Monday, June 27, 2016

Places in Angkor (Day 2)

It's day 2 of our Cambodia trip. This time, we explored the places that marked Cambodia in the tourism map, the temples. It is best to allocate at least a day to tour the different temples and ruins in Angkor as they are a lot of them waiting to explore. 

Since we wanted to visit Angkor Wat during sunrise (they say it's beautiful if you visit there during sunrise), we had to leave the hotel at 5 am. We also had a tour guide with us to explain the history and culture of the Angkor. 

Before you can explore the different temples, you must secure an Angkor pass/ticket. You can get them at the building beside the Angkor Panorama Museum. You can get a day pass, a 3-day pass, or a 7-day pass. Every time you enter a temple, ticket controllers will look for your pass before you can enter.

Lines for getting the pass

Angkor Pass

Angkor Panorama Museum

After getting our passes, it's time to head for Angkor Wat. 

Angkor Wat

Instead of entering Angor Wat from the front or the entrance, our tour guide suggested that we enter from the back. The back is usually the exit point. Once we arrived at the site, we walked, passing the moat and a ruin (can't recall the name though). One of the advantages of entering from the back is that you walk less to the temple compared from entering from the front. The huge advantage of this is that there are no other tourists in sight. In fact we are the only ones there. 

The moat surrounding Angkor Wat

One of the ruins that can be found here

Angkor Wat from the back (There are no other tourists in sight!)

We stayed here for a while for photo opportunities. After that, we proceed to the path at the left of the image above, passed by a monastery until we reached the front of Angkor Wat, where we can see a LOT of tourists.

Sooooo many tourists!

It's the time where mr. sun appears behind the amazing temple. 


After witnessing the sun rise behind the temple, it's time to explore what's inside. 

Path from the main entrance to the temple

Buddhist relics and ornaments can be seen inside.

One of the 4 pools on the main level.

Lots of images carved outside of the temple.


The steep stairs going to the top level.

After a few photo opportunities, it's time to leave the place. We exited at the main entrance. Before going to another place, we had breakfast at one of the restaurants just outside the main entrance. 

Angkor Thom

This is our next stop. The name literally means "great city". As the name suggest, it used to be the center and capital of the Khumer empire. Also, Angkor Thom is bigger than Angkor Wat. Once you arrive, you will see a lot of attractions clustered around the center of the area. 

Before you enter it, you will pass by a moat through a bridge that has stone figures on the sides before you enter the gate. 


At the center of the place is the Bayon Temple.

Bayon Temple

Elephant ride around the temple.

Monkeys everywhere!

Other side of the temple.

You can see the faces carved on the towers.

A Buddhist statue inside.

A very deep well located inside. 

More faces!

After exploring the place, we walked our way to the Terrace of the Elephants. 


Before heading out to our last stop, we got water from a water tank for free. It's located near the Terrace of the Elephants.


Ta Prohm

The view of this temple is quite unique given that the trees are growing on the sides of the temple. There is also an ongoing restoration of this site as there are a lot of weakened structures on the temple which are inaccessible to tourists. Fun fact, this is one site where Tomb Raider was filmed.


Outside of the temple

Restoration in progress





Surrounding myself with misplaced bricks.

To wrap up our Angkor temples day tour, we had lunch at Palmboo Restaurant. 


Our Lunch (fried noodles, soup, spring rolls, beef, and fresh coconut)

We arrived at our hotel just before 2pm for the needed rest. We didn't explore for the night as we lacked sleep. 

Stay tuned as we explored Phnom Penh next!

See you guys later!

Check out my other Cambodia-Vietnam vacation posts here!


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Sunday, June 26, 2016

Father's Day Eats at RBG Bar & Grill


Last week, we celebrated father's day at RBG Bar and Grill at Park Inn by Radisson Davao. The restaurant regularly offers promos during special occasions. This time, we availed their Father's day family meal. This meal is good for 8 people and it's priced at Php 2,299. 

The meal includes salad, soup, rice, two main courses, pizza, and a special father's day cake. The options for drinks are orange juice, lemonade, and ice tea. There is also a fruit platter served in the meal.

Salad

Pumpkin Soup

Fried Chicken

Beef Steak

Pizza

Fruit Platter (dalandan, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, and mango)

Father's day cake (with kit kat, oreo, and popcorn inside)

Their food is very good, no doubt about it. The only thing that concerned me was that food service was really slow. Their food service was fast the last time we dined here. I wonder why. Well, I hope this doesn't happen again in the future.

Follow their Facebook page for upcoming promos they do. 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/parkinndavao/

See you guys later!
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Thursday, June 16, 2016

Siem Reap Day Tour (Day 1)

It's the first day of touring Cambodia. But before that, we need to take breakfast first. Since our hotel doesn't serve breakfast, we have to dine outside. However, we don't know where to eat. Coming to Cambodia, we also want to eat their local cuisine. With that in mind, we asked a tuk tuk driver nearby where is his preferred eating place during breakfast. He said he will take us there. So we rode on his tuk tuk and brought us to LyLy Restaurant. 

LyLy Restaurant

One thing great about this restaurant is that there is free tea which is already on the table. You just get a small glass and drink up.


My aunts order some noodle soup, omelette, and some steamed buns. For me, I ordered Luc Lac beef with rice.

Luc Lac Beef w/ Rice

Don't know how to call this but let's call it "steamed bun" for now.

After eating, we ordered more steamed buns (not sure if that's the correct term) as take out (take away as they call it). We went back to the hotel after this as our guide will pick us up at 8 am. At 8 am, the adventure starts!

Royal Gardens

First stop is the Royal Gardens. This is located at the center of Siem Reap. It features a pool (somewhat) with four lions on the edges. There are also tall trees and flowers that decorate the place. You can also see tons of birds in cages nearby. You can buy them, release them from their cages and let them fly away. It's a cultural thing here in Cambodia.




Located nearby is the Royal Residence. This is where the king stays if he ever comes here. Located on the other side of the garden is the Grand Hotel d'Angkor, a luxury hotel.

Royal Residence

Grand Hotel d'Angkor

Wat Thmey (Killing Fields)

For the second stop, this unique pagoda serves as a memorial of Cambodia's turbulent past. The place contains skulls and bones of the victims of the Khmer Rouge. As usual, there is a temple inside for monks and other people to offer prayers. Lastly, there is a shop where you can buy souvenirs life silk, shirts, etc.


Skulls and Bones


Visiting Several Shops
D'mouj, one of the several shops we visited.

Since we still have time before we go to the Cambodian Cultural Village, our guide made us stop at several shops. He said the main products of this area are silk and silver. True enough, the places we visited are filled with them. However, we only bought a few things because most of the products are expensive. After some shopping, it's time to go to the Cambodian Cultural Village.

Cambodian Cultural Village
Entrance

At the entrance of this huge complex is the museum. In here you can see wax figures of Cambodians from its ancient past to the present. You will also see models of some animals that are common here.




As this complex is 210,000 square meters, it's very tiring to go to all of the places by foot. That's why the place offers a golf cart tour of the all the places inside the complex (with a fee off course; can't remember how much though). 

As the tour starts, we got to see miniature models of iconic places in Cambodia like the Royal Palace, and Phsar Thmey. You can also see a reclining Buddha. There are several models of cultural villages that you would normally see in Cambodia. After the tour, there is a souvenir shop where you can buy souvenirs (obviously). 

Miniature model of the Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

Miniature model of Phsar Thmey, Phnom Phenh

Reclining Buddha

Floating Village

Floating Village

We then proceed to the Millionaire house to see a traditional Khmer Wedding ceremony.




After seeing the show, we looked for vacant seats nearby so that we can sit and eat the steamed buns that we bought earlier at the LyLy restaurant.

To be honest, this place is not well visited. I think we're the only ones there during that time. Actually, our guide confirmed that this place rarely receives a lot of visitors. On the other hand, we're supposed to stay here up to 5 pm. Since it's very hot to explore the place and the next show starts at 4 pm, we decided to leave the place. Our next stop is at a local market.

Phsar Leu Market

This is one of the biggest markets here in Siem Reap. This market sells everything from fruits, meat, clothing, jewelry, and house essentials. After exploring inside, we went out and there's something unusual happening. School children lined up on the side of the street. Puzzled by this event, we asked a local about this. He said that the children are about to greet the king as the king will pass by the road at any moment. Due to the limited time we had, we need to get to our next stop immediately. We missed the chance to see the king passing by.


Floating Village

It is around a 30 minute drive from the center of Siem Reap. After the land trip, we took a boat to visit the floating village. After travelling along a river, we arrived at the edge of Tonle Sap Lake where the floating village is located.


We first stopped at a restaurant/ souvenir shop. You can see crocodiles that are contained here. Also, you can buy souvenirs like bags, wallets and belts that are made from crocodile skin. These souvenirs range from hundreds to thousands of dollars (Yikes! Too much!). We then go up to the top of the restaurant to get a bird's eye view of the floating village.








After taking several photos, we then passed by a church and school in the village. Then the driver of the boat let us drive the boat for a couple of seconds. Before we head back to land, we circled the village one more time. 




We were back at our hotel after a long day. We rested for a while before we head to dinner. 

Tonle Sap Restaurant

A friend of one of our companions actually reserved us a table here. We can't let that opportunity slide so we headed there for dinner. 

It is a huge buffet restaurant that features several Asian cuisines. Most tables here are normally reserved for tour companies for tourists to have dinner.  A unique feature of this restaurant is that there is a cultural show while people are having dinner. Performers will dance and sing to the history and culture of Cambodia.







After dinner, we returned to the hotel to rest for the night. 

That's it for day 1 of the Siem Reap Tour. The next post featured our tour of the three iconic temples of Cambodia.



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