ASEAN Trip – Day 4

Continuing my previous post.

 

Tuesday, 24 April 2012 – Siem Reap, Cambodia

We have made an appointment with Ra on the previous day to take us to Angkor Wat. Ra promised to pick us up at around 4.30AM. We really need to get up very early since we need to watch the sun rises before 6AM.

At 5AM, we left the hostel to Angkor Wat. It was a bit late than our schedule since suddenly Ra could not make it and asked his friends instead. We spent quite sometime to make an agreement for the price. Usually it would cost around USD17 for a whole day trip by Tuk Tuk at Angkor Wat. We only had time until 10AM to go around Angkor Wat, so we expect a lower price than the whole day tour. Finally, the drivers agree for USD11.00 per tuk tuk.

When we arrived at the entrance of Angkor Wat, the drivers told us to get down and go to the counter. To enter Angkor Wat, they need to get our photographs and print it on the ticket. We were quite confused by this policy. The entrance fee was quite expensive for us. It was USD20 per person.

Watching the sun rose behind the Angkor Wat temple was an amazing experience. I got to see the sky changing colors and the sun light between the temples. We can also see the reflection of the temples on the water below it. It was really beautiful and elegant. 🙂

Next destination in Angkor Wat is Bayon temple. Some parts of the temple was already ruined, but you still could see most the sections. Overall, the temple is really nice. You could go inside the temple and go up to the highest section.

Since we only had limited time here, we visited Ta Prohm temple (Tomb Raider) as our last sightseeing location. Most of the temple area were under construction, so you could not explore it fully. But you still can see the big trees above the stone gate or temple. And that was cool.

After that, we returned back to hostel and start to pack since there will be a van/mini bus to pick us up at 11AM. Luckily, we were the first group to be picked up since turned out, the number of guests who bought the ticket was more than the van seat capacity. A woman needed to sit at the small edge of the car floor. She was quite angry, but could not do anything since she needed to catch a flight in Bangkok.

The trip from Siem Reap to the Thailand Border took around 2-3 hours. And we were quite surprised when we get down at the border. The outside temperature was so hot and the place was so noisy and crowded. Cambodian immigration had only three small counters to serve many foreigners and citizens who wants to leave the country.

Expenses Summary:

Siem Reap

Angkor Wat Entrance Fee: USD20.00
Tuktuk to Angkor Wat: USD11.00/ tuktuk
Lunch at Golden Temple: USD3.00/ person

 

Tuesday, 24 April 2012 – Bangkok, Thailand

We still needed to walk to Thailand immigration office after passing the Cambodia border. There was a huge different between the Cambodia and Thailand immigration office. Thailand immigration has a nice building with air conditioner and better queue. 🙂

In the middle of the hot weather, we still need to walk for about 5 minutes to get to the car which will take us to the van station. They need to change cars since the wheel position is different, Cambodia = Left, Thailand = Right.

The trip from Thailand border to Bangkok city took around 5 hours. And it was already night when we arrived at Khaosan Road where our hostel was located. We booked Greenhouse Hotel through Agoda based on my friend’s recommendation. But, it was quite different with our theectation. Even the location was really good, I could not say so about the room condition. Compare to our other hostels, our room in this hotel was quite so-so.

Expenses Summary:

Bangkok

Lunch at Rest Area: THB70.00/ person
GreenHouse Hotel: USD10.00/ person
Dinner at Khaosan Road: THB60/ person

ASEAN Trip – Day 3

Continuing my previous post.

Monday, 23 April 2012 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Since Ja said that there will be a free pick up from the bus company, we got up very early in the morning. We expected the pick up will be at around 7.30AM since the bus to Siem Reap will leave at 8AM. We checked out from the hostel and waited at the front lobby. We have been ready since 7AM.

We started to worry when the time showed 7.15AM but there was no sign of the pick up arrival. We tried to call the bus company many many times, but there was no answer. We were really afraid that we got scammed. But we tried not to get panicked. We could not wait any longer when time showed 7.25AM. We decided to get going by tuk tuk even though we were not sure of the bus station address. We just hoped that the Tuktuk Driver knows the location and that will be the same as the one that we visited last night.

Thanks God. We finally arrived at the bus station. 🙂

The station was crowded and quite messy. As I said in my previous post, the city is quite old school. As I looked around, the people fashion was similar with our country in 1990’s. 🙂

We asked the person at the counter and she said that there was tuktuk drivers tried to pick us up at the hostel. We said that we have been waiting for quite long and they were too late. We dissapointed but relieved, since we knew that Ja was not lying to us.

After we get on the bus, our amazing journey begin. Now I could tell you one reason why I regret my decision to buy Paramount Angkor Express Bus ticket. I checked out online about this bus company and found many bad reviews against it. Such as accident or bad services. I was shocked but tried to hide this information from my friends. Based on the online review, the accident or bad service were related to the night buses, so I was hoping that this trip will go smoothly without any troubles. 🙂

During the trip, I realized that this bus contains many local people. I think that we were the only tourists at that time. Since it was local, you could imagine how crowded it was (maybe similar with the bus crossing Sumatra or Java). It was not a pleasant journey if I could summarize. My recommendation is to take Mekong Express company or any other companies, but don’t forget to check it out online first. Another recommendation is to have ransom or snacks for your bus trip. You may not want to get hungry and eat at some random restaurants along the way. Hehe. 🙂

Expenses Summary:

Phnom Penh

Tuk Tuk (Mad Monkey – Bus Station): USD3.00/ tuktuk
Breakfast: USD3.00/ person

 

Monday, 23 April 2012 – Siem Reap, Cambodia

I am really grateful that we could arrived safely in Siem reap at around 4PM after 7 hours journey. We were again lucky that we already had a TukTuk Driver (friend of Ja) who waited us at the bus station, ready to drive us to our hostel. We don’t need to pay again, since it’s already included in our ticket bus price (as the Tuktuk Driver said). The tuktuks in Siem Reap are generally smaller than in Phnom Penh. We could not use 1 tuk tuk for 5 people.

We had a late lunch right after we arrived at our hostel Golden Temple Villa. It was such a nice hostel with friendly staffs. We ordered a set of Amok (a traditional food) and we ate it like crazy. After cleaning up ourselves, we bought bus ticket to Bangkok at the hostel receptionist. Then we went out to the night market and Pub Street which was within walking distance from our hostel. We only needed to walk around 7 minutes to get there.

The Pub Street was full of restaurants and shops. It is quite similar with Legian or Kuta area in Bali. It is very touristy and really nice to walk around the area. You can have dinner at one of the restaurants, or shopping at the night market. Do not forget to bargain! If you know how to be nice and bargain, the seller might give you a best price. The souvenir price is quite cheap. But since I understand that the people here is not rich and even we can say that they are poor, please do not so thrifthy if you have enough money to spend. 🙂

There is one restaurant (Temple Balcony) where you can see Apsara Dance show every night at 7.30PM. You may also find similar show at the old night market area. Don’t hesitate to ask around if you get lost or need to find direction.

The night market area is a nice place to take pictures since there are many decorative lights. The area is really hip, fun, and beautiful at the same time. We left the area at around 12AM. We need to get some sleep since tomorrow morning, we will go to Angkor Wat to watch the sun rises. 🙂

Expenses Summary:

Siem Reap

Golden Temple Villa Hostel: USD12.00/ person
Lunch at Golden Temple Restaurant: USD3.00/ person
Ticket Bus to Bangkok: USD11.00/ person
Dinner at Temple Balcony: USD5.00/ person
Ice Cream: USD1.50/ person
Souvenirs: USD15.00 (Optional)