After lunch, we left for Kampung Phluk, which is one of the floating villages surrounding Tonle Sap, the biggest freshwater lake in Asia. We took a small wooden boat to a pier, where we boarded a larger boat. Apparently, the village is only flooded during the monsoon season, where water flows from Mekong River into the lake. After December, the water mysteriously flows back from Tonle Sap to Mekong River. On our way back, we enjoyed a tranquil sunset, and had quite an adventure taking a small wooden boat through darkness back to our tuk-tuk.
Following dinner in Khmer Kitchen Restaurant, we caught a free Apsara dance at Temple Club (sister establishment of Golden Temple Villa, where we stayed). We were pleasantly surprised to find out that beer in Cambodia was cheap, where you could easily find beer for US$0.50 per pint.
The next morning, we left the hotel early (before 5am) for Angkor temples. We were accompanied by our guide, Sip and our driver, Toeun. We first caught the beautiful sunrise at Angkor Wat, where the reflection of Angkor Wat in the still lotus pond was breathtaking.
After breakfast, we went to Angkor Thom, the largest temple among the Angkor ruins. Our first stop was the Bayon, with over 30 towers with four-faced buddhas.
Next, we briefly stopped at the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King, the latter of which Sip explained was wrongly named, as there were no records of a king inflicted by leprosy. Sip also told us that none of the Angkor temples were completed, as they were abandoned after the king that commissioned the building died.
Following that, we went to Ta Phrom, the filming scene for Tomb Raider movie. In the centuries before this temple was discovered by the French, it was overrun by trees. Over several hundred years, the trees have planted their roots within the temples, and now form part of the temple’s structure.
After lunch, we made a brief stop at Pre Rup, believed to be a funerary temple, but also provided an excellent view of the surrounding countryside.
Following which, we revisited Angkor Wat. One interesting nugget was that three carvings of Apsara dancers were considered anomalies among the thousands of similar such carvings. One of them had its teeth showing, while two had their tongues showing. These carvings were said to be the last to be made after the king had died, as a joke by the artisans.
One interesting legend Sip told us was about Prince Rama (avatar of Hindu god, Vishnu), whose wife (Sita) was kidnapped by the demon king. He enlisted the help of the Monkey King, whose army of hamunans (half-man, half monkey) helped him to defeat the demon king and his army.
After Angkor Wat, we proceeded to Phnom Bakheng for sunset. We had to scale a gentle slope around the hill, before scaling the narrow steps up the temple. Do note that only 300 people are now allowed to be on the temple at any time, so it’s advisable to reach there at least 40 min before sunset. Sunset was somewhat concealed by the cloudy cover, but still an experience nonetheless. Coming down from the temple was a rather slow and messy affair, as only 1 out of 4 staircases was open.
For pre-dinner snack, Sip and Toeun brought Yanni and I to a local restaurant, where a daily freshly barbequed calf is sold. The meat is eaten together with raw vegetables, accompanied by a mixture of fish sauce, peanuts and chilli padi.
The next morning, we had breakfast at Golden Temple Villa, where we had spring rolls and the traditional breakfast of grilled chicken with rice. We then bid farewell to the staff, and boarded a Mekong Express bus bound for Phnom Penh (six-hour journey).
The bus made a pit stop about 2 hours from Siem Reap. There, we saw vendors selling fried insects. We bought a packet of fried crickets, which tasted somewhat like prawns. Interesting experience, but I stopped after 6 or 7 of them.
We reached Phnom Penh around 230pm, where we hired a tuk-tuk to bring us to Le Safran La Suite, a stone’s throw from the Independence Monument. After checking in and leaving our luggage in the room, we left for Russian Market and Central Market to buy souvenirs, food, etc. We had to rush a bit, as the markets were closed by 5pm and 6pm respectively.
We settled on French cuisine for dinner. We started with dessert at La Marmite, before settling for our main course at Armand’s. After dinner, we took a slow stroll back to our hotel, passing the Night Market and walking along the Sisowath Quay.
The next morning, we started our formal visits to the various sites, starting with the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. We learnt that the colors of the guards and palace maids change each day of the week, starting with red on Sunday.
Our next two stops were more solemn, as we visited Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (“S-21”) and the Choeung Ek Memorial (“Killing Field”). The former was a secondary school which was converted to a prison, when Khmer Rouge took over the governing of Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979. We learnt about the atrocities that the Khmer Rouge inflicted upon their fellow countrymen during the four years of civil war.
Out of more than 17,000 people that went through the gates of S-21, only seven were known to have survived, mostly because of particular skills they had, such as painting or mechanics.
After the prisoners were interrogated, they were sent to various “killing fields” in Cambodia, where they were summarily executed. Many pits could still be found at Choeung Ek Memorial. It was a moving experience as we could only imagine the horror and despair through the audio tour around the memorial.
We had an early dinner at Friend’s Restaurant, which is a non-profit organization to improve the lives of Cambodian at-risk youths, who are trained as cooks or waiters.
Our time in Phnom Penh also coincided with the former king’s 90th birthday celebration. Hence, we waited a while outside the Royal Palace, before the fireworks display started around 630pm.
The next morning, we bid farewell to Phnom Penh as we took the bus back to Siem Reap. Our first stop was the Old Market, to buy any other souvenirs that we still lacked. There, we chanced upon Tooit Tooit, a sister NPO of Friend’s Restaurant.
For our last dinner in Cambodia, we settled for Cambodian BBQ, where we chose ostrich, kangaroo, crocodile meat, among others.
For our last morning in Siem Reap, we decided to take a cooking class at Le Tigre de Papier. Our instructor, Savoeun, first took us to the wet produce section in Old Market, where she introduced us to various ingredients used for the dishes we chose – Fisk Amok, Beef Lok-Lak, Pumpkin Soup and Fresh Spring Rolls.
Back in the cooking school, Yanni, myself and our new friend, Ally donned our cooking gear. We then got down to business, cutting, chopping and pounding the ingredients as instructed.
After cooking in the crowded kitchen, our dishes were ready before long. This was a most fitting end to our visit to Cambodia, as we feasted on our favorite dishes during our past 6 days.
