Cambodia: Short Getaway to Siam Reap Part 9 (Tonle Sap, Artisans Angkor, Cambodian Barbeque)

Day 4 in Siam Reap

On the 4th day of our trip, we continued with our 3-days tour with the tour guide to Tonle Sap. Tonle Sap and floating village seems to be a must-visit tourist spot when you are in Siam Reap, Cambodia. 

Tonle Sap ("Great Lake") refers to a seasonally inundated freshwater lake, the Tonle Sap Lake and an attached river, the 120km long Tonle Sap River, that connects the lake to the Mekong. They form the central part of a complex hydrological system, situated in the 12,876 sq km Cambodian floodplain covered with a mosaic of natural and agricultural habitats that Mekong replenishes with water and sediments annually. The central plain formation is the result of millions of years of Mekong alluvial deposition and discharge. As one of the world's most varied and productive ecosystems the region has always been of central importance for Cambodia's food provision. Either directly or indirectly it affects the livelihood of large numbers of a predominantly rural population to this day. (click here for more information from Wikipedia)

On the boat at Tonle Sap Lake, going towards the floating market.

Floating village

There's a boat with 2 kids holding a snake. We tried to capture photo because we find it interesting. Then, the boat rowed towards us and asked for money. We can actually carry the snake and snap photos on our boat. Friend tried it but I just paid $1 as I took a photo of the small boy. Pity them too, have to earn a living under hot sun.

Then, we were stopped at a house at floating village, where we can rest and enjoy the view.

There are lots of crocodile, I would said is a farm, where they are being caged. Not sure what are these crocodiles for, maybe just as tourist attraction site?

Turning back to the platform and I saw these! *scream*

Dried crocodiles! O-M-G. So those that I've seen in the photo above, will become dried crocodile? 

These kids sitting on these huge metal bowls, kinda cute.

Of course, they are the same as the kids with snake. They will ask for money if you wanna take photos with them. 

Me with Tonle Sap & Floating village

Last shot before leaving back to town.

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Then, we went to Artisans Angkor to check out how people do crafting. 

The lady arranging gold leaves to become a picture. 

The man doing wood crafting.

Elephant crafting in the making. This is very nice. 

Cambodia: Short Getaway to Siam Reap Part 4 (Angkor Wat)

Day 2 in Siam Reap

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat. It is a place where I’ve never thought I would be stepping into it. Angkor Wat is such a historical place that I’ve seen on textbooks, on magazines, on TV and on the web. I never thought that one day, before 25 years old, I have the chance to visit it on my own with a bunch of friends. The trip to Siam Reap is definitely unforgettable and sometimes, I can’t believe that I’ve really been to such a beautiful place.

We left our villa at around 5.10am and our tour driver drove us to the entrance to purchase our ticket. 

There are 3 types of temple pass: 1-day, 3-day and 7-day pass. We bought a 3-day Angkor pass as we are visiting the temples for 2 days. 

Here are some guide on the admission fee:

• One-day pass: $20
• Three-day pass: $40
• Seven-day pass: $60

Passes can be purchased at the main entrance on the road to Angkor Wat. These passes will have your photo attached (taken on the spot with free of charge) to make sure the passes cannot be sold to others. Passes will be checked at entrance of each major temple (And yes, they do check one by one. So, don't try to cheat!) Visiting hours are 5:00am till 6:00pm.

This is how my Angkor Pass looks like. Blur face snapped at 5.30am. =D

They took just a while to process the pass. Don't worry about the waiting time, unless you go during peak season. 

I reached there at 5.40am, standing by the water, looking Angkor Wat. There’s a sense of calmness in my mind although I was surrounded by a lot of tourists. I sat there, looking at Angkor Wat, waiting for sunrise. Meanwhile, I took out my phone and camera to snap down the beautiful view in front of me.

Here are 2 photos of Angkor Wat at sunrise. Not a perfect sunrise but it is still breathtaking.

Here's some history about Angkor Wat. When you are in UNESCO World Heritage Site, you need to know about the history. I am really grateful that my tour guide was really awesome as he can tell great story about the temples. Being an unprepared tourist, I'm so thankful that I have my tour guide. If not, this trip to Angkor Wat would be a waste. As all these meaningful architectures will be just STONES... STONES.... and STONES...... So my advice for all my readers and friends, please do get a tour guide unless you know history very well.  

Angkor Wat (means "Capital Temple" in Khmer) is a temple complex in Cambodia and it is the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally founded as a Hindu capital for the Khmer Empire, and then gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th Century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture and become a symbol of Cambodia. (information from Wikipedia)

Ok, done with simple history telling and now, it's photo time! Can't wait to share with you all the beautiful photos taken at Angkor Wat. ^_^

Sun is rising. We are heading into Angkor Wat! 

The long walkway towards the temple. 

According to the tour guide, this walkway will be very crowded during peak season. The number of tourists during my visit is consider little. 

Too excited to go in and explore! =)

I was so tourist that day! Look at my shirt. Haha...

The walkway. 

One of my friends was having headache and hence he decided to rest at the walkway while the rest of us went into the temple. Stay safe friend. We will be back for you. 

The middle temple to enter.

Most of the tourists used this way but our tour guide brought us to the one on the right. A little more special huh. =)

This is the entrance that we used to enter. 

I was really amazed by the details of the temple. W-O-W!

A lot of carvings on the wall, in great details.
Indeed, all these carvings symbolize something and there's story behind each carving. To understand all of them, I think you need to spend weeks here to explore. This temple complex is way too HUGE!

The Apsara (celestial dancers) Statue can be found all over the walls in Angkor Wat.

Cambodia: Short Getaway to Siam Reap Part 2 (Angkor Herb Restaurant, Street, Old Market)

Part 2: Let's take a look at the city and our first Khmer meal

After resting in the villa for a while, we went out to the city by Tuk Tuk provided by the villa. It was very hot in the afternoon, but we were very excited to explore new food and new place! The city is about 5 min drive from the villa. The number of people walking around and the number of motorcycles plus Tuk Tuk did surprised me for a while. 

Siam Reap, previously known as Khmer, is a popular resort town as the gateway to Angkor region. Don't be surprise with the number of hotels in the city... PLENTY!! Siam Reap people focus a lot on tourism and hence it is not hard to find a hotel/hostel. And restaurants too! You will only have problem on what type of cuisine you want to pick for today's lunch/dinner. There are Khmer, Indian, French, Western, Mexican, Japanese, you name it, they have it. =D

To search for our first lunch, we started walking around to find our ways to Haven Training Restaurant. We walked under the hot sun using google map to guide us. After about 10 minutes of searching, we found the restaurant! BUT..... it was closed for training. How disappointing. According to my friend who did the research, she said it is one of the restaurants that serve good Fish Amok. Oh well..... Then, we proceed to...... ANY RESTAURANT that seem decent and serve Khmer food. Trying our luck out. XD

While searching for the restaurant.. Took photo of the street. 

I love Siam Reap street view. It feels so historical. 

In the end, we stopped by at Angkor Herb Khmer Food Restaurant for lunch. Too hot, too hungry and too tired to find. We just simply go into a restaurant. This restaurant is located at Pub street and it serves Khmer BBQ too. However, we were dying to try Fish Amok and hence all of us ignored the BBQ menu. 3 of us ordered Fish Amok and others ordered Lok Lak.

The menu of the restaurant. 

The restaurant is very decent and it has a feel like those western restaurant in Publika. XD

First of all, let me show you Lok Lak. 

Lok Lak is actually stir-fried marinated, cubed beef served with fresh red onions, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes and dipped in a sauce consisting of lim juice, sea salt and black Kampot pepper. It is the Cambodian rendition of the Vietnamese dish Bo Luc Lac, which means "shaking beef" in Vietnamese. ~~ Information from Wikipedia 

According to my friend who ate this, they said it is nice! Because I don't eat beef, hence I have no idea how Lok Lak taste like. Sorry for not able to describe that. =)

And then it's time to show my Fish Amok ($5.5)! 

Close up! (I'm sorry for the bad lighting... it is suppose to be yellowish green X( )

"Amok" refers to the process of steam cooking a curry in banana leaves, or to the resulting dish. Thick coconut cream and galangal are classic ingredients. Amok is a major national culinary tradition in Cambodia, and also popular in Laos and Thailand. Amok is thick soup cooked with fish, meat, vegetables, eggs, and coconut milk. Unlike in Thai and Malaysia, the curry is not intended to be spicy, but rather fragrant, zesty and flavorful. ~~ information from Wikipedia

AHH!!! No wonder all the curry I've tried throughout the trip is non-spicy. Spicy level 0%. 

And of course, I ordered a mango shake ($2) to quench my thirst and cool down my body.

The texture is so thick and it feels like heaven! 

Lunch was great and satisfying! Something different. FIRST Fish Amok --- CHECKED!!

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Immediately after walking out of the restaurant, we saw a man driving a motorbike that sells ice cream baguette. ICE CREAM! Hesitated for about 10 seconds and we ran across the road to stop the man. Bought two ice cream baguettes for the man for $0.50. Cheap Cheap! 

Baguette is another famous food in Siam Reap city. You can find baguette served with BBQ, ice cream, etc etc... It is because this city was colonized by French in the past and they left their food culture here.

The man who sells Ice Cream Baguette.

Ice Cream Baguette -- Done preparing. It is served with 3 small scoops of ice cream, some condensed milk and my favourite peanuts! Yumz yumzz... 

Tourist photo time! Yours truly and le ice cream baguette.

I was actually very full that time and I still finish the baguette by myself. There's always some space for dessert. =P

Then, we stroll around the city to explore a bit.

Arts are everywhere. Cambodia people can really good in arts. 

From the beauty of all the wats, to the nice paintings. Talented.