Of old temples and new beginnings

Ah Cambodia.

The trip was an overload of culture education.


I gots to remember Khmer Rouge, Khmer empire, in Kampuchea, the genocide, the killing fields (which I later found out, I have a movie of it, The Killing Fields, in my laptop), Toul Sleng or Prison 21. And I found out it was not so long ago when all of this happened. I vaguely remember we discussed this in school. But I could not seem to fathom whether it was high school or college. I twist facts like that.

The Killing Fields monument

And I did not have much pictures from Prison 21, locally referred to as Toul Sleng, since oddly, I was "reprimanded" by a hotel staff regarding our booking in Siem Reap. That's an entirely different story I might make a blog about.

In the meantime, here's a picture of Toul Sleng from Chabs:

Onboard a Tuktuk, we saw this anti-chicken rights van ahead of us. A number of hapless chicken were tweaked, and they had to gag in order that a straw with a liquid which suspiciously looks like bile, was forced into their beaks. 'Twas a heartbreaking sight, one I wanted to report to PETA. But I was in an unknown territory, and I was learning firsthand for the first time the culture. I was ignorant of how they cultivate their food. And now I just realized I ate at KFC in Siem Reap. Dear me!

I don't want to be a chicken in Phnom Penh

The heat was on not only in Saigon. But in Phnom Penh too!  But we were glad the weather cooperated. We had blue skies like this.

We bought a bus ticket worth 7 USD because we were at the mercy of our Tuktuk driver. Even if the ticketing outlet was not the one we supposed it was, we bought it anyway. Only to find out later, when we arrived at the bus station, that the ticket costs only 5.5 bucks. We were outwitted out of our 3 bucks, and we had to claw our way with the staff to get better seats! I left that job to Chabs. Hehe!

After the visit to Toul Sleng, we boarded the 6PM bus to Siem Reap. And due to the rain, we arrived late, or should I say, super early, at 2AM. We have a hotel pickup that was provided by the Bou Savvy GH where we were billeted in Siem Reap, but we hopped off the bus prior to its arrival at the terminal. Our seatmates, however, were kind enough to interpret the map that we have of the GH. But as we were painstakingly figuring out the map, a Tuktuk driver stopped over, asked if we were the guests, Princes Golveque, and gleefully, we joined him towards the GH. We found out he has been waiting for 4 hours. Now that's what I call patience! :)

Two hours of sleep in a comfortable bed, and we were good to go. Breakfast was not bad either.

The next morning, at around 7am, we were fetched by John. We left our belongings at Ate Fe's house, and met her darling sons. By the way, Ate Fe is a Filipino we met at the HCM airport, who, with her father-in-law, were kind enough to assist us in Vietnam, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

Now we had to buy tickets for the night bus travelling from SR back to PP. Along the way to their city center, we saw this sight. Water world!

After scouring for the cheapest bus ticket, we went ahead to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat

Day Pass

Chab's pants were too short for their liking.

The fRamed Angkor Wat 

Chab's local fans

No blue in the sky

Bayon

Angkor Thom South Gate

Preah Khan

 We have a funny story here at Preah Khan. A local, who directly talked to us regarding the rich history of this UNESCO World Heritage site, was "guiding" us around. We therefore asked bits and pieces of follow-up questions. And at the end of the supposed tour, he asked for a fee. Chabs gave him something in Riel, how much, I forgot. But we were haggling for a fair price. In the end, we said, we could give him something in Pesos. What he wanted was 100PHP, while we were willing to give out only 20PHP. Haha. We are cheapskates like that. In the end, I guess, we gave him 1 USD. Not bad for 20 minutes eh?

Here's Kuya

Ang Mga Babae sa Bintana

Off to another part of Angkor

Ta Prohm

Just as the tour was about to end, Chabs wanted to go to another temple while I decided to pass. After Ta Phrom, I was exhausted. To the bones. Haha. But then again, Chabs has a push-button automatic on. She energizes like that. However, the rain poured just as we arrived at our Tuktuk. Good thing, I was not prepared for it. Dinna have any raincoat with me. Teehee.

We returned to Ate Fe's to tidy up and prepare for dinner. It was a sumptuous, eat-all-you can feast at Sophea Angkor. While we were munching goodies, Apsara dancers entertained us on stage. Ate Fe was explaining to us what the dances meant, etc.

Chabs and Ate Fe

Apsara Dancers

Ate Fe's Family

Kids' sheepish grins

Afterwards, we scoured their night market. We bought several keepsakes, souvenirs and pasalubong for people back home.

We boarded a 12mn sleep-bus whose seats were wide, but it did not offer any wink. Nah, I could not blame the bus. It was more a fault of the bumpy roads that we were travelling. Just as we were about to fall into deeper slumber, we awoke with a start from a bump off the road! Hardly a fitful sleep, but we arrived back in Phnom Penh in one piece.

We ate breakfast in Macau PP Hotel, where we were billeted the night before. Good thing they allowed us to check in a day late. We were checking out the same day anyway, we just needed a place to remember hygeine. :D

Macau Phnom Penh Hotel

After breakfast, we left our belongings at the hotel and started another touristy-filled day in Phnom Penh. First stop was the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace

Then the National Museum.

Phnom Penh National Museum

Weaver

And lastly, we were hopeful we could ride elephants at Wat Phnom. Unfortunately, that was not our day.

Wat Phnom

We grabbed lunch at a KFC.

KFC's one-piece chicken meal

Headed back to the hotel, took showers, and at 2PM we boarded a bus going back to Vietnam.

A Vietnam Keepsake

The cost of the entire trip was less than 200 USD. Not bad for a three-day, bus-filled trip.