Intro-Traveller: 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

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.