The Refreshing Trip to the Khmer Land

Okay, janji mesti dikotakan. Ni dah almost sebulan balik dari Cambodia trip, cerita tak cerita cerita lagi =) Haha macam la ada orang nak dengar sangat cerita kau tu Aleen.

Anyways, one fine day in early January this year, Aufa suggested to go on a trip somewhere to another friend of mine. At that time I was doing internship, and I jumped at the chance. Tiba-tiba aku join their conversation. In the beginning we decided to go to South Korea, tapi sebab apa entah tak ingat cancel pergi Korea. Maybe sebab harga tiket mahal jugak kot. Well then we searched for other places to go, and that's when Cambodia popped in. First a suggestion, then a serious plan =) The plan was to go somewhere in July, when everybody is supposed to be free because of holidays. The original plan was to go with other 4 friends; 3 girls and 2 guys but in the end Akram bailed out because of his flying test as a pilot. Too bad, the tickets dah book, accomodation dah settle and we are so raring to go. Bye lah kau Akram, kau fly lah plane tu bawak pi Cambodia kita jumpa kat sana je lah LOL

So that left me, Aufa, Najwa and Shak for the trip and we boarded a 7am flight on 16th July to Siem Reap, the land of Angkor and arrived at about 8am local time. Cambodia awal sejam dari Malaysia. The day and the sky was so beautiful and awesome when we landed. Sampai sampai je terus berjumpa dengan orang dari Motherhome Guesthouse yang supposed to pick us up. Named Tom, he will be our driver for the whole 3 days that we stayed in Siem Reap.

Tak menyabo kan, sampai Guesthouse je, tak check in lagi, just letak barang dan terus keluar balik untuk pergi Angkor Archaeological Park. Speechless gila bila dah sampai sana, sebab the ruins and the buildings are so magnificent I just kept on saying "Cantiknya" on and on a few times. Entrance to the Park is USD20 per day, but if you are planning to really explore the park sebab dia ada banyak sections and temples and the park is damn huge, you can opt to buy the 3 days pass for USD40 or one week pass for USD60. Kitorang plan to spend just one whole day dekat Angkor and explore the famous temples.

Aufa excited tunjuk Angkor Pass yang cool - siap kena tangkap gambar lagi letak dalam pass tu.

In the end, ni ajelah rombongan ke Kemboja.

Kaki macam pondan. Hahaha =.=" (pic courtesy of Aufa)

 This picture courtesy of Shak's camera

Tonle Sap Lake - pemandangan yang breathtaking dan menginsafkan at the same time.

Kau tak nampak semangat gila sampai shawl pun berkibar-kibar? =.="

Cubaan merempit dengan tuk-tuk :)

Yo we are the coolest ninjas on earth yo.

Satu lagi tempat yang depressing - Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

After one depressing day, chill out by cruising along Mekong River.

Final day we go Phnom Penh on foot !

Kitorang tak guna khidmat travel agent or booked a guided tour pun if you are wondering. Semua pakai redah je. Ambik map dekat airport and hotel, lepas tu plan sendiri. Kitorang memang suka hati je nak jalan pegi mana hahaha.Tapi make sure buat homework dulu lah before nak redah pun kan. On the final day kitorang ada kat Cambodia, kami berjalan sejauh 6km daripada Stadium Olimpik sampai ke Friendship Bridge. Memang rasa macam nak tercabut ah kaki kan, but it's totally worth it to be able to see Phnom Penh on a closer view. Start berjalan dari cerah langit, sampai destinasi bila matahari dah terbenam. Berbaloi rasanya saving punya lah menahan diri dari shopping dan berusaha sungguh menabung sepanjang first sem tahun ni =)

Some pocket guide for a self guided trip to Cambodia;

1. Tuk-tuk is the main public transport. Usually they will charge you of about $1 / $2 per person for a ride, depending too on how far you want to go.

2. Official currency is Cambodia Riel. But US Dollar is the main currency used there. $1 = 4000 Riel.

3. Haggle with the tuk-tuk driver first before agreeing on the price. If you are not satisfied with the price, walk away. They will sure to agree on yours then. This also can be applied when shopping =)

4.Be careful with beggars. Once you give one of them something, you will be surrounded by many of them all of a sudden.

5. Halal food can be found. It's not in abundance but it's possible =) Kalau susah sangat pun, pack Megi je hehe. Oh KFC dia pun halal by the way.

6. Last but not least, though it is a third world country, go there with an open heart and open mind :) The warmth and friendliness of people of Cambodia is something you cannot forget easily.

Notakaki : Lelaki-lelaki Cambodia memang cakap lemah lembut dan bersopan santun. Dah lah gentleman. Berapa kali terjatuh cinta daa hihi =)