Munmun's Trail : : 敏子の迹: September 2009

I visited to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Angkor Wat’s country - Siem Reap & Phnom Penh Cambodia with Liching + Wayne + William + Edwin + Jo & Nix early this month. It was a quite affordable trip since we managed to secure a cheap air fare with our own accommodation and ground arrangement taken care by JoNix the couple. We have enjoyed most of the must sees and must do attractions throughout this 5D4N experience trip.

Day 1
Landed at Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport and started our journey after meet up with the ground tour guide. We were 1st taken to a scenic boat ride along Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia which looks more like a sea to see the floating villages and the villages’ lifestyle. Then, we enjoyed a local Khmer lunch and tried out their local famous Amok, a type of traditional Khmer dish. Across the road, we able to admired the Srah Srang ( Royal Bath ) which is actually a baray ( reservoir ) where the kings take their baths in ancient times, just like how it was named. After lunch, we visited Bantaey Srei Temple to admire the unique and beautiful carvings on mostly sandstone walls of the temple which considered as a jewel of Khmer art. We then continued our visit to Aki Ra's Landmine Museum that promotes mine awareness and education for both tourists and Cambodian people. We’ve learnt that landmines truly suffered the Cambodian in old days. At night, we had our buffet dinner at one of the restaurant opposite our hotel which comes with Apsara Dance performance, the Khmer classical dance that somewhat similar to Thailand. Besides, we also shopped at the Angkor Night Market and bought some souvenirs before we head back to hotel for a good rest.

Day 2
Had our breakfast at hotel and depart for Angkor ( Khmer: city ) visit. We 1st visited to Angkor Wat, the largest + most famous of all the temples that stand in the center of Angkor. It took us half a day to walk around the whole temple while listen to the historical explanation given by our local English speaking tour guide, Mr. Borin. In the afternoon, we visited to Angkor Thom - the home of Bayon, a spectacular Buddhist temple city that has five monumental walls with each having four serene faces of Avalokitesvara ( Buddha ) while the Bayon Temple - located at the center of Angkor Thom city, is where we witnessed the countless gigantic smiling faces of Buddha. We also covered the major attractions within the Angkor Thom city such as Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King etc and some places of interest around the Victory Square. We later continued our visit to Ta Prohm Temple, the most attractive temples in Angkor surrounded by thick layers of jungle and covered mostly by gigantic tree roots due to trees growing out of the ruins and the roots of the silk cotton tree covering its wall. Inside the tree roots covered monument are a maze of narrow corridors and crumbling stonework that have been filmed in the movies Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft that later made the temple also known as Tomb Temple. At night, we had Cambodian BBQ dinner along Siem Reap Pub Street, did some street walking and had a Cambodia foot reflexology to sooth our tiring feet after much day walk.

Day 3
Woke up early 4 in the morning and watched the picturesque sunrise at Angkor Wat which was truly a great experience to witness the scenic change though we were a little sleepy. Apart from this, we also rode the Cambodia hot air balloon that tethered 180 meters above ground and amazed the spectacular aerial view of Angkor in the morning before we went back to hotel for breakfast. We continued our visit to Roluos Group temples such as Prasat Preah Ko Temple which believed to be the 1st temple built in the Rolous Group, Bakong Temple which believed to be the representation of Mount Meru, and Lo Lei Temple that could be one of the most beautiful island temple ever built in this region which is now dry. Last, we were transported to visit Les Chantiers Écoles, the school specialize in teaching wood + stone carving technique to learn more about Cambodia carving art where the premise also has a beautiful shop called Artisant d’Angkor that sells art pieces funding the school as an end of our ground tour. On our own leisure, we experienced the Cambodia body massage, did some local food hunt and tried the local famous Happy Herbs Pizza - pizzas with added “herbs” that could make someone feel happy. We also walked the Angkor Night Market again to source souvenirs before leaving Siem Reap.

Day 4
Took few hours Mekong Express Limousine Bus travel direct from Siem Reap to

Phnom Penh and start our free & easy visit in Phnom Penh once we arrived + checked in the hotel. We first visited the Cambodia National Museum reinforced by Australian government. It houses a lot of originals Buddhas, Sivas + Apsaras from Angkor while those seen at Angkor are mainly replicas to prevent looting. We also visited to creepy Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former Tuol Svay Prey High School that has been

converted into a detention and torture center known as Tuol Sleng, or S-21 ( Security Prison 21 ) to detain individuals accused of opposing the Pol Pot regime where, most of the prisoners detained here were later taken to Choeung Ek ( Killing Fields ) to slaughtered without mercy and buried in mass graves. Too bad that we didn’t make it to visit the Killing Fields because it was located 7km away from the city that requires 1 hour travel time which we were of time constraint. At the evening, we passed by the Independence Monument that commemorates the end of the France-ruled Cambodia's

regime while we were on our way to visit Phnom Penh Night Market ( Phsar Reatrey ) located in a park of Riverfront and tried some of their local snacks. We later then had our dinner at one of the pub restaurant around Riverfront and also visited the FCC Cambodia ( Foreign Correspondents' Club Cambodia ) Phnom Penh outlet for a cup of drink along the Sisowath Quay Riverfront and enjoyed the view that overlooks the convergence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers.

Day 5

Toured to explore The Royal Palace and amazed The Silver Pagoda located in the compound of the Royal Palace which was named because of its floor that

covered with silver tiles. The Silver Pagoda houses treasures such as gold Budda adorned with thousands of diamonds and emerald Buddha made of baccarat crystal. We also visited Wat Phnom, the highest artificial hill in Phnom Penh with Buddhist pagoda + biggest clock in Cambodia that become a city landmark and worship place. Last, we still managed to find some extra time to visit the Old Market ( Psah Chas ) which nearly confused us the way out from the market as our last stop for souvenir before we head back to the hotel, took some pictures, had a fast meal + simple shower, packed and returned.