Cambodia (2012)

If you're wondering what to do in Cambodia, particularly Siem Reap, you have come to the right place!

Cambodia is one of the favourite countries that i've ever visited. Though it has many flaws and most of the time corrupted, aside from that, the people are one of the friendliest and contented ones i've ever met, not to mention the scrumptious food, beautiful temples and lively nightlife.

Throughout the 4D4N trip, it was filled with adventures where we ventured out and did something we've never tried before every waking day. Upon arrival, we checked in to the amazing Borei Angkor Resort & Spa (many thanks to Eve for arranging it). It was a luxurious hotel and we had an amazing stay.

After taking a short break in the hotel, we were being picked up for our first adventure with Siem Reap Quadbike. I'll definitely recommend this company as the guides are friendly and experienced, the equipments are in good condition as well. Once at their office, we were given a short briefing and hands-on session on how to ride the quadbike. It was fairly easy though we are inexperienced quad riders. I absolutely enjoyed every minute of riding on the back roads, across the rice fields and the villages, watching the clear blue sky turns gold during the sunset. The view of the gorgeous sunset in the countryside behind the villages is breathtaking to say the least. Along the ride, you will definitely bump into the local kids who will run after you waving and yelling "hellooooooo!" with a big smile on their faces :) All thanks to the thoughtful Eve, she prepared some gifts consisting of stationaries for us to distribute to them. It was such a joy to see how happy they are to receive something from us.

After a quick shower, we are crying for food already. Having been to Siem Reap before, i recommended the rest to have dinner at Khmer Kitchen Restaurant around the Pub Street area, and we had one of our best meals there. No drinks on our first night as we have to wake up really early the next day, hence we had an early night. The next day we got up by about 5am to witness the glorious sunrise at Angkor Wat. This will be the day we get temple-fied, since we'll be visiting most of the temples.

After Angkor Wat, we walked around the temple and visited other temples as well. Though i've been here before, i'm still pretty mesmerized and stand in awed of the ruins. As mentioned in the previous post, you should not miss Bayon Temple (towers with huge faces of buddha) and Ta Prohm (location for the tomb raider movie). We had lunch at the Father's Restaurant, and it was delicious! Also, dinner at Greenstar was incredible, do drop by this non-profit restaurant, highly recommended!

The next day, we are booked for 2 hour countryside horse riding at The Happy Ranch Horse Farm! This is one of the things that i've always wanted to try, and i have to say, i enjoyed every minute of it. I highly recommend this school because the ranch are very well maintained and the horses seems like they are loved and well cared for. After a quick lesson on navigating the horses, we are all set to go! The ride along the countryside trail took us to the unreachable, through local countryside villages and scenic rice fields. It's a great way to see the rural side of Siem Reap, and again i was mesmerized by the gorgeous sunset. We did distribute stationaries to the kids again as we ride through the villages. Ended the day with an amazing dinner at The Touich Restaurant Bar and drinks at Pub Street.

On our last day, we went to the old market to do some shopping. It's one of the cheapest place to get some souvenirs, well of course it depends on your bargaining skill. We ended up renting bicycles (US$1) and decided to cycle to Tonle Sap, which is probably about 15km each way. Many locals were quite dubious of our idea on cycling to Tonle Sap when we asked for directions, and to be honest, it's kinda far away, but we did had a great time. Ended the day with a much needed massage :)

This pretty much sums up our daily adventures in Siem Reap. Next up, LONDON BABY! :) 

Till then,

xx