Siem Reap You Should Be Here!®
I never liked History when I was in secondary school. Somehow this part of the world became a great deal of interest in our history lessons. I'm not sure if kids nowadays learn about it still, as my favourite nephews and nieces have never heard about it. Although I forgot most of it, I still value the fact that it did contribute to how we are today in Southeast Asia. I never knew I would actually go there. Thanks to this amazing travel club that I get to experience Angkor's history in an unforgettable way. This trip was my 6th DREAMTrips and I was there with my best buddy, Saiful, and my Lollipop ;)
Currency
The US Dollars is widely used there, while they also use their own Cambodian Riel (KHR) for small change. The exchange rate of KHR 4000 is USD 1. Somehow I think their currency is pegged that way to the US Dollars as the rate doesn't change. Our Brunei Dollars is not marketable there (when is it ever anyway?) so better get some USDs before you get on that plane.
Getting into Siem Reap
The most efficient way from Brunei is via Ho Chi Minh. We got there via KL using AirAsia as it was the cheapest option then. Of course we booked via our own booking engine, it's the best deal there is. It's not the best way if you're traveling with family as you'll need to stay overnight at KLIA2. Visa wise, as far as I know, we Bruneians don't need one to get into Cambodia. Our DREAMTrips did start until a few days later, so we didn't ask for any airport transfers, hence there wasn't any blue banner waiting for us outside the arrival hall. However, we did see this:
The Place in General
Siem Reap isn't such a huge place. It's also one of those places where you'd only go there once in a lifetime, so when you do go there, spend atleast a week, and make full use of it. For me, if I were to go there again, I'd only go if I have decided to live there. The nightlife is great, and the days are chilled. There are no skyscrapers, and definitely not a place for shoppers. Halal food is also easy to find. Transportation cost is fairly okay. There are many places to visit, which we've unfortunately missed. Make sure you adjust your time on your watch to minus 1 hour from Brunei. Also don't forget to adjust the clocks in your DSLR and GoPro, if you know what I mean.
There are so many cheap places where you can book there. I was surprised they were really good. Our initial hotel wasn't so bad either considering how much it costed us. Even the breakfast buffet was only $2.
Our first day, we arranged a tour with the airport taxi guy. He took us out outside of Siem Reap to see some ruins. Looking at the countryside, I felt like I traveled back in time.
It was quite a long trip. We were hungry so the first place we got to was a restaurant, popular for it's traditional Khmer Curry. There were many tourists when we got there. It was our first food stop, which turned out very unforgettable due to some "special" recipe.
The Khmer Curry was one of a kind. The rice, however, we didn't know it's not normal to be mixed with ants. I was told consuming ants would make you forgetful. This meal is unforgettable.
Beng Mealea Temple
This is one of those temples which are already in ruins. I forgot how much it costed us to enter but it wasn't expensive. It's around $5. The place is still quite amazing.
The Biggest Lake in S.E. Asia
The lake looked endless. It certainly didn't look like a lake. It was almost dusk, so our driver took us there to see the sunset. The idea was to watch the beautiful sunset as the reflection off the lake would make an awesome experience. I'm not sure if you have tried the tour around Brunei river, but I thought the cost was a rip off, until we got onto this boat ride. To get to the lake, we had to take a boat that passed through a river that lead passed their version of Kg. Ayer. It was very relaxing. The river opened up to the massive lake and we stopped over at a floating restaurant. Yes, a floating restaurant. I think that would be an awesome idea to start one in Brunei. The experience was truly mind blogging. How could no one thought of making one on the Brunei Bay?
We didn't wait for the sun to set as there were clouds just above the horizon.
I've realised they have crocodile farms. I've always thought a crocodile farm is where you'd keep crocodiles, breed them, feed them, and probably play with them. I had never realised that they would keep crocodiles for food. For the first time I saw crocodile meat in a menu.
The whole river/lake thing was 25 bux per person. That's not even BND. And I thought Kg. ayer tour was a rip off.
The Nightlife
Being in Brunei, where the nightlife doesn't even exist, makes the nightlife anywhere in the world amazing. I miss the old Sugar&Spice restaurant where we used to chill under the dimmed yellow lights and smoked shisha. Sadly there were no shisha lounges in Siem Reap anymore. The nights were still pretty much alive though.
Couchsurfing is a travel community which is very useful in building networks. Here we met a new friend, Meagan.
The Asana Bar. I love the concept of this chilled out bar. How I wish someone will follow this in the future. If you're starting one, let me know. I will invest in you!
The Bar is on stilts, and they really know how to make use of the space bellow. Here, they hanged beds. Mind blogging.
So this guy decided to go higher in the food chain
I knew they had crocodile farms, but I never the farm is to breed them as food.
I've also subscribed to TripAdvisor's newsletter. That week, they published a list of the World's top 25 hotels. It turned out that the 2nd top was in Siem Reap. So we checked the place out on one of the evenings. Check out the restaurant at Shinta Mani Resort.
Phare: The Cambodian Circus
A must visit place in Siem Reap. They have two different shows, so you might want to go there twice. Due to my lack of planning, we had to go before our DREAMTrips started. This show was actually included in our DREAMTrips itinerary. As a result, we had to book it separately. To book, you can either go to any of the tourist info counters, or you can go to the website (just google it) and book it online. We booked it through our DREAMTrips app, because it's cheaper (yes, we have the best deals). The show runs for about one hour and normally starts at 7.30pm. Saiful went there twice, once with me and my lollipop, another with DREAMTrips. When we went there, we booked the seats on the sides because the best seats were fully booked. When Saiful went there after, they were at the front row center, of course.
Le Meridien
For this DREAMTrip, our home for the last few days was at Le Meridian. We even checked in at 9am, thanks to being a Platinum member. How awesome is that? The hotel is very close to Angkor Wat. You can hire a bicycle, if you want. I was going to rent one but they warned me that it would be very tiring. Yeah, just because I'm fat. VIP check in is standard on a DREAMTrip.
Our welcome dinner was awesome too. These DREAMTrips are just getting better and better.
Angkor National Museum
I think it's a good idea to visit the museum first before visitng the Angkor sites. This way, you'll appreciate Angkor more. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. Saiful did, however, steal a few shots.
Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom was the capital city of Kampuchea, the old name for Cambodia. There is a fee to enter the whole of the Angkor area. You can buy a single day pass, as well as a 3-day, 5-day or even a 7-day pass. I'm not sure why would you want to go there for a week but there you go. The place is very big, and there are alot of temples to see. We only went for the "small" tour, which comprised of a couple of small temples and the major ones like Angkor Wat. For Angkor Wat, there is a section where you must wear clothes more properly. Proper as in, no short pants/skirts or sleeveless.
Angkor Wat
This is the main reason people go to Siem Reap. A must go place in Southeast Asia. A must go place in the world. Even aliens must visit.. Or have they? You really should be here. Apparently this location is at exact opposites to Machu Picchu. From my calculations, they are pretty close at opposites to each other around the planet. I did a bit of research (google-ing) and found out more mysteries. Well that's for you to find out more. All's I know is I had an amazing time there. We had our own tuk tuk provided, and an English speaking tour guide.
Lunch and dinner buffets wer also provided without any additional costs. Our souvenirs from this DREAMTrips were surprisingly more and awesome too. It was so much better than we expected. Like I said, these DREAMTrips are just getting better and better. You know what? You, should really be here. Enjoy the rest of the photos!