Siem Reap

A week after our last day at work, Chryssie and I decided to spend 5 days in Cambodia just to unwind a bit. We arrived late at night through plane (Only one flight from Manila to Siem Reap). We booked rooms at Bou Savy Guesthouse and as soon as we stepped out of the airport their tuktuk driver was happily waiting outside to bring us there. After a refreshing welcome drink, its off to bed as we are getting up at 4 in the morning.

Siem Reap literally means the fall of Siam. Which is the mockery of the Khmer to the defeat of Thailand.

We decided to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat as recommended. Our tuktuk driver Ani was waiting at our door to bring us there. We bought our daily passes first for USD 20 good for a day with unlimited access to all the temples. They took our pictures then viola! Here goes our ID-like passes. 

We settled outside of Angkor Wat to see the sunrise along with all the tourists. We were able to find a good spot until the first part of the sunrise. The Chinese tourists came in and unfortunately we were somehow driven off our spot. Sunrise was not that nice that day as it was cloudy. My pictures were not that dramatic compared to some of the pictures online. The soft light falling on the facade of the temple and our faces was still beautiful.

We headed back to Bou Savy for breakfast. Everyday, we always had a good breakfast of either noodles or baguettes with egg and deliciously strong, milky yet slightly sweet iced coffee. 

We went back to the Angkor complex thereafter and started our temple day. Our first stop for further exploration was at Angkor Wat. Some parts of the temple were closed though as there was a Buddhist event that day. The temple was full of carvings preserved from the Khmer era. Some of the jewels were already looted unfortunately. All windows had seven pillars representing the pillars of Buddhism.

 

Our next stop was Banteay Kdei. We were greeted near the entrance with Buddha's statue with incense lighted. There were these tour guides that wont stop following us and using Manny Pacquiao as a pick-up line to get our attention. This temple offers a nice background for pictures mimicking temple run.

We had a quick stop at Chau Say Tevoda. A lot of parts in this temple is ruined already.

Ta Prohm is popular as Tomb Raider was filmed there. It is characterized by this giant tree growing out of the temple. Maintenance works are being done on the temple.

After a quick lunch, it was off to Bayon, the temple with many faces.This is my favorite as the carvings were intricate and all the faces in the temple were interesting. We were lucky though that not too many tourists were there that time.

The following day we attended a cooking class at Le Tigre De Papier in Pub Street. We paid USD 13 for the class for 1 appetizer  1 main dish and a dessert. The class also included a market tour. It was Chryssie's first time to cook. I thought she was going to mess up big time and had my camera handy but she seemed to manage well. We both picked spring rolls for appetizers where our teacher, Savon taught us the technique of rolling our spring rolls. Chryssie made Chicken with Basil while I did Tom Yum. We were in the class with two more people, Fernando and Amy who made Amok and Chicken with Khmer sauce. We had sticky rice with mango for dessert. They were supposed to email us the recipe but we never received it.

On our last day we volunteered at CDO (Children & Development Organization). The kids were wonderful and they were very curious about the Philippines. We cleaned their rooms, helped with the laundry and also sliced vegetables for pizza. Volunteer teachers from all over would stay for a month or so and will also teach these kids. 

We splurged on dinner at Touich, a family run restaurant. It was my best dinning experience ever. The staff politely greeted us at the door and were seated right away. Their recommendations were actually good. The price tag may seem steep for Cambodia but the size of my steak was huge. Their servers were very attentive and always smiling. They served us water with Keffir lime to wash our hands after the meal. Even if this place is out of the way, having a meal here is worth it.

We explored pub street that night. We had the tomb raider cocktail at The Red Piano were Angeline Jolie would go for drinks during filming. Had a quick foot massage for USD 1 at the Night Market and spent time shopping for souvenirs there.

Before leaving the following day, we stayed the whole day at Blue Pumpkin in Pub Street. Yaay to aircon! They had a good selection of sandwiches, bread, pastas and other meals. The lounges were so comfortable it's hard not to sleep in there.

My trip to Siem Reap was probably the one with the most value for money. Bou Savy charged us USD 17 per night for a big room with twin beds and free breakfast. Our temple tour was booked with them also. We paid USD 12 for the tuktuk that would take us around the whole day. For more information, visit their website here.

Cooking classes at Le Tigre de Papier is probably the cheapest in Siem Reap. To know more, click here.

If I were to come back to Siem Reap, I would spend another day in CDO. They still need donations to take care of these kids. If you want to help, check their facebook page here.

Cebu Pacific flies from Manila to Siem Reap daily.