Spa Special in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Devoured by ravenous little swimming creatures at a fish spa in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The sensation is exquisitely ticklish because you feel their nibbling mouths taking on your dead epidermis. Though you don't noticeably see the "smoothness" in your skin after this ordeal, there's a degree of catharsis to be had. Think survival from mini-piranhas. Think micro-vanity. Think trying on a new experience... and you go back to your hotel room smug.

There's plenty of these touristy endeavors along Street no. 8 otherwise known as "Pub Street" where rows of restaurants and shops congregate.

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The Boy in Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

Not all visitors in Angkor Wat are foreigners. Some locals find their way inside. They mill around, sit on windows, observe the manual traffic inside. You find them after entry into the most popular temple, the sprawling temple. I found this boy asking for alms. He seemed very comfortable talking to strangers. And though this may be cliche, he's better off inside a classroom, isn't he?

Angkor Wat, the largest of the Khmer monuments, is located 6 kilometers north of Siem Reap. The temple grounds require entry tickets, a day pass, to visit. King Suryavarman II built the temple in the first half of the 12th century. Siem Reap, where most visitors are based, is located 320 kilometers (199 miles) north of the capital Phnom Penh.

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Boundless Awe in Ta Promh (Angkor Wat Complex, Cambodia)

I never get tired of Ta Promh, the temple built by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. This was going to be a place for learning as well as a dwelling for the monks. Built between 12th and 13th century, Ta Promh, aka Rajavihara, is built in the Bayon style. These days, huge silk cotton trees and strangler fig trees with gigantic adventitious roots have coiled among the ruins. I was as amazed on my second visit as when I saw it for the first time. I suspect that the novelty won't wane even on a third visit.

Another feature of this site is the dearth of narrative bas-relief found aplenty in other temples. One explanation: Hindu iconoclasts destroyed most of them during the death of Jayavarman. This culture of destruction keeps on repeating time and again. Why is man so destructive? One wonders. These days, India is helping in the restoration of the site.

Ta Promh is located 1 kilometer from Angkor Thom, roughly 6 kilometers from Siem Reap in North Cambodia.

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Fastfood Surprises at Sorya Food City (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

During one of my arrivals in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, I decided to check out Sorya Mall again where I once watched Khmer movies, badly made chopsuey of horror and comedy, with slapstick sensibility. I proceeded to the fourth floor - "Sorya Food City" is what it's called. Not food plaza, not food court, nor food salon. I purchased my coupon at their coupon booth so I could start the "hunt" for an acceptable fastfood entree a la Khmer. It was chicken with curry sauce, meticulously wrapped in a cup-like banana leaf that sat on a lettuce. A cup of rice beside it. Yum.

So allow me to masticate and speak no further.

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Bugsy Bon Appetit at a Cambodian Countryside

Think of a bug! Then eat it!

Beetle, weevils, cricket, praying mantis, dragonfly, grasshopper, cockroaches - they are fair game among Khmers! After all, these bugs have exoskeleton that could be crunchy, nutritious and tasty after a bit of oil, garlic, onion, pepper. On a bus ride midway between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh at a place called Kampong Thom, the birth place of Khmer Rouge war criminal Pol Pot, our bus stops at a countryside market.

This was being sold by the side walk. Care for a plate? Vinegar or soy maybe? A deep fried arthropod-eating enthusiast shared with The Cambodian Daily, "It's a bit salty, sugary and sweet." Since forty percent of Khmer children under 5 years have stunted growth, and 11 % are "acutely wasted", this new-age source of nutrients is being looked into. Isn't that alarming? These edible insects are cheaper than chicken or beef, but they are believed to be ideal supplement to ensure a more balanced diet. They can provide nutrients. Somehow, it makes you wonder if Pol Pot actually ate the "wrong kind" of bugs that drove him to lunacy. So mad that he almost killed majority of the Khmer population during his reign of terror.

At the market stalls, I clicked away not even giving the idea much consideration. Personally, I'd gladly do away with those nutrients if they come from crawling, slithering creatures. It's like reading about how "urine" can prevent cataract from some medicine shaman from an ethnic tribe. Baloney, really. Would you rather have a stench-heavy pair of eyes?

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Phnom Penh International Airport Part 2 - Departure Hall Shops

I probably belong to a small slice of the population who does not enjoy window shopping (or shopping, for that matter) at the airport. The most that I want to do is get through check-in, immigration and the final pre-boarding formalities. I am happy just waiting there - for hours! I have mastered the art of amusing myself between waits. I once had a waiting time that stretched for 12 hours while waiting for my re-scheduled connecting flight from Hong Kong to London. Count that! I can wait til kingdom come, as long as I am assured of my onward connection. These solitary travels have taught me that. But shopping? It's not in my genetic make-up to go crazy over duty-free counters.

However, I have made it a point to feature airports as a means of orienting fellow travelers who visit the airports that I navigate. I guess it somehow calms them - knowing that they have an iota of familiarity in these frenetic environment where people constantly move. For this leg, I have turned the flash off (PPIA was once known to have strict airport officials not very keen on shutter-crazy tourists) thus the poor quality of the following shots: no flash, no tripod, hurried maneuvers.

Phnom Penh International Airport (PPIA), since its refurbishments, has blossomed into a little shopping haven. Its very first client - the Dairy Queen - has since had her fellow concessionaires.

For dining, you have the Taste of Asia, FCC Bar and Deli Paris situated beside each other. There's a generic Coffee Shop, Ambre, Amata Aromatherapy and Spa Products (with a massage lounge), Bambou, Dufry (Duty Free Retail shops), Ezi Wear and Travel, Cheong Kwan Jang - Korean Red Ginseng, Monument Books, Smateria, Water Lily, Soma Farm, Stef Happy Cambodia Souvenirs (one of my favorite shops).

The pre-boarding hallway is small, and has 2 areas with working computers (two of them) for your fast online requirements - yes, free! Wifi is available in the hallway. There are two ATM Machines - Cambodia Public Bank and CAB Bank. Bangkok Airways has a lounge all its own.

As I've mentioned before, much of your transit here at the airport will be relaxed and fast. Even the Immigration officers, though mostly smileless, don't badger or ask for irrelevant questions. I wasn't asked anything, like my previous visits here.

I like it that way.

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This is the security check (with x-ray machines) immediately after the Immigration Counters at the second floor.

Churning of the sea of milk? I think I saw a frieze of this one at Beng Mealea.

Boarding gate number 8 at the extreme end of the hallway, near one of the free computers.

My Air Asia flight to Bangkok was to board from Gate number 5.

Text busy!

ARRIVAL AT THE PHNOM PENH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Proceed to the Visa counters if you're applying for on-site visa. If you already have a visa, proceed to one of the Immigration Desks. Once stamped in, the baggage conveyors are just a few meters away. Walk through Customs, then out your exit. Taxis and tuktuk drivers are waiting outside.

Baggage conveyors

General Information and photos: http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2011/07/phnom-penh-international-airport-part-1.html

For more information on Cambodian Airports: http://pochentong.com/

My airport pick-up; a car ride worth $12 to my first hotel.

Facade of Phnom Penh International Airport's Arrival Hall.

Phnom Penh International Airport Part 1

Cambodia has two international airports, both relatively small compared to the airport of some of its Asian neighbors. That's not to say that the service they render is inferior. In fact, these airports are among my favorites. They operate much like KL's LCCT - a "no-frills" operation that allows a very relaxed atmosphere. Here's an airport that doesn't meander on the premise that, at anytime, a terrorist will bomb the place. Nevertheless, security maneuvers in these airports are strict (their x-ray machines and security posts are rather explicit with their instruction - you have to really remove your watch and belts before you're allowed to get through). This atmosphere is probably attributable to the comparably less busy traffic. But that may not be the case in the next several years.

I like Siem Reap's airport because getting inside it feels like traipsing into a hotel lobby more than the frenetic, paranoid goings on of other airports. This is my 3rd visit at the Phnom Penh International Airport (PPIA), but my first at the Departure Hall, allowing me to see more of its structure, services and premises. Like Siem Reap, PPIA (previously called Pochentong International) exudes a laidback atmosphere.

The airport has a separate vehicle entrance for those with cars (those who will fetch arriving passengers) shown above. If you're leaving PP, drop-in tourists on tuktuks are to enter at the left entrance of the grounds. Enter through the corner to get inside the check-in hall, which has 21 counters. A limited number of seats are to be found just opposite these counters which open 2-3 hours prior to a scheduled flight.

Some airlines like Air Asia already includes the airport's hefty Passenger Service Charge - $25! - upon purchase of your ticket. This explains why plane fares to and from Cambodia are rather pricey. If your plane doesn't include this airport service charge during purchase, then you would have to pay at the Passenger Service Charge Counter located at the far end of the hallway, just beside Check-in Counter no. 1 (before reaching the WC).

These charges are as follows (depending on whether it's a local or an international departure) :

International Departure

Foreigner, adult - $25

Foreigner, children (under 12 years old) - $13

Cambodian, adult - $18

Cambodian, children (under 12) - $10

All infants (under 2 years old) - free

Domestic Departure

All Foreigners - $10

All Cambodians - $5

Infants under 2 - free

It was actually Seng, proprietor of Europe Guest House, who reminded me this since many backpackers seem to have encountered this problem before, i.e. forgetting that there indeed is an airport fee. The good news is, they accept credit cards just in case you're low on your dollars. When do you pay this? After checking-in, proceed to the counter, hand in your boarding pass, then pay your $25.

From here, head to the escalator nearby for your pre-departure, immigration formalities and boarding.

A lawn just across the entrance of the departure hall.

The facade of the Departure Hall.

The Khmer government signed a 20-year concession with a French-Malaysian company, Société Concessionaire d’Aéroport or SCA, to build-and-operate PPIA through a $110 million improvement program that includes construction of a new runway, terminal and cargo buildings, hangars, installation of a Cat III level Instrument Landing System (ILS) and associated approach lighting. A new $22 million terminal building is also in the works to accommodate growing tourist traffic. This covers 18,000-square-metre (190,000 sq ft).

INCREASE TOURIST TRAFFIC

Visitors to the Kingdom’s two international airports have increased 13 percent in the first six months compared to the same period last year. More and more backpackers are coming in by plane instead of the harrowing overland border crossing from the treacherous Thai border. Ministry of Tourism Director of Statistics and Tourism Information Department Kong Sophearak welcomes this development. He said in an interview with Phnom Penh Post, "Cambodia has an open sky policy where we welcome visitors from every country.”

We further quote PP Post: The statistics show Phnom Penh International Airports received 445,225 arrivals from January to June this year, a 9.9 percent increase on the same period in 2010.

Siem Reap International Airport recorded a 15.6 percent increase in the period to 444,602 visitors during the six-month period, the statistics show.

Some 30,726 and 36,987 people arrived on domestic flights in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh respectively in the first half of 2011, with the rest international arrivals.

The Tourism Ministry has previously forecasted 2.73 million visitors for 2011, and expects revenue from the sector to total $1.91 billion.

There's no doubt that in the coming years, visitor arrivals would further escalate. Who could resist the allure of the Angkor Temples? In my book, the Angkor Temples are the best ancient conglomeration of proofs of civilization in Southeast Asia. I have seen the temples of Bagan, Ayutthaya and Sukhothai in Thailand, and Borobodur and Prambanan in Indonesia. Nothing beats the grandeur, scale and beauty of the Angkor temples. These 11th century temples top my list of 50 places to visit visit you die.

Do not die before a visit. I kid you not.

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The airport is located 7 kilometers south west from Phnom Penh's city center. Taxis may charge $7-15, tuktuks $6-7 to anywhere within the center.

Up next: Some shops at the Phnom Penh International Airport's Departure Hall!

Laidback atmosphere. WC is at the extreme end and to the right, after the Passenger Service Charge counter. To its left is the escalator leading towards the Immigration counters and Boarding area.

Check-in counters 1-10 (above) and 11-21 (below).

Passenger Service Charge Counter: hand in your boarding pass and pay your $25 airport fee.

The escalator for your immigration formalities and boarding.

The waiting area just across the check-in counters: Very few seats!

Foreign exchange counter in the Departure Hall just beside the escalator.

Some of the counters located outside and to the right of the Departure Hall - Air Asia counter and a Post Office.

More counters, and some ATM machines line this hallway outside. If you walk further on, its the Arrival Hall.

A little history, and the Arrival Hall and Immigration Counter of PPIA - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2008/10/phnom-penh-part-1-new-introduction-new.html

For more information on Cambodian airports - visit http://pochentong.com/

Entry into Phnom Penh International Airport's parking area, opposite the arrival hall.

A Palace, A Museum, an Independence Monument & a Lady Named Penh

"Meet me at 8:30 AM," that was my instruction to Sem, my tuktuk driver, but it seems he had plans of his own. At close to 9, I finally decided to get another. And like clockwork, Banh, the other tuktuk driver drove in front of Europe Guesthouse. "There are 5,000 tuktuks all over the city," remarked Seng, the amiable owner of our guesthouse, "Why should you wait for him. You don't have all day." So true. I requested Seng to just inform Sem to meet me at 2PM for his payment. I was going to give him half of the $20 sight seeing tour we agreed upon, but for now, I had to go.

ITINERARY FOR BANH

I liked Banh. He has this really kind face which is quite rare. And you just know he wasn't going to "take you for a ride", so to speak. Unfortunately, he hardly spoke a word of English. I asked what his name was, but he didn't understand me at all. I once again asked my hotel owner if he could enumerate my planned itinerary - National Museum, Royal Palace, Independence Monument and Wat Phnom. I'm actually going back to all these places I once saw - and I was very excited.

RELICS OF THE PAST

The Cambodian National Museum sits right in front of a park - a lawn - overlooking Sisowath Quay where a couple of well visited lakeside temples are frequented by locals offering incense and tulips. It is such a beholding presence, with its reddish roof and graceful curves. Unlike most sites in the capital, the museum is exactly as I remember it.

I readily paid my $3 entrance fee. What used to be camera fees has now been incorporated into the $3 ticket.

The rubbles found all over the Angkor temples have mostly been preserved here, thus the artifacts found within the museum have familiar names of where a specimen has been found or retrieved. This is a favorite place for me despite the fact that photography inside is disallowed. However, you can do that at the garden right outside the four corners of the exhibition hall. If I had the luxury of time, I could spend my whole day going through each relic and inscriptions.

STONE RUBBING

Before leaving the museum, I inquired about "stone rubbings". These are paintings done on a special piece of paper employing stones from the Angkor Temples, rubbing their color on this canvas. The good news is, they're just $1 for medium sized painting; $2 for bigger ones. The bad news: most people in Siem Reap, where they should rightfully be found, don't have any idea what a "stone rubbing" is. So it's a little ironic that I have to find the painting 314 kilometers south of Siem Reap. I also found some peddlers selling the same at the foot of Phnom Bakheng in Angkor, but they were a bit crumpled and I wasn't sure of their quality.

Intricate carvings on a frieze on display at the museum. This photo only courtesy of www.chocolate-fish.net.

Relics on display. This photo only courtesy of www.filigallery.com.

The Royal Palace is just a stone's throw away from the National Museum. I paid my $6.25 entrance fee and got inside this amazing complex of exquisitely designed buildings where the present king, Norodom Sihamouni, resides. I was once in awe of this royal palace, and it's understandable why. It's simply a visual masterpiece of pomp and pageantry. Let's take, for example, the Silver Pagoda that bears a golden buddha (pure gold) studded with some 2,000 diamonds; a flooring made of tons of silver. This is how Imelda Marcos would have preferred to live, i.e. ostentatiously, had she been queen.

The present king is curiously single and pushing 70. Yet he still looks like a movie star, very fair, with shaved head and lean frame. A guide I overheard said that the reason why he hasn't married was because he's very religious - "like the monks". Other tourists snickered when they heard that the king used to dance ballet. And the rumor mill starts wagging.

From the palace, Banh, my tuktuk driver, stopped right beside the roundabout where the Independence Monument stood. You really can't do much here except gaze at the Vietnam-donated structure (it signifies the supposed Viet-Khmer Friendhsip, and victory over Pol Pot's regime) for a minute or two. Going closer to the monument is not allowed.

From there, it was a 15 minute ride going north - to Wat Phnom, a temple perched on a hill. Though not particularly "pretty", the hill and its buddhas have historical significance to the people. After all, that's where they got the city's name.

A LADY NAMED PENH

Long time ago, 4 buddha statues were set adrift the lake, and they eventually lodged on the hill where one of the buddhas now rests. A lady found these buddha statues. Her name was Penh. Since then, a "wat" (temple) has been erected for the buddha - Wat Phnom. And the name of "Phnom Penh" has been bestowed on the capital in honor of the lady who found the buddha up the hill - "Phnom" (hill/mountain) of "Penh" - Phnom Penh. It's a beautiful anecdote actually.

I paid a $1 entrance fee (no ticket was given) then leisurely climbed the easy stairs. The amputee who begged by the stairs, a fixture since I can remember (this has been my 4th return in the city) wasn't there anymore. In fact, the whole complex has been sanitized. You hardly find the ambulant vendors that once populated the grounds.

Temple devotees were offering food, even "lechon" (roast suckling pig), flowers and other goods all around the complex. There were 2 temples up there, small ones, mostly visited by locals. I went down the other side (where the giant sundial was) and found the elephant that's been navigating the park since forever. With wrinkly epidermis and tentative strides, he was such a gentle giant - and quite hungry too, eating on his bundle of bananas and deleafing the sugarcane sticks. He would grab the sugarcane sticks by his snout, then beat their leaves against the ground (imagine someone sweeping the floor in violent strokes) before taking them inside his mouth.

Finally, it was time to head back to my hotel for my check out (12PM). I took my bag to the counter, paid my room, then looked for somewhere to eat. Seng, the hotel proprietor, recommended Restaurant 126 which, earlier in the day, was so congested. It had customers overflowing to the sidewalk - an indication that (a) it's not expensive and (b) it's a good one too. I was glad to have gotten my BBQ Pork Rib with Rice there - at a measly 6,000 riel ($1.5).

VIBRANT

Phnom Penh used to repel me. It was a rotting capital that made perfect poster child for urban decay - a city beleaguered by societal maggots; that which wallows in dire poverty and desperation. But these days, it has gradually transformed into a vibrant new city. Poverty still abounds, but there are conscious steps for face lifts and breathing spaces. The once dingy, hooker-infested promenade has come alive - locals enjoying the breeze from its Mekong tributaries; old people doing their terpsichorean maneuvers disguised as physical exercises; best of all, there are children running around, laughing away for what seems like a brighter tomorrow.

There is hope even to a people enveloped by a harrowing and vicious past. If all this hopefulness persists, the future can't be anything but inspiring.

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On Fried Crispy Insects, Leaving Siem Reap & Buses to Phnom Penh

I was a bit anxious early in the day. Despite relatively expensive prices, I decided to check out Shadow of Angkor's restaurant for my early breakfast though I wasn't particularly hungry. But a safe rule in Backpacking 101 is always having your meals at the right time - when you can - because you never know when or where you're exactly going to get your next.

I ordered an American Breakfast which constituted 4 small pancakes immersed in honey, with slices of bananas between each stack; then there's either coffee or tea - all for $3.50! The trouble here was, it took them 30 minutes to prepare and I was getting antsy because I knew that at any moment, my pick-up coaster would be arriving to take me to the Bus Terminal. This transfer service was part of the bus ticket purchased from the hotel. Sure beats dealing with tuktuks just to get to the terminal, which is 20-30 minutes from the city center.

My bus this time would be the Sokha Komar Tep Express bus, a heavily peddled bus service from my hotel's front desk. At $6, it was 50% cheaper than the Mekong Express Limousine Bus so if you are scrimping (I wasn't, I just wanted to check out how good is this $6 ride), you might as well take this bus.

HOTEL OR GUESTHOUSE

My pick-up coaster made a 10 minute rounds to pick up more tourists bound for Phnom Penh. Such beautiful guesthouses, and at no place in Asia is there such magnificently cheap accommodations looking like grand hotels. The reason? I was told a few years ago while staying at Mom's Guesthouse that using the name "hotel" would entail paying more taxes than using "Guesthouse". Moreover, the hotels that use "hotel" to name their establishment here in Siem Reap are really gargantuan in space and spread - think Shangri-La Mall!

Tonle Sap Lake

LEG ROOMS, MEKONG EXPRESS VS. SOKHA KOMAR TEP

Sokha Komar Tep Express Bus wasn't bad. Most foreign tourists are curiously given the backseats - this has been my observation! I got a seat at the 9th row, where there are 12 rows. The Europeans behind me were trying to fit themselves and had to contend with the steady traffic of people using the WC (toilet) situated at the back of the bus. What's the difference from the Mekong Express? The floor of the bus is a bit elevated and there's less leg room for comfort so if you're a tall person and you hate trying to fit your lower extremities for a 5 to 6 hour ride, then I would say, Sokha Komar Tep isn't for you. Get the Mekong Express, by all means. It's an $11 seat, while Sokha Komar Tep is just $6.

DEEP FRIED AND CRUNCHY

At 10AM, the bus made its single stop at Kampong Thom, the same place Mekong Express made its stop last time. I didn't bother getting a meal as I was still stuffed with the 4 little pancakes served from Shadow of Angkor. It was a 30 minute stopover so I walked around the nearby psar (market) to check out their local products. I bought sugarcane juice at 1,000 riel and purchased a coke in can (2,500 riel) for later. At the other end of the roadside compound, I found stacks of deep fried ready-to-eat insects cooked with local herbs and spices stacked like rice - crickets, grasshoppers, giant aphids, a-ping (tarantulas) all ready to eat. I'm told that these are delicious alternatives to the crispiness of pretzels and potato chips. Finger food, anyone?

I slept through most of my ride. But one hour into Phnom Penh, I noticed an area where buddhist temples gleamed side by side each other, built with different materials - wood, concrete, steel, etc. There was also an area filled with oil refineries or gasoline depots. I didn't notice these places before. Cambodia is such an enthralling potpourri of sights.

Sacks of a variety of insects deep fried and spiced up. This photo only courtesy of Photobucket's adhanoa.

Crunchy grasshopper battered up! This photo only courtesy of hubpages' billericky.

The trip back to Phnom Penh took 6 hours. Good thing I already emailed Seng, owner of my new guesthouse - Europe Guesthouse - in the capital. He already arranged for a pick-up service, a tuktuk at a measly $2. My airport pick-up to Green House was a car service worth $12, though understandable since the airport is far from the city center ($6 by tuktuk).

I waited for 10 minutes for my pick-up. It was a kind-looking young man named Banh. Yup, if you've never seen a face that looked "kind", you have to see Banh. Haha. I will post his photo and contact number one of these days. Europe Guesthouse was just 3 blocks south of Sokha Komar Tep's garage (it's not a terminal, but just a parking space outside Sokha's main office in the heart of the city) - very near Sangka Wat Phnom area and just 1 block from Sisowath Quay! It is a great place, just like Mekong Express, because you're already at the heart of the capital's new backpacker area (Boeung Kak lake area has mostly been demolished) and Sisowath Quay!

For me, it was another opportunity to rediscover Phnom Penh, a city I was once scared to visit. Not anymore.

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Sokha Komar Tep Bus