Siem Reap - Around the Town

Siem Reap @ 1st April, 2006

On the first day of our visit at Siem Reap, we checked into our hotel around 12pm. After check-in , we decided to check out the downtown for lunch.

We went to Old Market using a took a Tuk Tuk (cost USD6 from 1pm to 5pm). Tips: My advise for Tuk Tuk is, if you plan for many stops then book their time, else you can find any on the street for USD1 for a ride. The Old Market is very old and a bit messy. We weren't very impress with the market conditions. We walked passed a few shops, and you will find the same things were sold on the next few doors. As you usual, bargain is the must. I bought a silk scarf for USD1. The quality is so so but I like it. I guess if you walk around and take time to go through the goods you may find some gem. The other half of the market is a wet market.

We then stopped by a supermarket nearby for water. Tips: Don't get imported water from Thailand which will cost you USD1 per bottle. We later found we pay 1USD for 6 bottles of local bottled water! We drank it and we are OK. Surrounding Old Market has a lot of nice restaurant. We settled at In Touch. We ordered Khmer food, namely Amok (choice of vegies or meat) and Lok Lak. Amok was like santan curry but sweet. Lok Lak was more like sweet marinated meat. I found Khmer food was sweet overall.

After lunch, we walked around and found this cafe call Blue Pumpkin. The cafe serves very nice pastry, cakes and ice-cream. The seats on 1st floor was a bed-like seat, where they serve your drink and food on a small table that placed on the bed. Kinda interesting and good place to take a nap! TIPS: On top of that, FREE WI-FI.

The town was not big, so we ask Mr Tuk Tuk to stop by all the main shopping area. We stopped at Center Market and bought a silver necklace. The price was pretty good.

Later of the day, the villa staff recomended us to watch the Aspara dance or known as Celestial dance. It's similar to the Ramayana dance in Indonesia or Thailand. After all, all these countries were influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. We went to Mondial Restaurant for the buffet and Aspara dance. It cost us USD12. The food was so so as I was not a buffet fan, and the dance was not as exciting as I thought. Later some local told me there were few places has better program than Mondial. Anyway, the customers at Mondial were mainly westerner and Japanese.

We ended our day 1 here as we need to rest early and depart at 5.30am the next day for the sunrise at Angkor Wat!

Siem Reap - The Lost City to the World

1st April, 2006 @ Siem Reap

I had just completed a 3 days 2 nights excursion to Siem Reap. I went there with a friend and the ticket was complimentary from Air Asia. Visit AirAsia for free or promotional tickets http://www.airasia.com

Before the trip, I started to visit Fodor's Forum for tips. I learnt some of the places to do, the right time to visit the temple for sunrise and sunset, and also the accomodation around the town.

For me, I had chosen La Villa Lotti. The owner is a French guy named Daniel. I enjoyed my stays there because the staffs were really friendly. Besides, the villa was decorated with Balinese style's furniture. Lotsa trees and dining under a coconut hut. However, bring mozzie repellant with you, the hotel also provides mozzie coil and insect spray. The room I had was reasonable with A/C and fan. The hotel rate provides breakfast, free laundry - underwear only, and also u can borrow the bicycle for free for 2 hours. I have to say I enjoy La Villa Lotti better than the guesthouse/shoplots at the towncenter.


Visit the hotel site for more details - http://www.lavillalotti.com

Since we went there on our own, we need a good tour guide to explain to us on the history of Angkor Wat. Otherwise, every temple will looks the same to us. Through Fodor's forum, I found the legendary Miss Pon Heary. She is petite with tanned skin (due to her job), and speaks good English. She is formerly an English teacher. This gutsy lady has proved to me that she is proud of her country. For example, she will tell the visitors at the temple not to sit on the sculpture or stones which is the country's heritage. Also, she will organised party for underprivileged children, donated by the foreign visitors. Her goal is to put the children to school. In Cambodia, it's tough, but it has to start from somewhere. I found Pon to be friendly and she tells interesting stories. Bring her some sweets if you visit Siem Reap and would like to hire her as a guide.


Write to Miss Pon Heary - mailto:ponheary@yahoo.com (petite lady 2nd from left)

Refer to Day 1 to Day 3 activities in the next blog.