Hello!
It's been some time since I last shared any travelling post cos I barely travel anymore. (sad truth)
Cambodia has always been on my list because it's a MUST for me to see the Angkor Wat with my own eyes.
And I must say, I do not regret every second spent.
It is amazing to see these historical remnants survived through years of conflicts, wars, and the natural weather!
It's always very refreshing to learn about the culture especially the history of these places.
The last time I went to Vietnam, it was an eye opening experience to learn about their history and the French Colonization and the US attack...
I have learnt so much about Cambodia in just 5 days! All thanks to the driver we met in the trip. We had so many sharing sessions, and he is not even a tour guide! Thankful and grateful for the luck we had for this trip. He even introduced me to a few books that he thought I should read in order to understand more. And I did. I bought a memoir written by a local Cambodian who successfully escaped her home ground for her own life, and a better future ahead.
The book was filmed into a movie by Angelina Jolie, its on NETFLIX.
Fun fact: Did you know Angelina Jolie is Cambodian, by nationality?
(She's American, and was rewarded with the Cambodian nationality after her numerous work of funding for the country)
She even has a cocktail named after her film, Tomb Raider Cocktail.
1. Accommodation
I chose two different accommodations this time, staying at each for two nights.
- EOCAMBO VILLAGE - USD 26/ MYR 110 (2 nights)
- Rating: 4/5, huge rooms and showers, old but decent facilities, superb restaurant downstairs!
- Really nice pool to chill
- Friendly and very helpful staffs! Basically they planned my itinerary for me
- They provided free breakfast and free Tuk Tuk airport transfers (to and fro)
- Welcome food and drinks upon reaching
- Drivers/Tuk-tuk recommended was really friendly and good service too
- Distance wise, a tad bit far from the city, but reachable in 10 minutes by tuk tuk
- GLORY ANGKOR - USD 20/ MYR 84 (2 nights)
- Rating: 3.5/5, modern room, okay facility, not so friendly staff
- Their staffs are also not very well spoken in English, had a hard time trying to plan some ground trips with them
- Much smaller than my first hotel but with more modern touch ups
- Downsides is that they are having constructions nearby so it's really noisy
- Distance wise - 5/5 because everywhere is walk distance maximum 15 minutes!
2. Itinerary
My itinerary would be quite temple-packed as I read really bad reviews on the agents that brings them to the Tonle Sap lake. And out of 100 reviews, probably only 2 was good. I decided to forget about it and went on to visit more temples and also took a trip down to their National Park - Kulem Mountain. If you're into temples and nature, the itinerary might be just right for you!
Day 1
- Airport Transfers to EOCAMBO (USD 0, free by hotel)
- Telco cards, valid for 7 days (USD 6)
- Arrival at EOCAMBO Village, bought and planned our following days itinerary
- Dinner @ Lily's Secret Garden (USD 6)
- The food was really good and cheap considering the quality, look at that portion with alcohol included for just that amount paid!
- Quaint little restaurant that have all the Khmer food you can ask for
- PHARE Circus (USD 18) + Tuktuk (USD 5)
- Strongly recommend everyone to watch this circus that is filled with Cambodian youths that were training from young. It's more like a musical drama-stage. It's so amazing!
- 10/10 recommend
- Tickets usually available from hotel receptionist
- Pub Street Tuk Tuk (USD 3)
- We stopped by Pub Street on our way home, with the same tuk tuk that gave us an hour to walk around
- He waited at where he stopped us!
- Pub Street has tonnes of night life, cheap alcohol, nice restaurants and street foods
- Must go! Beer for only less than USD 2
Day 2
Sunset Tour @Phnom Bakheng
On day 2, I decided to take the sunset tour first so I wouldn't feel too exhausted to wake up uber early for the sunrise yet. Plus, it will be less people at the ticketing center and you do not need to queue to get the passes, if you do the sunset tour on your first day in Angkor Wat - PRO TIP!
First and foremost I'd like to apologize as there are more than 3 different routes for you to take if you are visiting the Angkor Wat as it is humongous! And as of the date that I wrote this post, I have really forgotten which circuit is which (they have Big Circle, Small Circle, .....) but fret not, usually the hotel staffs are well educated and will suggest you the best route you should take according to your preferences (sunset, sunrise.....).
On day 2, I decided to take the sunset tour first so I wouldn't feel too exhausted to wake up uber early for the sunrise yet. Plus, it will be less people at the ticketing center and you do not need to queue to get the passes, if you do the sunset tour on your first day in Angkor Wat - PRO TIP!
First and foremost I'd like to apologize as there are more than 3 different routes for you to take if you are visiting the Angkor Wat as it is humongous! And as of the date that I wrote this post, I have really forgotten which circuit is which (they have Big Circle, Small Circle, .....) but fret not, usually the hotel staffs are well educated and will suggest you the best route you should take according to your preferences (sunset, sunrise.....).
- Angkor Wat 3 days pass (USD 62)
- Sunset Tour in Angkor Wat. Tuk Tuk for whole trip (USD10)
- Again, I forgot which circle is this, but we went to a lot of temples before stopping at our last stop to watch the sunset.
- Also, I don't remember the name of the temples but the first temple I went to was ridiculously beautiful, I took tonnes of pictures of my mom looking AH-MAZING.
- The sunset tour I picked was at Phnom Bakheng, and require quite some hiking, around 20-30 minutes up hill. It was pretty cloudy that day so we didn't get to catch much. (Picture shown at the top)
- Lunch @ Angkor Wat (USD 9)
- The meal prices will usually be slightly higher in Angkor Wat
- Normally they serve both local and western food
- Dinner @ EOCAMBO (USD 11)
- Too tired to move after a whole day of walking around, we decided to eat in our hotel
- 4/5 for the food quality!
TOTAL DAY 2: USD 92/ MYR 385
Day 3
Sun Rise Tour @ Angkor Wat
On the third day, it's the highlight of our trip! To visit the magnificent Angkor Wat and catch the sunrise. Don't forget your Angkor Wat pass!
- Sunrise Tour, Car for whole trip (USD 25)
- On day 3 I decided to hire a driver and car so that my mom wouldn't have to deal with the dust. Otherwise I'd really recommend you to just take the Tuk Tuk if you're going budget.
- For sunrise, you have to move as early as before 5 AM to catch the sun rise. We were slightly late, and really recommend you to be there as early as you can because upon reaching the parking, you still need to walk for around 15-20 minutes to the viewing point
- Most hotels will prepare takeaway breakfast for you when you are leaving for your sunrise tour. (I personally feel this is super nice of them.)
- Late Lunch @ Palm Sugar (USD 10)
- Dinner @ The Temple Bar (USD 6)
TOTAL DAY 3: USD 41/ MYR 172
Day 4
Day 4
Outskirts of Siem Reap - The Kulem Mountain
Since I have decided not to go to the Tonle Sap lake, I took my tour driver's advice to come and visit their very own National Park - The Phnom Kulem National Park.
According to my tour driver, the Khmer royals used to live here, and they have sacred legends in the mountains. He also told me that you have to be wary of your words spoken as the mountains are considered holy to the Khmer people. So just heads up!
- Ground Tour, Car with Driver (USD 30)
- We managed to engage our previous driver from the day before!
- He told us some stories about the mountain while on our way there.
- Kulem Mountain Pass (USD 20) (Thousand Lingas, Water Fall, Temple)
- There are several points he took us, one of it is the river bed where the Khmer carved holy carvings onto the river bed
- They also make thousands lingas on to the river bed to make way for clean water to filter through!
- Khmer are surprisingly very good hydro engineers - it's common to see linga all over the places, even in Angkor Wat
- We also stopped by a temple on the mountains, as well some more temples on our way back to Siem Reap
- Lunch @ The Red Piano (USD 9)
- Order the famous Angelina Jolie's cocktail - The Tomb Raider!
- Stroll @ Le Malreux near Old Market Street
- I bumped into this place in Chanwon's blog and it looks like the kind of place that I would enjoy photographing but bare in mind it's quite hard to spot as they're in narrow streets that you need to search through!
- Only tip is to find the Le Malreux French Restaurant that is nestled along this street
- Dinner @ Apsara Buffet (USD 17)
- If you're into watching theater performances of local culture and food, this is the place to go to!
- Buffet food includes local Khmer food and also Asian-Western food, nothing to shout about on the food here though.
TOTAL DAY 4: USD 76/ MYR 318
Day 5
Finally it's time to go home. We boarded a flight right before noon, so we didn't spend much.
3. Budgetary - Expenses
Day 5
Finally it's time to go home. We boarded a flight right before noon, so we didn't spend much.
- Airport Transfer - (USD 5)
- Breakfast @ Starbucks (USD 5)
3. Budgetary - Expenses
The most important question I get whenever people asked me about my trips.
I went with my mom, so bare in mind if you have more people than us (2 pax), some shared expenses especially on transports can go down even more! All the expenses that you've seen highlighted in this post are calculated per pax.
Accommodation: USD 46/ MYR 194
Flight Tickets (KUL-REP-KUL) : USD 67/MYR 278
Expenses (Food, Tickets, Transport) : USD 259/ MYR 1084
Total All-In: USD 372/ MYR 1560
4. Tips on Travelling in Siem Reap
On language:
The Cambodians speak the Khmer language, and they are generally very polite with minimum literacy in English. I was lucky that my driver for 2 days was a teacher before, so his English was good enough for us to communicate and even discuss about cultural differences.
On Tipping: Necessary or not?
I personally tipped all my drivers as they gave tip top services and it didn't hurt me to fork out some money on tipping. I didn't tip a lot, at most also USD 5 for the driver who took me out for 2 days.
On visiting the Angkor Wat
On photography @ Angkor Wat:
(Just being the shameless me)
And that's all for my Cambodia Trip!
Hope you'll find this post helpful if you're heading to Siem Reap anytime soon!
xoxo, till next time!
4. Tips on Travelling in Siem Reap
On language:
The Cambodians speak the Khmer language, and they are generally very polite with minimum literacy in English. I was lucky that my driver for 2 days was a teacher before, so his English was good enough for us to communicate and even discuss about cultural differences.
On Tipping: Necessary or not?
I personally tipped all my drivers as they gave tip top services and it didn't hurt me to fork out some money on tipping. I didn't tip a lot, at most also USD 5 for the driver who took me out for 2 days.
On visiting the Angkor Wat
- Once you have bought the pass to Angkor Wat, you do not need to purchase any passes anymore
- They have 3 kinds of options - 1 day, 3 days, 7 days.
- Keep your passes safe and with you all the time, most of the entrance will require verification of passes
- Please wear decent and suitable clothes i.e no sleeveless or bottoms above knee length
- Bring cap and scarf!
- You may hire a Tuk Tuk (USD 10, whole day), or you can also hire a van/car driver for twice the amount. Please take note that most of them aren't guides, simply just drivers.
- Drinking water will be provided by both tuk tuk or cars.
- There are only certain temples that allow late entrance, otherwise most temples close at 5PM
- The Cambodian authority has put up notice to inform tourists NOT to donate or give money to kids selling souvenirs around Angkor Wat as this will only give them a sense of surviving by asking for money.
On Currency:
Advisable to change for USD currency, and anything lesser than USD 1, the Khmer will pay you back in Riel.On photography @ Angkor Wat:
- A tip on turning your pictures to be Insta worthy in Angkor Wat is definitely the contrast in colours with your background. Most of the temples are made out of stones, being earthy colour and dark colour are the main background colours. Wearing black or dull colours will not help your pictures at all! I'd say go crazy and choose bright yellow, or even red.
- My mother personally planned her outfit (with my help :p) and I'd say picking the right colour of outfits can really have amazing effects on the pictures.
- She wore orange and red, and her pictures turn out to be gorgeous.
You may hire me @ siaheerfoo@gmail.com for personal portrait photographer.
Please pay for my flights and accommodation, and I can take pictures for free. ;)
(Just being the shameless me)
And that's all for my Cambodia Trip!
Hope you'll find this post helpful if you're heading to Siem Reap anytime soon!
xoxo, till next time!