Postcard from Cambodia – Siem Reap (Part 1)

four-faced South Gate into Angkor Thom city. A mini van can fit through the gap.

Apologise for such slow update on my South East Asia trip back in August! Things have been hectic around this time of year and the new year is only 28 days away, I think I better crack the whip harder to get all the posts out before my next holiday start in May 2010! I promised!

Just when I am about to fall in love with the sight and sound of the culinary scenes in Vietnam, I found myself on the move again and jet-setting to my next destination – Cambodia, a fast establishing country on the Southeast Asian tourist trail. When I touched down in Siem Reap, I soon realised the weather here is even hotter than Vietnam! The mercury just keeps rising throughout the day to a point where I totally lost my appetite and don’t even feel like eating anything and all I can think of is icy cold water. As a result, I am afraid there will not be many food photos to show you guys in this post. But I do apologise that this post will also be pictorial “heavy” of all the sightseeing I did in Siem Reap.

The Golden Temple Villa

First thing I did is to check-in at the Golden Temple Villa, a high-end budget hotel right in the middle of town center. The staffs here are over-friendly, and the room is very clean; they even made my bed every day with fresh waterlily petals on top! Not to mention, every guest who stays here also received a 20-minutes complimentary Khmer massage. This is my first time to experience a Khmer massage, I felt like I was a slinky after being twisted, popped, pulled, and stepped on! But it is really good, I feel so relax afterwards.

Apart from sightseeing, my other intention while in Cambodia is to get in touch with the locals especially children at orphanage and trying to help them the best I can. I was very lucky on the first day to meet Dannay, the manager at the hotel who put me in touch with another tourist, who was here for a 2 weeks holiday has now been staying over 3 months, helping the landmine victims and giving out rice to the poor who most needed. I got the opportunity to spend one day with the victims and it is an absolute eye opener. Definitely one of the moments I will never forget. I will talk about it more in my next post.

Weary tourists after hiking up to Phnom Bakheng for the sunset view

For the first two days, I pretty much trying to climatise myself with the hot weather and do most of the sightseeing around the ancient ruins. Millions of people from around the world come to Siem Reap because of the impressive Angkor Wat and the ancient city Angkor Thom, which is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

I bought a two-day pass (US$40) which I managed to check out the sunset on top of Phnom Bakheng during the first evening, and the rest of the ruins on second day. Unless you are really into ruins and your name is “Indiana” or “Lara”, otherwise the 2-day pass is sufficient enough to check out all the ruins in Angkor Thom without overdoing. Mind you, most of them are more or less the same from the outlook, and be prepared to climb life-risking steep steps under the scorching hot sun. I’ve been told many people fell to death from climbing the dangerously steep and tall Ta Keo, so I also giving it a miss and admire its glory from ground zero.

Clockwise L to R: The silhoutte of the majestic Angkor Wat at dawn; tourist posing infront of Angkor Wat; Inside the Angkor Wat

click for details

There are two options to get to the Angkor Thom city, either hire your own bicycle (motorbike hire is not allowed for tourists) and make up your own itinerary for the day, or arrange your own designated Tuk Tuk driver through the hotel, and he will take you for a spin around the ruins.

I woke up at 5am the next morning and my tuk tuk driver is already outside the hotel waiting for me, ready to take me back to the ruins to check out the sunrise over the majestic Angkor Wat. So as every other tourists in Siem Reap were there sacrificing oneself to mosquitoes, filling up the memory cards with the same shot of Angkor Wat in all different kinds of compositions. Sadly the sky is overcast and is nothing spectacular but a big sheet of white cloth. Everyone groans in dismay and left, some moving on to the next destination.

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As I said, unless you are really into archaeology, otherwise they simply look like a massive pile of rocks. Mind you most of the temples are actually quite big and tall at least 5 to 10 storeys high, my photos simply can’t do them justice. I only spent half a day finished checking out most of the temples and back in the town just after 1pm. My favorite among them all has to be the Bayon, it is like walking in a mini city within a city, with gigantic faces on top of 54 stupas all over inside the temple, it is absolutely breathtaking. Ta Phrom is also a highlight, with giant trees and creeping roots entangled around the temple walls. Feel like being a Lara Croft for one day? But whatever you are going to do, make sure you drink lots of water. I mean – “LOTS!”

A tourist is receiving a blessing red bracelet from the Angkor Wat's caretaker and prayer

Apart from the ruins, there isn’t really much else to do in Siem Reap. Siem Reap is pretty much packed with hostels, restaurants, bars and nothing else. The old and new markets are no different to those in Vietnam, so I didn’t really spend much time in there.

Before sunset, street vendors start pushing trolleys out and slowly turning the main streets into one big giant food court. A whole row of stalls with roast pork and duck hanging on display has got my attention immediately. The local food market has quite an eclectic mix of food even I am taken aback at what they are selling. I can’t help but feel like I am being licked by that pile of cows’ tongues in different sizes, and right next to it, I could be wrong here, but they look like a certain type of animal’s genital organs. Then there are snakes, slit and twined, then boiled and smoked. There is also an old lady and her grandson grilling whole chicken leg quarters and chicken beaks. Chicken beaks? If these are not weird enough, how about these creatures in the picture below?

Look closely… yep. Vampire skewers! These hairless bats are skinned, flapless and grilled. It is quite a disconcerting scene of carnage with corpses piled on top of each other in their own blood. Even I have a strong stomach, I don’t think I am in a hurry to try this… just yet. Can’t help but keep imagining sharp screeches ringing in my ear just by looking at it. I think I will go and look for my dinner elsewhere.

On my first night, I want to try the local dishes from the hawker stalls dotted along the main street. A lot people who go to Cambodia, rave about the Fish Amok, a famous local dish with curry fish steamed in banana leaf. Sorry, I actually didn’t try this famous local dish as I know I would be disappointed to have it in a tourist-focused town.

I found most of the hawker stalls are pretty much selling the same dishes, from the same menu. So you just have to go to the one that you think that looks clean, and always follow the local crowd, usually is a good sign of good food.

fried noodlle MAMA with pork - USD1.00

I’ve been informed by my friends that the Khmer food are generally not as spicy as Thai or Laos food, and is also not as elaborate. It perhaps indeed influenced by opinions over Khmer food. The fried noodle MAMA with Pork is a simple quick stir fried of instant MAMA (is a noodle brand) noodle with some greens and pork slices. It looks almost like what I’d cook back in uni days. Actually I still do when I am too busy with work and don’t have time to prepare a proper lunch. It is only USD1.00, can’t complain really.

Loc Lac - Fried beer - 5000R (AUD1.30)

Then I also ordered the Loc Lac beef, another Cambodian local specialty which I actually found nothing special about it but stir fried beef strips with ground pepper and served with green tomato and lettuce leaves. The waiter explains to me the right way to eat it by wrapping the beef and tomato in the lettuce leaf and eat it like a spring roll. I thought the beef is a little tough and thinking perhaps is buffalo meat. I called for the waiter to confirm what type of meat it is and he assured me that it is beef.

“Maybe it is an old cow. Hahaha….” he jokes about the toughness of the meat.

Clockwise L to R: Blue Pumpkin menu; crowd checking out all the delicious pastries; young fresh coconut juice to quench the thirst; a young lady having decision dilemma over all the delicious pastries

On the second day after all the strenuous hiking around the Angkor Thom ruins, all I can think of is something refreshing, something icy cold to beat the tiresome heat. Hence, I decided to head over to The Blue Pumpkin, a must-visit bakery for all the delicious buns and pastries, or unwind those weary legs in the air-conditioned restaurant at the back of the shop. There is also an ice cream counter bar which there is no way I can say no in this insanely hot and humid weather.

Clockwise L to R: the ice cream bar inside Blue Pumpkin; The pineapple and Rum & Raisin Ice Cream; Outside the Blue Pumpkin bakery; two macarons I brought back to hotel room for the rainy days

Once seated, the waitress comes over with a cold towel for cleaning your hands ahead of the meal, it is a welcome reprieve from the oppressive heat. I ordered a young coconut to drink, the refreshing coconut juice is the best solution to quench the thirst and rehydrate. I don’t feel like something heavy for lunch and settled on a rum and raisin ice cream which literally is a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of rum poured over and raisins sprinkled on top. It is so strong, and definitely over the alcohol limit by the time I finished it. It also has a scoop of pineapple ice cream on the side to balance out with a citrusy tang.

If you are travelling around the South East Asia countries like Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; you would find a lot of bakeries with amazing baking skills inherited from the French; producing pastries and buns just like the ones you’d get back home if not better. Then I found the macarons, neatly stacked behind the glass display. It worked out equivalent to AUD0.80 each, I grabbed two and brought it back to my hotel room to savour them later. I guess they have just proved that making macarons in hot humid weather is definitely possible.

Clockwise L to R: The hustle and bustle in Bar Street; "Happy Herb Special Pizza" not so 'happy' after all; the cheap eats attract lots of backpackers dining at this restaurant; the local Bayon beer

Bar Street is where all the actions are, with restaurants stretch along the whole street one after another. The Bar Street is closed off at both ends at night and turned into a walkway for pedestrians only. This time I got a tip from a friend who asked me to go to Pizza Street and try the Happy Herb Pizza. She admittedly thinks that the pizza has a side effect of making her “happy” after eating it. I found a pizza restaurant, literally called Happy Herb Pizza, and walked inside. My intention is to try the infamous “Happy Herb Special Pizza“, but for blogworthy sake, I also ordered a Quattro Formaggi which is probably not a wise choice (Cheeses in hot weather?) and totally overkill. I tried the local Bayon beer which doesn’t really do much for me, it is also hard to enjoy it when the beer immediately turned lukewarm sitting on the table after 10 minutes.

The Quattra Formaggi pizza is surprisingly better than I’d anticipated even though the flavour is a little lost with all cheese simply melted on top of each other. Then the Happy Herb Special Pizza arrives, a modest looking pizza with only beef mince on top of melted cheddar on a tomato ketchup pizza base. Just in case it really affect my sense, I take it slow and eat each slice with a 5 minutes break just to see whether I will slowly sleep into a trance and also make sure I am sober enough to be able to walk back to my hotel. After few more slices, all I can feel is I am getting full and nothing else. Nope, not a single “Happy” moment that I was looking for. No rainbow, no pink ponies and no funny midgets. A USD10.00 meal with no happy ending, it is all bullshit and absolutely disappointed.

Siem Reap Night Market

I had a quick stroll around the night market and got myself a few t-shirts as I am started to running low on clean shirts. Surprisingly my haggling skill is getting better each day, or perhaps after each beer. I was approached by at least five guys on motorbikes asking me whether I want a so-called “massage”, just by walking along the main street back to my hotel. They don’t really take no for an answer, and will just keep following you asking the same question over and over again. Best is to just ignore and keep walking, eventually they will give up and go for the next prey.

Then there are also homeless kids running “amok” among the tourists, pulling their sleeves, or hugging to one’s leg, begging for money. An American tourist who got so frustrated by the pestering kids and shouted “Fuck off!” loudly at them. It is bit harsh I thought and I don’t think the kids understand him either. On the hand, there is also a group of young backpackers standing outside a convenience store while a homeless kid approaches them, jumps on the back of a young girl and instantly the rest of the crew goes “awwwww….”-ing in one voice and think is cute, before they all walk into the shop to get the kid whatever he wants. It is all a little too surreal and cynical as I am not sure whether a random act of kindness like that is actually helping the poverty situation in this country or simply encouraging more children to live on begging.

It is all a little too much for me, I feel so frustrated and annoyed for no reason. Hence it is best for me to ignore it and head back to hotel for a good night sleep as I will be spending the next day with the landmine victims, handing out rice to the homeless who needs it most and most importantly, to really understand the poverty situation in this country.

[to be continued...]

Addresses of restaurants/places I've visited:

Golden Temple Villa
Steng Thmei, Svaydongkum, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Tel: 855 (0)12 943 459

The Blue Pumpkin
Free Wi-Fi spot / Air Conditioned
open 06:00-22:00 everyday
Directions: Just steps away from Old Market, adjacent to Bar Street.

Happy Herb Pizza
SIEM REAP: House 069, Mundol 1 (Opposite Provincial Hospital)
Tel: 855 (0)12 838 134

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Part 2 – Postcard from Cambodia – A Day at KILT

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