Why Visit Cambodia?
Steward: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed in Ho Chi Minh City. We thank you for flying with us. It was indeed a pleasure to have you onboard and we hope to see you again soon on one of your future flights" Me: "What?! did we just landed in the wrong country?".... After a few minutes, Steward: "I'm sorry,.. we just landed in Siem Reap International Airport".... This was the first thing that happened after a few minutes of landing in Siem Reap. It was fun, though.
Honestly speaking, I didn't know what to expect in visiting Cambodia. I highly relied on my researching skills to figure out what to do in this country, specifically in the capital city.
After 2 nights and 3 days in Cambodia, you might ask.. Was it worth it? Well, setting aside our experience at the bus to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap trip was fun. Here are some of the many reasons why Cambodia is worth a visit.
One of my friends craved for Durian so we headed out to their public market. It was just a few minutes away from our hotel and on the way downtown, so going there wans't a hassle. There were fruit stands lining up with a variety of choices.
I knew we were already at the infamous Pub Street when I stepped down from the "tuktuk" because of the deafening sounds coming from a hefty number of pubs and bars along the road. People were flooding on the streets. The place is really alive when the sun sets. Tourists from different parts of the world were enjoying every single minute spent at Pub Street.
During daytime, the place wasn't that crowded. You can see fewer tourists walking and checking out the menu of varied restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, you'll never run out of options where to eat if you are at Pub Street. Almost in every corner you can find a place to eat offering different dishes and drinks. These restaurants sit side by side. Whew! tourists do have overflowing choices.
Time for shopping! The night market is a huge area. If I am right, I think the Pub Street is just a small portion of the entire night market. So shopping it is. We wandered around trying to look for good deals, and yeah, we found some. We were even able to negotiate lower prices. Honestly, I am not good at price negotiation so I always asked my friend (Camille) to help me out. If you are at the night market, don't be scared or ashamed to negotiate for cheaper prices. --- I forgot to take pictures during the night shopping, I guess I was so engrossed in checking the item prices and in saying no to their offers. ^_^
Local street food were present at the night market. And of course, my friend (Patricia) never missed the opportunity to taste what they have to offer (see my food blog for details). Food tip in Siem Reap is indeed an enjoyable thing to do.
It is not impossible to meet other travelers from other countries in this city. We saw a lot of fellow tourists at the Pub Street drinking and having fun. But it was only during our trip to Phnom Penh that we got a chance to mingle, chat and --- well, support each other in fighting for our rights!?. yikes!!! hahaha.
Anyway, so we met a woman from Japan - She hardly understand and speak English, but we were lucky that 2 of our friends (Camille and Rye) studied Japanese language. Then we met a father and son tandem from South Korea. And of course, I was able to chitchat with some tourists from Germany. Some fellow travelers that we were able to talked with came from Spain, Argentina, and other countries in the West and East.
If there's one thing that Khmer people should be proud of, it is their rich cultural heritage. Cambodia has plenty of historical temples scattered in different areas. The majority of tourists look forward to seeing some of the most popular ones. Well we weren't exempted from that, we were also very curious about these temples. If I am right, we visited at least 7 (or a little over) temples in just 1 day, including the infamous Angkor Wat. I'll discuss our "temple run" experience in another post, so watch out for it.
So these are just few of the many reasons why you should check out Cambodia. However, you need to keep in mind that prices and primary mode of payment for tourists in Cambodia is in US dollars. Yes, you heard it right, we didn't bothered looking for a money changer as they accept USD. In case, you pay in dollars and you still have to collect a change, chances are, you will be given Cambodia Riel. So bwala, you automatically get their currency.
Want to know more about our visit to Cambodia?
Sept. 18-20, '14
Honestly speaking, I didn't know what to expect in visiting Cambodia. I highly relied on my researching skills to figure out what to do in this country, specifically in the capital city.
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| Photo Credit: epicofthethreestars |
After 2 nights and 3 days in Cambodia, you might ask.. Was it worth it? Well, setting aside our experience at the bus to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap trip was fun. Here are some of the many reasons why Cambodia is worth a visit.
Accessible Public Market
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| fruits! |
Lively Pub Street
I knew we were already at the infamous Pub Street when I stepped down from the "tuktuk" because of the deafening sounds coming from a hefty number of pubs and bars along the road. People were flooding on the streets. The place is really alive when the sun sets. Tourists from different parts of the world were enjoying every single minute spent at Pub Street.
During daytime, the place wasn't that crowded. You can see fewer tourists walking and checking out the menu of varied restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, you'll never run out of options where to eat if you are at Pub Street. Almost in every corner you can find a place to eat offering different dishes and drinks. These restaurants sit side by side. Whew! tourists do have overflowing choices.
 |
| rows of restaurants at the pub street @ daytime.. Image by Pat |
Huge Night Market
Time for shopping! The night market is a huge area. If I am right, I think the Pub Street is just a small portion of the entire night market. So shopping it is. We wandered around trying to look for good deals, and yeah, we found some. We were even able to negotiate lower prices. Honestly, I am not good at price negotiation so I always asked my friend (Camille) to help me out. If you are at the night market, don't be scared or ashamed to negotiate for cheaper prices. --- I forgot to take pictures during the night shopping, I guess I was so engrossed in checking the item prices and in saying no to their offers. ^_^
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| dedicated to my coffee enthusiasts friends! |
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| started shopping at daytime.. |
Local street food were present at the night market. And of course, my friend (Patricia) never missed the opportunity to taste what they have to offer (see my food blog for details). Food tip in Siem Reap is indeed an enjoyable thing to do.
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| a ceramic shop.. Image by Pat.. |
Meet Fellow Travelers
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| this Japanese woman and those ladies at the back... |
Anyway, so we met a woman from Japan - She hardly understand and speak English, but we were lucky that 2 of our friends (Camille and Rye) studied Japanese language. Then we met a father and son tandem from South Korea. And of course, I was able to chitchat with some tourists from Germany. Some fellow travelers that we were able to talked with came from Spain, Argentina, and other countries in the West and East.
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| at Phnom Penh |
Several Temples
So these are just few of the many reasons why you should check out Cambodia. However, you need to keep in mind that prices and primary mode of payment for tourists in Cambodia is in US dollars. Yes, you heard it right, we didn't bothered looking for a money changer as they accept USD. In case, you pay in dollars and you still have to collect a change, chances are, you will be given Cambodia Riel. So bwala, you automatically get their currency.
Want to know more about our visit to Cambodia?
Sept. 18-20, '14