The trip to Siem Reap has been something I have expected. Practically all my friends have been there except me. Well, here I am, been there, done that.
You will survive the whole trip to Siem Reap if you met the following requirements:
- Have strong sense of reglious pligrimage to see the buddha
- Love nature and walking
- Have mercy towards under priviledged people, e.g. landmine victims, orphans, poor people
- Love for historical site and world heritage, e.g. Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, etc and visit Tonle Sap
- Love massage
- Meet new people
- Fly AirAsia - cheap
- Spending spree in USD
Well, I sort of fulfilled all the requirement except the last part. Everything is so expensive when you come to think of it. All in USD, not the local currency of Riel (USD1 = 4100 Riel), though some use it at local stalls. Shopping is crazy. Things at the market is more expensive than those sold by the peddlers who you will see at the historical sites. It's total madness. p.s. Sorry people, no souvenirs this time round because the price is definitely over-inflated.
Khmer food was awesome. Cheap and nice, at least something different from the rest. The Ammok is very popular, next will be rice soup. Now is the fruits season, you will get to try Nona fruit, Lychee, Longan, Mangosteen, Banana, and Pinepapples (must try!). I even went to Kampong Pluk to try the local fish delicacies from the Tonle Sap. Really good!
Cultural exchange can be found by observation through its traditional Aspara dance. Talking to the local people, here, I mean the guides (who can understand English), a new American friend who is working on a local community project, gave more insights to the lifestyle of the local people in Siem Reap.
All and all, people in Siem Reap are pretty poor, but is developing. Now, oil has been discovered near the shore line down south, and new development area towards the north does help elevate job opportunities which i foresee soon to materialise. I think the reason for the Khmer government to move towards a capitalism society is a positive move to improve its people's standard of living.
Tourism is the attraction for many to Siem Reap. The famous Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and other temples are simply enjoyable to visit. You will marvel at its architecture, especially the fine art stone carvings found on each block of the pillars and door frames of these beautiful temples. Even today, the carvings from 10 centuries are still so vividly seen, and every details about characters and stories told about the Hindu folktale were engraved on it. Beautiful indeed.
Tonle Sap, the largest fresh water lake in Asia, and second larges in the world, is like a sea when you are there on a boat. 35 miles wide and 80 miles long. It will take you 5-6 hours to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Along this lake houses few Kampongs (villages). In these Kampongs, you will see how life have been difficult for these people who rely on the muddy river and hand-pump well for water supply, rechargable batteries for electricity. Though the hardship, these people are friendly. Government has alloted funds, together with the help of huminarian funds from abroad and private organizations, to these resources-deprived villages to help provide these people with a better living.
My mom who went with me on this trip told me that life in Siem Reap reminded her about her life in Malaysia during the late 50s and early 60s. That was how Pahang looks like when my mom was younger. I sure think there must be some nostalgic feelings for her when she visited Siem Reap.
Massage has been an everyday past-time for me and my family when we were there. USD5 for an hour was not too good to give it a pass. We went there almost everyday without fail. The one we visited was "Golden Hand Massage", just opposite our guest house (we stayed in Two Dragon Guest House in Wat Bo for USD15 a night). There is this girl, JunPo, she is really good. Give her a try and you will find pleasure in massage.
Well, Siem Reap is a good trip for me. At least get to go missing-in-action for a while before coming back to the real world of working.