Walking around Siem Reap + Apsara Dance & Cultural Show

Sometimes it's nice to have a free day just to explore a certain place. That is what we did on our last day in Siem Reap.

From Prohm Roth Guesthouse, we exited to the riverside and not the Pub Street side which I featured in my previous entry. You can see the surroundings in the video posted above and the pictures below. 

We went to the Old Market and Pub Street Area first. You can find lots of bargain items in Old Market. However, we bought most of our items from the Angkor Night Market. Tip: Khmer scarves like this are really affordable at 1 dollar each in Sothea Spices Shop (B 15, Angkor Night Market). He even gives a free scarf when you buy 5 scarves. Mr. Sothea also sells lipgloss. All his items come with a cute box. ^__^

After that, we hailed a tuktuk to the Killing Fields Memorial at Wat Thmei. If you want to visit the memorial, it is near the Jayavarman Children Hospital.

Having read reviews about the Blue Pumpkin Restaurant, we decided to give it a try. We were surprised to find out that the main branch is very close to the guesthouse we stayed in.

The top floor of Blue Pumpkin is very cozy. You can have breakfast, lunch or dinner in bed! :D

We took a rest first before we were picked up for our buffet dinner with Apsara Dance & Cultural Show in Koulen II Restaurant. In the video below you can see our journey to the restaurant while riding in a tuktuk/remork.

 I had fun watching the show. The apsara dancers were so graceful. I don't think I can dance like that with my two left feet, hehe.










This dance reminds me of our very own tinikling dance. :)





The buffet dinner and show was a perfect way to end our last day in picturesque Siem Reap. :)

Yehey! Finally, I finished my Vietnam-Cambodia blog post.  ^_^ I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. My upcoming blog posts will be about the Binondo Food Tour we did on the first week of August and Korean dining in Kkhachi Restaurant. Please watch out for it. Thanks and have a nice day to all. :)

Prohm Roth Guesthouse: A Recommended Guesthouse in Siem Reap

In Siem Reap, there are a lot of accommodation options. Our main criteria was a guesthouse with a  price within our budget and of course, a great location. I am happy that we made the right choice to stay in Prohm Roth Guesthouse. Below are the reasons why this guesthouse is highly recommended.

1.) Affordable and Clean Rooms - For only 15 dollars a night, we got to stay in a very big  and clean room which has two beds, TV, refrigerator and bathroom. Pickup from the bus station is also free. :)

Sorry, the other bed was cluttered with our things.

 TV and Refrigerator

2.) Cozy Interior - What I like about staying here is that it feels like staying at home. There is even a cozy second floor living room area.

Relax in a Lounge Chair

Second Floor Living Room w/ a View of Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple

3.) Friendly Staff - From the initial inquiry thru email, Meang was very accommodating. It was also nice that he knew some Tagalog words since he studied in Makati. Upon arriving at the guesthouse, he made sure that we knew our way around Pub Street and the Angkor Night Market by letting one of his staff accompany us. Meang also booked us really awesome seats for the Apsara and cultural show in Koulen II Restaurant. We were surprised but happy to be placed smack at the side of the stage that we could see the performance clearly.

Our seats were so near the stage. :)

Also, Meang's uncle, brothers and staff were also very friendly. They would always smile at us and greet us everytime we came back from the guesthouse. It was service with a personal touch. ^_^

Meang's Uncle, Mommy, Me, Meang's Brothers and Meang

4.) Great Location - If you want to be near Pub Street, Old Market and the Angkor Night Market, look no more. Staying in this guesthouse makes it so convenient to go to these places. You do not need to hail a tuktuk. You just need to walk for about 3 minutes and there you are in the  Pub Street Area where there are plenty of restaurants. Here is a video so you can see how close the guesthouse is:

It is so easy to just go out to eat or shop, go back to the guesthouse and out again! ^_^

Only 3 minutes walk to Pub Street

Old Market

I hope this review of mine would help you consider staying in Prohm Roth Guesthouse. I guarantee that staying here is money well spent and you will get to experience warm Khmer hospitality.

For more information, please visit the Prohm Roth Guesthouse website at http://prohmroth-guesthouse.com. You can also send an email to Meang at prohmroth_guesthouse@yahoo.com / smart_khmer@yahoo.com or text him at +855 12 466 495. ^__^

Beyond Angkor Wat: Ta Prohm, Baphuon and Bayon Temple

Ta Prohm – What one will notice about this temple are the trees. The trees are so massive that the roots began to overlap the temple walls. This is actually my favorite temple as one feels close to nature with its jungle surroundings. 

Have you seen Tomb Raider? Some scenes were shot in this temple and even at this particular spot.

See how huge the roots are? I feel so small, hehe. :D


Can you spot the hidden apsara? :)

Baphuon – what is interesting about this temple is that it is dubbed as the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle. It involved piecing together 300,000 sandstone blocks for many years! Though the restoration was completed in April, going inside the temple was not allowed. I guess this is for safety reasons.

A large arch welcomes visitors of the temple.

Before going to the temple, one must cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Bayon – the distinct characteristic of this temple are the smiling faces. It is said to be the face of Avalokitesvara, a Bodhisattva representing compassion. However, some say the face is of King VII.

Can you count how many faces there are in the picture? :)

Up close and personal



My Favorite Picture

Again, I want to thank our tour guide, Vann Seila, and his driver, Ram, for the wonderful tour around the temples.

I hope you would consider his services. :) Tour guide service is only $25 plus $30 for the car with driver. Here is the contact number of Seila: +85512942356.

Have a happy long weekend to everyone! I hope it will stop raining soon. ^__^

Angkor Wat: A Pride of Siem Reap, Cambodia

Did you know that in ANGKOR WAT,

..a man made moat surrounds the temple complex. 

..there are five doorways at the main entrance. The middle is for the king and royalty. The two doorways at the end are for animals. 


..a statue of Vishnu, Hindu Protector God, can be seen at the south side of the main entrance. Originally, Angkor Wat was created by King Suryavarman II to honor Vishnu.


..a library on each side can be seen as you walk across the long causeway. Symmetry is a noticeable feature in Angkor Wat.


..one of the most popular spots to take a picture is by the lake, which shows a reflection of the temple. It is said that the Angkor Wat is meant to represent Mount Meru.


..bas reliefs of Apsara dancers can be seen all throughout the temple. They also have different hairstyles.


..there are empty pools like this found in the Gallery of 1,000 Buddhas. Unfortunately, some Buddhas were stolen.


..stairs with metal railing were put up to help people climb up the tower and enjoy wonderful views like this:


..you can also enjoy the view from above by going on a hot air balloon ride as seen in this picture with the yellow hot air balloon in the background.


..you can have a photo taken for a small fee with people dressed in nice costumes. They will help you with trying the Apsara pose. :)




Did you know that you can learn this and much more if you hire a nice guide like Vann Seila. For inquiries, please send him a message at +85512942356. ^___^

PS. Please correct me if ever I wrote some wrong information. :)  Our trip was last July so my memory is a bit hazy. I will try to blog about the other temples and places in Siem Reap hopefully before this month ends.

PPS. I wish I had a DSLR camera or a good Canon P&S. Hope I can have one before my next travel so I can take better photos next time.

A Long BUT Comfortable Bus Ride to Siem Reap with the Mekong Express Bus

"Welcome to the Mekong Express Limousine Bus",

that was the steward's greeting to us on that day. Hearing the word "limousine", you might think that it is a fancy bus. Aside from having a toilet on board, it is just like any other bus.  In fact, it is more expensive compared to Sapaco since we paid 23 dollars for the tickets. Later on, I learned that you were not paying extra for the facilities. You pay extra for the service.

My mom and I were impressed from the time a Mekong Express staff came to pick us up.in Nguyen Khang Hotel around 6:45 am. Both of us were worried on how to carry our heavy bags along Pham Ngu Lao! Fortunately, we did not have to worry. The staff immediately carried our bags without hesitation. By the time we boarded the bus, we were oriented about the trip and were given immigration forms to fill up. Not only that, there were also free cool towels, snacks and bottled water. What I like the most is having a steward who you can ask regarding the trip.

I was surprised that the Moc Bai border is just near Ho Chi Minh! I know, I know, it is 2 hours already but for me it is already fast. I guess I am just used to commuting from Cavite to Manila during my college days, hehe. :D We arrived there past 9:00am. There were no other people inside so the process was very fast. Just a tip though. You need to carry your bags when you go through the Moc Bai Immigration so prepare your things as soon as you catch a glimpse of the immigration.

We had a funny experience when we went past the Ba Vet Immigration in Cambodia. The officers in the quarantine section saw that we were Filipino and started asking us, "saan kayo pupunta?" ^_^ If I did not know that they were Cambodians, I would have thought they were also Filipino too because we look alike.

What is noticeable when you arrive in Ba Vet, Cambodia is that there are so many casinos near the border.  Wow! I think my aunt would enjoy traveling here. :) We stopped for a 15 minute break in Flowery Restaurant. You will also stop in the same restaurant when you go back to Ho Chi Minh.

We were not even halfway through the trip so I tried my best not to get bored. I tried to catch up on some zzzzzzs and just spend idle time gazing by the window. I love the scenery as it is just like here in the Philippines.

I was surprised when the bus suddenly stopped. I thought that there was something wrong but no, the bus just had to cross the river via a ferry. :) Here is a picture I took of the river on the way  back to Ho Chi Minh. I saw a man swimming there even though it is a rainy day.  I wonder how deep the river is.

We arrived in Phnom Penh at about 1:30 pm to have our lunch break and ride a bus to Siem Reap. Fortunately, there is a Mekong Express office so we were able to leave our heavy strollers there. I had an upset stomach in Vietnam the previous day and was still feeling sick at that time so we looked for a familiar food. We were lucky to stumble upon a nearby KFC. :)

After our almost 1 hour break, we had another six hours of travel to Siem Reap! Fortunately, there was no idle time because we met Kuya Jr, a fellow kababayan who is currently working as a teacher in Phnom Penh. My mom and I got to chat with him, learning about his life in Cambodia and just exchanging point of views on certain issues. Chatting is such a good way to pass time that we almost did not notice that we were already near the last stop over, Kampong Thom.

We had another break in Kampong Thom then back on the road again. It was getting dark at that time and I was already excited to arrive at the destination. I think it took a lot of patience to survive the last few hours, hehe. Can you guess what time we arrive in Siem Reap? We arrived at 8:40 pm. If you count our travel time from 7:00am to 8:40 pm, it would be 13 hours and 40 minutes! I never would have thought I can last that long sitting inside a bus nursing a stomachache! I am thankful for that. :)

I am also thankful for a safe journey. Nowadays, there are news of bus accidents like what happened  to the bus that fell in the skyway and the night bus accident. :( As passengers, we rely on drivers to take us to our destination safely. I saw how careful the drivers of Mekong Express were in both our long trips. I felt safe and sleeping was comfortable because I did not feel like I was in a rollercoaster like how some reckless drivers like to drive.

To sum it up, the bus ride from Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap (and vice versa) was very long but it was a comfortable one. If you have enough time, I recommend that you take a bus to Cambodia. The difference between a plane ticket ($100+) and a bus ticket ($23) is high. Not only will you get to save money but you will also get to savor the views and the culture of the country as well.^__^