not to do that right? ) But this one is like pesta only. There are no other planes in sight except for ours that's why its so sunyi. The architecture of the small airport is also very astounding. Unique!

Apsara dance

You will notice the word Apsara is present everywhere in Cambodia. The guide told me that it refers to the government. The word Apsara also means a lady dancer, a celestial dancer. The images of this dancers are carved at the walls of the temple. According to the legend of the Khmer people, this dancers emerged from the froth of the milky sea when the Gods  and Demons churned the sea to find the elixir of life.

If I am travelling, I usually pay attention more to the cultural stuff so this Apsara dancing really caught my attention. I love cultural things. In Siem Reap, quite a number of places offer the show of this Apsara dance. I went to a restaurant cum bar called "The Temple" at Pub Street where they offer nightly free cultural dances that includes Apsara dance too. 

One dollar kids

Thin frail kids, its unlikely to see obese chubby ones there

The attack of the One Dollar kids - "Lady, one dollar..one dollar" "You help me buy book" - Then change to Mandarin " Jiejie , yi kuai..yi kuai " "Ni mai zhe ge, hen piao liang" . Very multilingual I tell you. They can even speak Japanese and Korean. The first tactic is for them to ask "Lady, where you are from". Gah! Clearly getting ready to switch language punya mode sudah tu. They are very persistent too.

This one was when they followed me like 200metres walking, non stop promoting their items. Kesian juga bah, tapi lama2 ni kalau every temple pigi ada saja ni budak2 lama2 macam tidak kasian sudah. Immune. Terkejut saya lagi when I was walking down the road kan then out of the blue from the woods came this kids with their barang jualan. Dari hutan tu. Atukoi! Anyway, memang kasian bah dorang ni. I heard that this kids if you buy the things from them kan, its not them who keep the money, macam ada orang lain yang akan collect and God knows how much they will be paid for their jualan.

Markets

Siem Reap is quite an interesting place. Memang betul2 third world country la the feeling. The local currency is almost non existent because the main currency used for trading is US Dollars even though they also use Riel ( the local currency). Saya pun mula2 wonder apa currency for Cambodia because Riel is not famous kan.

There are several markets available around Siem Reap. I shopped at the Old Market and also Central Market. Shopping Mall ada satu saja yang saya pigi itu pun kicik saja called Lucky Mall. Anyway, I think for a tourist to shop its best to do it at the Angkor Night Market and other several night markets around. Well, all the markets sell pretty much the same things but I just felt that the Night Market is more happening. Hehe. Price for things? Hmmm, bargaining is the way to shop. How tahan you can "gaduh" with the seller about the price - all up to you. Bargaining is definitely an art.

Moats

At the sides of the causeway are moats. This was in front of Angkor Wat

Before I came to Cambodia, I have no idea what moat is. And its astounding that the people dulu2 made this without proper machines like we have now. Our guide told us that the Angkor Wat moat used to be more than 10metres deep and crocodiles used to live in them. Hmmm, that really serve the purpose to guard the temple eh? Man made moats, they are everywhere! Almost every temple ada.

Spa

After the great distance of walking around and climbing the steep steps of the temple, nothing can beat the treat from the spa. Clearly, the techniques they used in massage are not the same like in Thai or Bali massage. Khmer Massage, you should give a try. This particular spa that we went is called Lemongrass Spa. Yes, it's clean and its not some shady massage parlor. They have a certain standard and the masseurs looks well trained. It will be not as cheap as the cikai spa but its worth the price. Usually good spa wont have the ladies/masseurs lurking around the entrance door coaxing the passerby to go in. Haha. 

Temples

The main attraction Siem Reap is the temples. The moment I touchdown, went to the hotel, left our bags then straight to touring the temples. Bingung2 lagi. It's always good to have some research or reading material about the temples if you want to visit without a guide. Guides are available around especially at Angkor Wat. Of course it's not free, even the entrance to the temple area you have to pay tickets as well. So, a guide book will be good if not you will be very blur like me. Haha. Masuk satu temple pigi satu temple, all I see are pile of rocks saja. Pigi tumpang2 dingar guide urang lain saja bila limpas2 dorang.

People say its best to be at the magnificient Angkor Wat at sunset or sunrise. Bad timing pula saya pigi Cambodia, its actually the rainy season. Oct - March baru okay. Ciss..Bad rain bad rain! Yeah, seriously. Suka hati saja tu hujan turun. Awan hitam datang lepas tu memang hujan berabis. Once it pours, it really pours. An umbrella will always come in handy! For the sun and for the rain and to ward off the "one dollar attack". haha

Tuk-tuk

The main transportation. I enjoy the rides but kalau jumpa jalan yang berlubang-lubang, badan pun jadi macam milkshake terus. Haha. The price of the tuk tuk ride also have to bargain. Basically, everywhere you wanna go from point to point around town area must be 1 Dollar. Well, the tuk-tuk driver always "buka harga" at a higher price lah. Just cakap 1 Dollar, if they refuse just walk away, chances they will agree to your price is very high. Hehe

• Food to try

I have tried Amok and the Lok Lak,. Sedap! Murah juga la makanan dia sana. Mau pilih kedai mana la makan. If it looks very classy, the price also very "classy". Just don't be to cheapskate pula susah ni cos places like very cikai may cause you diarrhea pula. ( especially if you have weak stomach ). Besides a tourist will always be offered a tourist price juga tu no matter what. Unless you can speak the Khmer language lah. 

You can try this Karo restaurant. Sedap the makanan. One dish is around 2USD and the beer is 0.50USD. 

Angkor Beer is a must try! Personally i think the beer tasted more or less like Bintang Beer in Bali. 

For future travellers to Siem Reap, well I am no expert in travelling, sharing saja la ni;

• Good sandals or walking shoes are recommended especially if you want to explore the temple like Lara Croft. Hehe
• Umbrella! It was so hot one minute and when the dark clouds came then it rain like cats and dogs
• Water bottle; some shop sell bottled waters that really look very suspicious ( as if they bottle it themselves ) , so its best to boil water in the hotel room and bring your own.
• Buy a guide book for the temples, or pigi hafal the temples yang ada and the stories or even better get a guide. Because if you plan to visit a lot of temples, without a guide, you will be merely looking at batu-batan. Haha.

Joan's food trail

I went to Penang recently. Hehe. Nothing special about the trip. Jadi tour guide for my sister and my cousin actually. Anyway, the whole trip was more like to find all the food that I miss very much.

Should be blogging this at my travel blog but hmmmm.. Prefer wanna do it here ( too many blogs confuses me at times ). So, this post might be a guide to you who wants to visit Penang on a tight budget ( like we did.. hehe )

140711 - 170711
Bought our tics to Penang during the Airasia RM0 fare promotion, so taxes and what not , the ticket is Rm115 ( return ). Worth it kan? But CRK terkorban la of course because it wasn't a school holiday.

Accomodation was basically free, courtesy of my friend who have a whole apartment to herself and the location is superb because it was accessible to public transport. Bukit Jambul area.

We even took the Rapid Penang from the airport, screw the expensive taxis! Hidup Rapid Penang! It only cost us RM2 from the airport to Bukit Jambul ( Bus no 304 ). There's even a Rapid Penang kiosk where you can inquire about maps and other nonsense you might have, just bombard them with questions. The lady with too much make up at the counter will be happy to help.

Check out this signage inside the bus. The last one bah funny! And they even provide free wi-fi on the bus.
I
So, my food trail all started when I went back to my former campus area ( Sungai Dua ), there's this food court called Bali-Bali cafe where they have food-food-food-food!

The dimsums there is QUITE nice, not superbly nice but still its better than I have here in Sabah.

The assam laksa is the BOMB! Costing only at RM3.00 per bowl. Kuah paling pekat saya pernah rasa and I always come back for more.

The Nasi Kerabu is the LEGEND. The aunty from Thailand is still selling it there. Thank God for that. RM3.50 per plate. Kalau boleh saya mo tapau jak tu aunty balik Sabah suruh dia buka kadai sini oh.



And of course if I am around the campus area, a visit is a must. I wanted to try the Nasi Lemak inside the campus which had been my favourite for the years I was in USM but perut terlampau penuh sudah, so we jalan2 only lah.

For any ex-USM, the DTSP where we all terima scroll for convo, now has been given MAJOR facelift. Inside and outside. Futuristic sudah rupa dia. Ngam la with the apex status it was given, match up sudah ni the name and the infrastructure.

Hmmmm, I really do wish I could continue my masters in USM but sigh...the stars are not aligned to my destiny.

Talking about facelift, KOMTAR too had a facelift. It looked better now, not some drug addict and hobo place anymore. Brighter and cleaner. I guess when the government of Penang changed the other day, this Penang icon is coming back to its heyday era. ( well at least ada sikit itu glory lah )

And there's a coffee shop that I always frequented after church every Sunday morning. And my favourite food there is the FRIED RICE. Yummeh!!!! The price is still the same and the uncle who owns the stall there still remember me. Haha.

The nasi goreng is best to go with the Teh Ping there. Just be ready to have shouts next to your ear. The waiter and waitress for the drinks have very strong lungs to convey the orders to the tukang buat minuman.


Not too forget the Chendol at Penang Road, yang tempat makan dia mo berdiri to complete the whole experience while dodging passing by cars. My cousin said "mo makan pun mo bertarung nyawa lagi" - haha!

All hail Rapid Penang!
There are two places where I thought it was impossible to reach by public transport. Its because during my college years in Penang, I never been to these places via bus.

One is Kek Lok Si, armed with the pocket map and the guide at the bus station, we took the bus no. 201 to Ayer Itam.

I have vague memories where the Kek Lok Si is located and the nearest place to stop is the Ayer Itam town. And I can't really remember where and how this town looked like. So, hoping that we won't get lost, we just hop on the bus and enjoy the ride. Haha.

Thank God, sampai juga bah, even though we were like so blur when to tell the bus driver to stop. Maybe we really dressed up like tourist bah then dia tau la mo kasi stop di Kek Lok Si. Whatever it is, we made it!!!

The other place, that I thought impossible was the Toy Museum and Tanjung Bungah hotel as it is located at Tanjung Bungah area, before Batu Feringghi.

The Toy Museum was also the same case like Kek Lok Si, I don't know where it is exactly and how does it look like, or what area it is. The bus driver also won't be helping us so much because once you board the bus, he only care about how much fare you will pay. Komtar to Tanjung Bungah area is RM2 using bus no.102.

Again, we tried our luck, constantly looking at the window for the sign of a Toy Museum. I remember, we saw a big Ultraman statue in front of a building and almost instantly wanna ring the bell for the bus to stop - manatau its a kindergarten pula. Cis!! Nasib belum tekan bell.

Tapi sampai juga bah kami! Hehehe. Even though we rang the bell to stop lambat and we have to walk around 1.5km from our stop to the Toy Museum.

Travelling by bus is indeed cheap but you have to prepared to squeeze and be smart in moving inside the bus itself. Definitely a survival skill. There's location to stand so as not to be sexually harrassed by some perverts or ways to avoid from smelling stinky armpits and what not.

Plus a good walking sandal is a must. And please take not when is the last bus taking off, you don't wanna end up like a homeless person sleeping at the bus station if you don't have money to hire a cab.

With the 4 days and 3 nights trip to Penang, I still couldn't manage to taste all the food that was on my list. Nasi Kandar, Roti Naan, Ayam Tandoori....Ah, next time lagi lah.

Who wanna join me for the next trip? Pigi adventure lagi naik bas. Hehe

p.s: Now, I felt like going backpacking somewhere pula...

My travel log

I guess this gonna be the only blog post of mine that will contain so MANY images. Hurm...photo blogging starts here.

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Trip to China last 2 weeks

Day 1:
Landed in Macau then crossed over to Zhuhai. Macau was okay, but once I stepped into China (Zhuhai), people are in abundance.

and Zhuhai is a considered one of the smallest city in China.

First stop, some replica of some temple or what. Tour is in Mandarin, can't really understand. Nvm la. haha

The dragon behind me, the scales are made of CDs. Brilliant! and below was where our tour group had dinner.

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Day 2: Zhuhai - Panyu - Guangzhou

Not so cold yet, still can tahan. This is the tour bus and the hotel that we stayed for the first night.

Went jalan-jalan outside to see the morning market, see the lady above still use that dacing thingy to weigh things. So old skool!

Below, the uncle penjual inspecting money. Fake notes are very rampant in China. Have to be very extra careful with the Yuan notes.

See the fella below, wear coat to sell fruits. So corporate looking. Haha. I guess it's because of the climate there la. I can't imagine someone in our market here sell fruits with coat and long pants. LOL!
Went to visit the statue of some goddess. Again lack of info, language barrier. My translator also always bingung2 all the time. Biar la, as long as got my a200 with me okay d.

And look for souvenirs which in the end, I didn't buy also. Haha. Just wanna see bah!
Looking for my surname...

Yeah..found it!

Wu or in Hakka: Moo, Hokkien : Boo

and the journey continues...

Next to some garden...note the 'some' word. I do not know the name of the place, I think the garden is Baomo Garden. :p

Though I don't really know what and where because everything is in Mandarin, the English signage really entertain me throughout the journey.

See this...

The view is spectacular. Huhu.. I want my backyard to be like this oh...

Visited Sun Yat Sen's memorial too. This one in Guangzhou already la.

And makan place for 2nd day is here, dunno where also the name but I know they really do have a lot of dishes. A HUGE buffet place that easily serve more than 600 dishes. Western, Chinese, Japanese you name it. They have it all.
Exotic dishes also got, above is Snake Soup. Got crocodile but didn't manage to take picture because I was distracted by this little corner here... Haha

Desserts...see the table, this is considered a small corner for cakes and yummy desserts.

Below is the local beer. Taste= very diluted Tiger. :)

Ooh.. I just can't get enough of food pictures. Roasted suckling pig! Kesian tu babi oh kena buat macam itu...hehe

and then again, the signage never fail to make me smile.. :)
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Day 3: Guangzhou - Shenzen

Left Guangzhou for Shenzen in the morning. I was really amazed with Guangzhou highway. They can build up to 5 layers of flyovers which can be as tall as a 14 storey building.

Below, is the view from the 2nd layer of flyover. Guangzhou is the city with the most cars in China. It explains why they need until 5 layers.

Makan time... This one is in Shenzhen already. Shenzen's beer. Tasted the same also. Very diluted. Almost like shandy.

Shenzhen tourist attraction spot has more things to see. I mean it's not merely buildings and temples. You can actually experience the culture there. Everything can be seen at Splendid China. A really nice place.

A miniature garden. It's a pity that the tour group has too move very fast. Can't really see and take pics in this garden. Cute little buildings. I am a giant here.

and then again... amusing signage!

There's a lot of shows can be found inside Splendid China also. But I love this one the most. Dunno what is the show called also.. Haha.

That girl in white with long hair. She can dance and do turns very very fast and tie her hair into a neat bun while doing it.

See...the result! wow...

Peacock. Yes. it's real!

and MORE peacock!

yours truly and my translator..haha..during one of the show.

It was a splendid day at Splendid China.

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Day 4: Hong Kong

One thing that I don't really like is going through immigration. Crossing over from Shenzhen to HK is totally a transition from having funny signage to a more proper English ones. Welcome to HK! One thing I don't like here is the people are so LOUD and rude. 10 times more kiasu than Singaporean. I was so intimidated by their loud voice.

Nonetheless, it was my fave day of the trip cos we get to go Disneyland! Yay!

Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy

me and the cute tong sampah which i like so much...haha

The menu at the makan place called the Royal Banquet Hall, they serve also Penang Curry Vegetables. WTH??

And there are some of our tour group people from Penang ordered that also. Double WTH?? Came all the way from Penang to HK to eat Penang Curry Vegetables in HK. *I am so puzzled*

Fooling around with someone's expensive sunglass.

and of course must show the food, I ate Shanghai Pork Chop at the Royal Banquet Hall.

there's a parade with christmas theme going on also. Very energetic dancers they have, expressions are number one. The joy from their smile is so contagious. Looking at them, you definitely find yourself smiling as well.
Ohh... I found Sheila's look alike in Disneyland. ahaha. Satu kali tinguk ada juga la macam ko Sheila.
More joy and smiles..
This was during one of the shows we went.
Disney at night.
One of the place that they have artificial snow falling, SO nice! and again me and a tong sampah. Hahaha
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Day 5: HK - Macau

It was a good day, just that earlier in the morning my mood was ruined because I ter-tinggal some of my baju in the hotel. Called the hotel, they said no things were left behind. *sigh*...Tambirang saja tu, sa tau juga.

So, nothing I can do la.

Went to Avenue of Stars

I saw this...and more stars
This is some tugu. Dunno what also. *giggles*
and oh! See the shirt-less man below.. He was jogging at 1.48pm. Gila ka apa. Lunch time jogging. If he is in Malaysia, I doubt he gonna do the same thing. Haha

after that, went to Repulse Bay.

Got this very interesting bridge...it can prolonged 3 days your life if you cross the bridge once
Later in the evening, crossed to Macau via ferry. Went to the Venetian. Nice place. Big casino. Mahal lagi mau bagi minimum bet tu. Cilaka betul

and later at night, jalan-jalan to see more casinos, which in the end tidak jadi because was SO tired.

Gluttony at its best.
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Day 6: Macau

Of course, must taste the famous Portuguese Egg tart. I was amazed with existence of Portuguese words in every signage available.

Guess where we were at?

St. Paul's Cathedral ruins

Yes. it is a must go place.

Medicine No Fakes
More christmas vibe available in Macau

Am so loving the architecture.
Ooh.. I found Jade Boutique there. The name that I initially wanted to give to my online store. Hehe

That's about it. More pictures will be on my facebook. Friendster ada juga la nanti but sikit onli.

Huuuu.. this is a long post. Tired. Off to bed now. Tomorrow off to Kuching to visit my aunt. Night!