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.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Sokha Komar Tep Bus

Getting Eaten Alive, Chanting Monks & Beng Mealea's Unreconstructed Splendor

Seventy five kilometers from Siem Reap lies the huge temple of Beng Mealea, a temple almost as big as the Angkor Wat, mixed in with the left-to-nature sensibilities of Ta Prom, i.e. overgrown trees taking over the temples, stone rubble piling up in wild abandon covering what could have been a dramatic set of lotus ponds flanking each side of the temple

But gone are the flowers and the waters have dried up. Mosses dramatically shroud the rectangular slabs of stones. You have to skip through them to get your way around. And I was pretty excited with all the possibilities.

TWO HOUR RIDE

This would be my first time here so I was pretty excited. Sana and I left at around 8:15 then took the national highway. The trip took close to 2 hours so by the time we got there, it was already 10:15AM. I got my $5 entrance ticket then was deposited right at the entrance.

DANGEROUS NAVIGATION

There's a causeway that leads to the front (the south gate). By the time I took the stairs, someone was already following me - a nice guy named Kak. He would also become my unofficial guide as I navigated the 3 concentric areas within the temples, now basically temple rocks strewn all around the grounds. It is not an easy feat walking through these uneven stones, at any time, one could easily fall off and hurt your self.

LOTUS POND

I was careful, and sweating profusely going through windows and following Kak's lead. He would point at the special carvings and I'd take snaps. There were ponds, moats within these concentric areas - "lotus ponds" which is how "Beng Mealea"is translated. There were also 4 "libraries", mostly closed. Some wooden walkways have been constructed around the area. According to Kak, these were part of the concessions during the filming of "Tomb Raider". Hollywood filming has its pleasant use after all.

There is a need for these unofficial guides - mostly locals - if you were to make your roaming around meaningful. In my case, I didn't pick Kak, but he was just tentatively showing me around, pointing to where I should enter (through a broken window) to get inside the first concentric area. Before I knew it, he was already hopping in front of me, and I didn't mind because it was hard to know which way was the right way, and making mistakes will not just cost you time but so much effort jumping on one stone slabs to the next. He would stop me every so often and ask me to turn around, "This is a perfect stop for a good photograph," he would say. Then he would point to slabs of stones with bas relief or exquisite carvings just lying down the floor which I would have otherwise missed. Kak had been a great help and by the time I finished the whole arduous visit (not for the frail or elderly), I realized that i would have indeed missed most of my photographic pursuits had Kak not been there. After the temple round, I headed into a kubo (a shed) to catch my breath while Kak joined me. I voluntarily and willingly handed $6 for Kak's help (which, I have to tell you, he never imposed).

The ride back from Beng Mealea was relaxing, but upon arrival in Siem Reap, there was a torrent of rain that soaked Sana (my tuktuk driver) and made muddy puddles around Siem Reap. It must have rained for a couple of hours while I recharged and took a nap inside my room.

OLDEST MONASTERY

Later that day, I roamed around the city and found Preah Prohm Rath Monastery, Siem Reap's biggest and oldest. I chanced upon chanting monks. I just stood in front of a huge open door, gazing at a half dozen monks kneeling down the floor, singing what would be dissonant sounds. I got goosebumps listening to them. These sights never fail to transport me to a dream land.

EATEN ALIVE

As I winded down my Siem Reap visit, I chanced upon a Fish Massage shop (they call it "Fish Spa"in Bangkok, 150 baht for 15 minutes) along Pub Street (Siem Reap's Eastwood City). And I had the most ticklish encounter as I dipped my feet in an aquarium of hungry garupa (grouper fish). The sensation is out of this world as you feel their toothless mouth sucking away your dead epidermis. Hordes of them coming on to you! At $2, I had my feet devoured by a pack of ravenous fish while I was sipping my Coke. At another shop, they had to put a sign that says, "These are no Piranhas!" Haha. But they might as well be! It is such an experience being eaten alive.

What more could you ask for in a day?

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Ta Promh: nature vs. man-made temples.

Spell Bound in Majestic Angkor Wat - Again!

Angkor - My return to the Angkor temples was more than met with excitement. The first one was such an eye-popping experience it somehow felt like a dream; like it didn't happen at all. This was important for me - like making a full circle.

After a satisfying breakfast at a local restaurant, I went back to my hotel where Sana, my tuktuk driver, was already waiting. We've agreed on a $20 fee for this whole ride that shall take me around the main Angkor Temples as well as Banteay Srey some 35 kilometers from Angkor. I got the same ride for just $12 before, but I really didn't mind the hike. I hate haggling.

Sana first took me to the Angkor Baray Movie House, near the spanking new Angkor National Museum. I've planned on watching a movie after my tour so I needed to check the time, the film being shown, and the rate: it was a Korean ghost film; film screenings at 9AM, 12N, 4PM and 7PM; admission is 5,000 riel per person. Angkor Baray is the municipality's one and only movie house. If there are less than 8 people, they cancel the showing altogether, which is understandable.

BEST AND WORST TIMES

This was a relatively easier tour since the sun wasn't as harsh as during my first visit (March). Visits are advised anytime but March to May to avoid the harsh sun - gets really unhealthy, and no amount of "hydrating", sun block, 3 change of shirts will make it a pleasant tour.

ANGKOR WAT

8:30AM - Finally arrived in front of Angkor Wat, a visit that took me an hour to finish. Despite expectations, I was still drenched with sweat as I made my way around it. From there, we plied the bridge full of "nagas"(one of my favorite places actually, since it overlooked the river, and photographs make romantic views) and through the "gate"that would constitute the complex of the Angkor Thom.

FACES LOOKING DOWN ON YOU

From there, I was taken straight to one of my 2 favorite places - the Bayon, with haunting gigantic faces, 54 of them, looking everywhere, and down the temple grounds. From Bayon's exit, I walked towards the grounds of the Baphoun which has been sealed from visitors. The view from the pond is nevertheless arresting. There's supposedly a waiting area here for tuktuks, but the causeway from Baphoun leads further ahead not knowing that my driver was actually waiting there. I found him back at the Bayon much, much later. Miscommunication blues. But not much harm done really.

NEWER SITES

Sana stopped at 2 minor temples that are being re-constructed. this was new to me so i was pleased - Chau Say Tevoda, and the Thommanon right across each other. These were relatively smaller temples and easy to navigate.

ANGELINA JOLIE AND TA PROMH

Finally, it was time to head back to Ta Promh. Angelina Jolie once ventured this complex as Lara Croft and this association has amusingly stuck. But there are 2 other temple sights where "Tomb Raider"was filmed - the Bayon and Beng Mealea. Ta Promh is easily the most beautiful, with giant fig trees jutting out of temple stones, some of these vegetations even cropping out from the roofs of these temples. These sites never fail to amaze me many times over.

After Ta Promh, I was equally amazed with the prices at the Tapromh Restaurant where Sana took me. They were just ridiculously expensive - at $7 per order. I tried to contain a tantrum. Must have been the pangs of hunger, but this too shall pass.

GIRLIE TEMPLE

Banteay Srey is located 35 kilometers from Angkor Wat, almost an hour of travel. This is famous for its small-scale architectural dimensions and pinkish hue. Some would even refer to it as the girlie temple, like it was made for girls. I've always loved the ride through the countryside. Rice paddies, deep well signs of donors from Norway to the US and everywhere else. Wooden houses that rise on stilts. Roadside shops selling palm tree produce (palm sugars, etc.) Cambodia is such a naturally beautiful country, I do hope its nationals would realize that, and I am not even talking about the Angkor temples.

Even the area surrounding Banteay Srey has been re-planned. Before, I had to walk right in front of the temple, saunter around for 15 minutes, then get out the same way I got in. Today, the compound ground already has a gleaming ticket office, signs that show a "miracle rice that grows in 110 days", and well appointed toilets and restaurants. Though I am in favor of such organized tourism, what have they done with the exit?

LONGEST EXIT

Instead of taking a 10 minute walk back in front, you have to navigate around the back of the temple, take the dirt road that circles all the way through rice paddies equipped with view decks. It must have been 1.5 kilometers more than the whole tour of the temple. I am telling you, if are pooped from all the temple hops, expect more feet strain from this protracted!

Once back at the parking lot, I told the tuktuk drivers about this observation, and they readily laughed. One guy joked, "Next time you're here, expect an additional 2 kilometers!" Haha

Funny, but my feet weren't laughing.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

This photo only courtesy of avistahostel.com.