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"The Flat Defeat of Siam" - That is the meaning of Siem Reap. It was because of the victory over the Thais which King Ang Chan counter-attacked, and shot Prince Ong dead on an elephant's back, and routed the Thais and captured no less than 10,000 Thai troops. History.... but back to the continuation of my story...
June 12 (tuesday) - We woke up at 5:30 to take a bath and fix our things. After breakfast, we headed to the kids school and said our goodbyes (I missed the kids). At 7:30, we went to Mukdahan Bus Terminal to bought the tickets (270Baht) and waited for just 10 minutes for the bus to arrived. The bus was not the first class bus that we were hoping but an ordinary aircon bus. We forgot to buy some breads for the 6 hours ride. We only had chips and candies. The trip went well for the first 2 hours, we fell asleep but unfortunately a drunk man was sitting 2 seats behind us. He was so annoying, he keeps on talking and disturbing other passengers. One hour before our destination, some Thai Army hopped on the bus to check the ID's of the passenger, one of the passenger called the attention of the officer to complained about the drunk man. There was a commotion and the Army officer carried the drunk man away from the bus. The passenger who complained about the drunk man was also a militar officer (MO). He apologized to me and the other passengers.
When we reached Arunyaphratet at around 1pm, I asked MO about the location of the border. He told us to ride a Tuk-tuk (motorcycle with a cabin attached to the rear) to reach the border. But to our surpised they accompanied us until we reached the border. We weren't able to get the name of the 2 helpful men (right Cris), but to the two of you, we really want to thank you for helping us. Khob kun Ka.
We reached the Thai immigration and signed some information. Then we headed to the Cambodian Embassy which is a bit far from the border. We walked under the scourging sun. We had not experienced any trouble entering Cambodia, Filipinos like us don't need to pay for any immigration fees. We bought bus ticket to Siem Reap ($10) and we ate lunch. We also exchange some of our dollars to Riel (Cambodian money).
We reached Siem Reap at around 6pm. Tired of the whole day bus ride, I decided to check-in at another guesthouse because the tour guide told us that we can see the sunrise at Angkor Wat and to see the other beautiful temple which was not included in our first Hostel (luckily we didn't pay for it already). The Tasom Guesthouse gave us a discount for a 2 nights stay for only $12 per night which was actually $15 per night room. Tired, but we need to see the Night Market, so Mr. Ng our tuktuk driver/tour guide offered to bring us to the night market. Unfortunately my SD card was full so I didn't had a chance to took some photos, I only settled for Dos (Samsung Galaxy SII) to capture some good shots. We had dinner and a little bit of shopping (not for Cris, she bought a lot). We went back to the hostel and took a tuktuk ride ($2).
June 13 - I'm already up at 4:15 took a not so quick shower then woke up Cris (sleepy head). At 5:00 am we were were ready to see the Ancient Siem Reap. We went to the Angkor Archaeological Park to purchased the Angkor 1 day Temple pass ($20).
First stop - Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu Temple in the world built by King Suryavarman II. It is a large temple with lots of history to offer. It houses some of the Devatas and other relics. I was amazed with the construction of the temple. Indeed the early civilization has a great mind to build a temple that can withstand time. After taking some pictures to remember we ate breakfast and went to the other ruins.
Here are the list of the temples that we visited:
Ta Som - is a small temple built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarma VII. It was also the location of Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider.
Pre Rup - is a temple made of red bricks ang large stone. You should go to the top to see an amazing view. This was also a place for royal creamation.
Banteay Srei Temple - a 10th century temple dedicated to Shiva. Known for its intricate carvings especially in the Niche. You can find the different kinds of devatas(demi-goddess) , kala (a toothy monster symbolic of time), dvarapala (an armed protector of the temple) and many more.
Terrace of the Elephant - an impressive 2.5m tall, 300m long terrace wall adorned with carved elephants and garudas (large mythical birds).
Terrace of the Leaper King - located at the north side of the Terrace of the Elephants.
Baphuon - built in mid 11th century. It is a three tiered Temple Mountain in the heart of Angkor Thom.
Phimeanakas - made from laterite and sandstone pyramid. It is believed to be the king's temple. Legend has it that the golden tower crowned the temple and was inhabited by a serpent, which would transform into a woman. The kings of Angkor were required to make love with the serpent every night, lest disaster befall him or the kingdom.
Bayon - most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. It is too dark inside, we got lost and we didn't had some good photos.
Baksei Chamrong - served as funerary temple.
Phonm Bakheng Temple - located at the top of the hill. You need to hike for 20 minutes or less to get there. It has the amazing view of sunset.
Whew... Lots of Temple Ruins and their history. After a whole day of walking, picture taking, hiking, our tour guide recommends a restaurant wherein we could watch an Apsara dance and have a dinner buffet. We paid our tuktuk driver $25 for both of us, originally the price was $23 but since he was good to us we pay him extra $2. (free water and booklet. I think I had 10 bottles of water that day) not bad.
At 6:30, we went back to the guesthouse to changed our clothes. Man I'm all wet and hungry. We proceed to Koulen II restaurant. They serve traditional Khmer food. The food was not that great, but the dancers are... After eating we headed to the Pub Steet. It is a street wherein there are lots of bar and restaurant to choose from. I had Angkor Beer last night so I bought the famous Cambodia Beer. The verdict, I still love the beer from James Squirre in Perth.
June 14 - Call time 8:00 am for our bus going to Bangkok. We were eating our breakfast consist of 2 eggs, coffee, bread and some fruits when the bus came. We took the bus to Cambodia-Thailand Border and then transfered to a van to get to Bangkok. ($10)
Next blog... all about Bangkok...
Happy reading everyone...
″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings." - Moslih Eddin Saadi
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