It’s the continuation of the Kimi no Na wa seichi junrei (聖地巡礼 – anime pilgrimage) in Gifu Prefecture – but this time in the town of Hida-Furukawa.
Just in the area of HIDA-FURUKAWA STATION, I was already able to capture 3 shots similar to Kimi no Na wa frames!
It’s the continuation of the Kimi no Na wa seichi junrei (聖地巡礼 – anime pilgrimage) in Gifu Prefecture – but this time in the town of Hida-Furukawa.
NOVEMBER 21, 2018
Touchdown Hida-Furukawa Station!
Just in the area of HIDA-FURUKAWA STATION, I was already able to capture 3 shots similar to Kimi no Na wa frames:
No train was passing by at the time though…
Then from the train station, it was a 5-minute walk to HIDA CITY LIBRARY. I showed an image of the Kimi no Na wa poster to one of the librarians and she gave me an ID pass. Picture taking was not allowed and complete silence must be observed. Not surprising though that the area for Kimi no Na wa fan dedication was already gone during this visit as it has been 2 years already since it premiered.
Look who I met in the library again!
Next stop was SAKURA BUSSANKAN/GIFT SHOP where they sell various Kimi no Na wa souvenirs such as the container similar to kuchikamizake and Taki’s bracelet. They also offer a 30-minute kumihimo braiding lesson so that you can craft your own bracelet. Fee ranges from ¥500 to ¥1,500, depending on the type of bracelet. I wanted to try it but I was too shy to ask. 😦
Kuchikamizake (but cleanly processed and prepared!)
My happy face after going around Hida-Furukawa
Since there was nothing to do anymore and there was still more than 2 hours before the train back to Nagoya, I decided to go to one of the recommended GOHEI MOCHI places in the tourist map. Gohei mochi is a sticky white rice cake coated in miso sauce and has this grilled/smoky taste. It is a featured snack in Kimi no Na wa as seen in this frame with Taki, Tsukasa, and Okudera:
Apparently, gohei mochi is a popular snack in the region because I saw lots of stalls offering this in the other areas I visited in Chubu region. Didn’t enjoy this so much though… After an hour, it was time to go to KETA WAKAMIYA SHRINE, the last stop in this Kimi no Na wa seichi junrei. It was about a 30-minute walk and I didn’t see any mode of public transpo in the area.
These kids were walking in the same direction and I got surprised when they turned around to say “konnichiwa!”. So kawaii!
Finally reached the shrine!
Still had about an hour left before the train arrives so it was a deliberately slow walk to take in all the sights of this small town before I leave.
Good thing there was a waiting area in the train station because by the time I got there, the temperature was already 5C. There were also vendo machines which had hot tea so I was saved.
Back in Nagoya Station, dinner was supposed to be in a mazesoba restaurant because they had gyoza but the line was still long even if it was already past 9PM. Settled for this restaurant which serves oyakodon, one of the famous Nagoya-meshi. I got this set which had oyakodon + soup + kushikatsu with miso sauce. I also ordered my favorite Japan alcoholic drink – chu-hi. I chose the yuzu flavor since I hadn’t tried it yet.
Everything was yummy and the serving size for oyakodon was
big that I had to force myself to finish it. I am not sure if I understood it
correctly that the restaurant uses Nagoya cochin for their chicken dishes – a
premium chicken breed which has a flavorful meat than the usual.
Before heading back to the hotel, we passed by Club Sega and I saw one of the UFO machines containing Nyanko-sensei pillows (from Natsume Yuujinchou). Ugh, if only I had good skills or at least a really good luck.
NYANKO-SENSEI!
Anyway, that’s it for Gifu prefecture and the Kimi no Na wa pilgrimage. Kyoto adventure will be up next!
For my last tour day in Bangkok, my initial plan was just to go to a sky bar and night market so my morning and afternoon were both free. I was able to talk to D, a high school batch mate, the night before and he recommended TERMINAL 21 because of the quirky theme per floor. I decided to give it a shot since I had no plans anyway.
MARCH 18-19, 2016
For my last tour day in Bangkok, my initial plan was just to go to a sky bar and night market so my morning and afternoon were both free. I was able to talk to D, a high school batch mate, the night before and he recommended TERMINAL 21 because of the quirky theme per floor. I decided to give it a shot since I had no plans anyway.
Took the BTS since there is a walkway connecting to the mall… and indeed, each floor had its own country theme. I spent a few hours going around here and buying a few more items for myself and my family.
The first floor I was in had the theme of Rome, Italy. Note that this is not the ground floor though.
The next floor exhibits Japanese theme. I was excited to check out all the clothing stores since I expected them to be the style I like… and it did not disappoint! I did not purchase anything though since I was limiting my budget for this day. I will be back for sure, though!
The next floor had a theme from London, specifically the London Underground.
Going up another floor transported me to the floor with Turkish theme. Those lights are TDF!!! I wanted to sneakily take them home.
Up another floor and the restroom had a navy theme.
The topmost floor was where the food court was located. Not sure what the theme was though but the sinks were in different colors.
Similar to food court in Platinum Fashion Mall and MBK, I exchanged baht for a card with load. I settled for a noodle dish that had duck slices. I already knew that what I ordered had a weird sauce but I was hoping it would taste good… Nah, it really tasted weird so I ended up eating the duck slices only, which were really delicious! Plus the cucumber slices and leafy vegetable.
For dessert, I bought mango with sticky rice and this made me forget about the weird-tasting noodles. The mango was really sweet and the sticky rice had a bit of a nutty taste that I loved.
I went back to Mooncome Homestay after my late lunch and took a nap. After my nap, I prepared for my visit to a sky bar and left the house. Google Maps insisted on taking BTS then switching to a bus so that I can reach Banyan Hotel. But, since I learned that some buses do not follow the bus stops, I persisted in looking for a route that would just entail BTS. I found one (put route here)
From the station, I walked for about 15 minutes before reaching Banyan Sky Tree. I was wishing silently that the place was not yet crowded. When I reached VERTIGO GRILL & MOON BAR, there were less than 10 customers only. Yay!
I ordered a mojito mocktail since I had no plans to dine here. The prices are ridiculously expensive. I have no idea how their food tastes so I really can’t judge the value for money. My mocktail tasted really great though. It tastes like mojito but without the alcohol kick. Perfect drink while watching the sunset from the 61st floor.
A few minutes after 6PM, I hurriedly went back to Mooncome Homestay to meet up with Katy & Benz. The previous night, I asked Arm if he was free to join me in visiting Rot Fai Market but he was not so I decided to ask Katy. She was free and so was Benz so my last night in Bangkok would be with friends. Yay!
We visited the ROT FAI MARKET IN RATCHADA because the flagship one (which was what I wanted to visit originally) was too far from the city. Since it was a Friday night, traffic was bad and there were lots of people in the market.
We looked for a stall that had free seats and we ended up in a stall that sells boat noodles. I was fine with this since the boat noodles in Victory Monument was okay so I had no high expectations. Surprisingly, this one tasted better! The serving was quite bigger so we only ordered one bowl each.
Benz also bought squid mixed with chili, green peppers, and other condiments. I forgot to ask what this was called but it was really delicious! The squid was cooked well so it was not chewy, and the spiciness was tolerable.
After eating dinner, we started going around each stall in the market since I wanted to buy a few vintage clothes. I was able to accomplish this mission and before we left, we decided to have some desserts.
Had those sinfully good toasts again — one with milk, another with Milo powder, and one more with chocolate and banana slices. All of them tasted good, even the chocolate one was not too sweet.
So thankful for Katy and Benz because they went beyond being Airbnb hosts. They gave me free ride during our trip to Rot Fai Market, and they paid for our dinner and desserts. We also had fun talking to each other. I will surely book with them again when I visit Bangkok again because these two are now my friends. Katy’s parents were also welcoming, especially her mom who I was able to talk to every breakfast time.
Went home before 10PM since I had to leave early morning the next day for my flight. Katy helped me by calling a cab that would fetch me from Mooncome Homestay and take me to the airport.
So the next morning, Katy was there to send me off and make sure that I did not leave anything in the room. With a heavy heart, I looked at the place I called home during my Bangkok solo trip and bid it goodbye.
I reached the airport earlier than expected and since I had some more time before boarding, I ate breakfast. I chose a Thai restaurant and ordered noodle soup. I realized that I kept on ordering noodle dishes in Thailand instead of rice dishes. LOL.
Our flight (via Cebu Pacific) left on time so I was able to arrive in Manila on time as well. Looking back at the past few days that I spent in Bangkok alone, I was happy to find out that my first solo trip went well and I truly enjoyed it. This trip is very precious to me because people know me as an introvert and shy person. It also made me discover and know more about myself — I can handle things on my own, I have a good sense of direction, I can initiate conversations with people (but I need to make sure first that they look friendly) if I wanted to, and a lot more things.
Bangkok is such a piece of gem and I will definitely be back soon. More importantly, I am quite excited to do another solo trip in the future. 🙂
Similar to our first day, Mr. Kim fetched us from our home before 5AM so that we can do our 1st activity, which is to watch sunrise at ANGKOR WAT. We decided to enter Angkor Wat using the popular West Gate since the route using East Gate was way longer than this one.
FEBRUARY 21, 2016
Similar to our first day, Mr. Kim fetched us from our home before 5AM so that we can do our 1st activity, which is to watch sunrise at ANGKOR WAT. We decided to enter Angkor Wat using the popular West Gate since the route using East Gate was way longer than this one. We could not imagine making our way through the darkness using East Gate — need to pass through the land with monkeys, enter numerous areas, and climb multiple flights of stairs before we reach the pond where people await for the sunrise.
Once we got off our tuktuk, we ran from the West Gate entrance until we reached the pond. Ideally, I wanted the spot right in front of the water but I did not have high hopes for this. I was right because by the time we got there, lots of people were already standing near the water. I spotted a rock in front of the pond where Kim and I would fit. It was as if the universe conspired to enable us to watch the sunrise with an excellent view!
One of the best things during downtime period of exploring is being able to talk to other tourists and share stories. A small group of French tourists who were sitting beside us asked if we knew the time for sunrise. After that, we talked a bit about where we were from then their near travel to the Philippines.
A few minutes after 6AM, I looked behind my back to check out the crowd gathered… To say that there was a large crowd is a total understatement. If I were to estimate the number of people there, it was at least 200 people.
Good thing we were able to secure good sitting spots for the sunrise. We were able to see the sun rising behind Angkor Wat, and it was one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen in this lifetime. When we exited the temple, Mr. Kim stopped our tuktuk after less than a minute of ride. He pointed to where Angkor Wat was and even the view outside was also awesome.
The best thing though that I saw when we were at that spot was Mr. Kim and other locals taking out their phones to capture the sunrise. It made me realize that even if they see the sunrise there frequently, they still get mesmerize by its beauty.
Our 2nd destination for the day was TA PROHM, which is very famous as one of the location sets for the Tomb Raider film. While on the way to Ta Prohm, we passed by the South Gate of Angkor Thom. Mr. Kim stopped the tuktuk and asked us if we wanted to take pictures there. Of course, we said yes!
We were at Ta Prohm a few minutes after 7AM and we were surprised it was closed. Mr. Kim told us that opening time is at 7:30AM and when we looked at our ticket, yeah it was indicated there. We decided to have breakfast in the only eatery near Ta Prohm. Ugh, food was not good so we just drank lots of water to feel full. T.T After eating, we rushed inside Ta Prohm since tourists were starting to pour in.
Ta Prohm is famous structures that are being ran over by humongous roots of trees. It looked fascinating as you see the struggle of a historical piece versus nature… But, we do hope that there is a way that the buildings will not crumble or get destroy because of the roots. We saw some supports inside the structure so this is most likely one step of preserving the buildings there.
This is another place with a huge space, probably bigger than Pre Rup. One can easily get lost here because there are numerous doorways, hallways, and structures. Good thing that there are arrows that point towards the exit so if you feel like you are lost, just follow the directions.
We got lost at one point and when we were about to start retracing our steps, an employee asked us if we were looking for the Tomb Raider spot. We already found one and took pictures there so we were not that interested anymore. Despite that, we still answered yes. He gave us directions since the spot was near. We thought that it was the same spot we went to earlier… apparently not. There were a few tourists lining up to take their pictures so we followed them.
When it was our turn, I asked the kind old man behind me to take pictures. Funny because when he saw the picture he took, he jokingly said that he should probably start taking up photography. Here’s the picture he took of us…
Processed with VSCO with c2 preset
After this, we retraced our steps to the main entrance since Mr. Kim was waiting for us there instead of the exit side. When we were on our way to Ta Keo, turns out that the exit side was crazy — full of vans, mini buses, and loooots of tuktuk so it would be difficult to spot ours if he waited there.
Our 3rd stop that day was TA KEO. Relatively smaller than Pre Rup, probably similar area size as East Mebon. The stairs leading to the main area of Ta Keo was steep even if there was just less than 10 steps. Right after entering, we saw a couple going down this flight of stairs which has big and steep steps. Uhh, my first thought was to take a pass because going down at that side seemed dangerous (we found out later that exit should not be done there since that part was more of an entrance…).
As usual, Kim bravely climbed the steep steps. She stopped halfway and I took her pictures. After she got down, I told myself to overcome my fear so I climbed halfway too. I was right that getting down was hard because one wrong step could make you fall. After I got down, Kim climbed again up to the very top. This woman loves challenges and it seems like she does not fear anything. 😉
We went around the temple and we found a set of wooden stairs. We climbed it and we thought there would be more wooden stairs that would take us to the very top… Wrong! What lied ahead of us were pure rock steps that were big and steep. What else to do but be brave and climb it.
Climbing all those steep steps was worth it since the view above was rewarding. I told myself to just worry about going down if it was already time to go down. Phew. Even if it was just about 10AM, the heat was starting to become unbearable so it was a good thing there were parts there with shade.
After resting a bit, there was another long flight of rock stairs to be able to get to the topmost tower. I already passed on this one because my knees were starting to shake a bit so I was not confident if I could go down properly once we finished seeing the topmost tower. We decided to go down and even if the steps were steep, I realized that there is enough space for my small feet to go down without any worry.
When we returned to our tuktuk, we were surprised when Mr. Kim handed us a plastic of sliced unripe mangoes with salt + crushed chili as dip. We were familiar with salt as dip since this is also done in the Philippines (bagoong is another kind of dip which I prefer more), but seeing the crushed chili mixed in it was new to us. I was happy that the unripe mango was not that sour and dipping it in the salt + chili was a perfect combo. If it wasn’t for my low tolerance for spiciness, I would have eaten more. Kim finished about 2/3 of what Mr. Kim bought. 🙂
Our next stop was ANGKOR THOM, which is a huuuge complex that where you can a number of temples to explore. There are 4 gates here, but South and East are the more popular ones. If the temperature was more bearable, we would have done the “Wall Walk” where you start your adventure at one gate then walk by following the walls of Angkor Thom. I read some travelers doing this, and they said that it was a unique and different experience compared to just visiting tempeles. It would probably take about 2 hours since Angkor Thom complex is way bigger than Angkor Wat.
Our first destination inside Angkor Thom was the Terraces. Mr. Kim dropped us off here and told us that we can walk to visit the different areas we wanted to see in Angkor Thom so our meet-up would be in the West Gate of Bayon. We visited TERRACES OF THE ELEPHANTS and TERRACES OF THE LEPER KING but since these were out in the open, we did not last for 10 minutes. It was too hot already even if it was just 10:30AM.
PHIMEANAKAS was our next stop in Angkor Thom. We only spent a few minutes here then moved on to walk to our next stop…
We followed the trail going to BAPHUON and when we saw the open space, we just laughed weakly since we were not sure how we would last under the heat. However, when we saw from afar that people were climbing stairs to get to the topmost part, this was enough to revive our spirits. We had a goal to accomplish in Baphuon!
I initially thought that we were going to climb using rock stairs again but they had wooden stairs with railing instead. Yay because I do not need to make big steps! The climb was still quite scary though because the railing was too thin. A lot of people were holding it for support so whenever one of them accidentally shook the railing, we could feel it and the vibrations. I was just doing a silent prayer that the stairs would keep its hold.
Upon reaching the top, the climb was worth it! Well at that point, I felt that all climbs we did in temples were all worth it especially when we see the view from our vantage point. We spent around 15 minutes in the area before descending. Heat was already unbearable at that point.
Our last stop before exiting Angkor Thom and having our lunch was BAYON. Famous for the numerous stone carvings of faces, it was not surprising to see tourists flock this place.
We did not mind the crowd at this point as a lot of travelers shared online that Bayon is eternally crowded. Only downtime would be during opening time, lunch time, and closing time. Our only problem was that we were out in the open so the heat was really a killer. At some point, Kim already sat down under a shade to rest. I roamed around some more to admire the faces and take pictures, then decided to sit beside Kim.
That was the time when we saw a solo traveler who was really good-looking. *-* We eventually made small talk with him by asking him to take a picture of us using my Instax then in return, Kim took his picture. We jokingly told each other that this guy became the main highlight of the trip instead of the Angkor Wat sunrise.
We made our way back to our tuktuk, and Mr. Kim brought us to back to the restaurants near Angkor Wat. He chose a different restaurant since we told him we were not happy with our lunch at Angkor Reach Restaurant before. We ordered fried spring rolls, squid with peppercorn, and a noodle dish. This time around, we were happy kids because everything tasted good.
We went back to our Airbnb lodging after lunch so that we can rest. During our official first day in Siem Reap, we saw that the pool was not that clean so we asked Bunthai if the pool can be cleaned over the weekend. When we returned, we saw her near the gate and told us that the pool was newly cleaned. We rushed to our rooms so that we can change swimwear and took our time in the pool. Definitely a must do to beat the heat!
After swimming then resting, Mr. Kim fetched us so that we can return to Angkor Park. Our 9th stop inside the park was PHNOM BAKHENG, which is a famous spot for watching sunset. We had to be there before 4PM since the temple only allows maximum of 300 people at the topmost part. We thought that the walk to the temple was just short but we were surprised that it turned into a short hike. Walk was between 8-10 minutes and when we reached the line, an employee approached us and told us we cannot enter because of our sleeveless tops. A few travelers mentioned that women can enter with sleeveless tops as long as the shoulders are covered. Mine was a short-sleeved top while Kim had a vest on top of her top that covers her shoulders. Since we were not permitted, we had to go back to our tuktuk and find another place to watch the sunset.
I think this one is worth mentioning before I move on to where we eventually watched sunset — near the starting point of the short hike to Phnom Bakheng, I saw an attraction where people can ride an elephant for a certain fee. PLEASE, DO NOT RIDE ELEPHANTS especially in Thailand and Cambodia where their spirits are broken through torture and isolation. BE A RESPONSIBLE TOURIST! Here are a few articles to help convince you:
When we reached the parking lot, I already had Pre Rup in mind as a place for sunset since other travelers recommended this as an alternative to Phnom Bakheng. Still, I asked Mr. Kim just to check a local’s perspective. He recommended PRE RUP so I was fully convinced that this would be our 10th and final stop in the park.
We climbed to the topmost part of Pre Rup and took a rest under a shade since it was just 4PM. A few minutes before 5PM, we sat on one part of the edge so that no one would block our view as we watch the sunset.
After the sunset, I asked Mr. Kim to take us to TOUICH RESTAURANT for dinner. He asked us if we made any reservation since it was a popular place, and I said yes. Good thing there were travelers who shared online that while the place accepts walk-ins, reservation is still recommended to ensure seats. You can shoot them an e-mail here for reservation: touich.restaurant@gmail.com.
When we got there, we were the first customers to arrive. We thought that that night might probably be an off-peak day but we were wrong since after an hour, the place was already full. A friendly reminder when going to this place — bring a mosquito repellant since there were quite a lot of mosquitoes around. That will save you from all the annoying bites.
We ordered Banana Flower Salad with Chicken, Sand and Salt Grilled Red Snapper, and “Loc Lac” Beef Stir-fried with Fried Rice. Similar to Marum, their prices are not dirt cheap. Our total bill was about USD 20 but we did not mind since every penny was worth it.
The banana flower salad was good for 2 people. We loved the hint of citrus flavor in the vinaigrette they used plus puso ng saging is a favorite of mine.
When the snapper dish arrived, we stared at it with a puzzled look. We looked at the server and she asked us if it was our first time to order this. We nodded our heads and she proceeded with opening the leaf. She expertly removed most of the fish bones using just utensils, leaving the meat part only. Amazing! The meat was soft, flavorful but not too salty. Initially we wanted grilled squid but we changed our mind when the server recommended this when we were ordering.
Remember when we had a bad experience on beef loc lac 2 days ago? We were expecting that Touich’s version would be 5x better… and it did not disappoint! The beef had the right amount of saltiness, not overpowering. It tasted like the salty beef tapa here in MNL. The sauce that came with the dish was also a perfect pair with the loc lac. The kick of spicy flavor was a good welcome to our palate, not sure if it was ground peppercorn.
After our dinner, we went to Pub Street to have a massage at Lemongrass Garden Massage & Beauty Spa but we had to wait more than an hour before being entertained. Mr. Kim took us to a massage place that his friend manages. We had to wait for more than 30 minutes before getting a massage. We took a pass and decided to just go home since we had to wake up very early the next day.
We walked to Il Forno (located in the alley beside Red Piano) for lunch, and we were both excited to eat since we love Italian food.
Also excited for our ATV ride with QUAD ADVENTURE CAMBODIA.
FEBRUARY 20, 2016
Kim and I started our 2nd day quite late since it was a day off for us for Angkor Park. Mr. Kim, our tuktuk driver, picked us up from our house at past 9AM and dropped us at Pub Street. Since we had not yet eaten breakfast, we went around the area and found Father’s Restaurant. I told Kim that I saw a few blogs recommending the place but I could not recall what dishes were recommended. We decided to go inside and just order what we feel like eating…
We were lucky that both food items we ordered tasted good. I had to remove a few herbs from the fresh spring rolls since these made the food cloying to me. After our late breakfast, we visited every stall in the market near Pub Street so that we could shop for souvenirs.
We walked to Il Forno (located in the alley beside Red Piano) for lunch afterwards, and we were both excited to eat since we love Italian food.
Our same spot in Il Forno when we dined twice during our last day in Siem Reap
Pizza Prosciutto & Funghi
Ravioli That’s Amore – part of their special menu that week; homemade ravioli stuffed with parma ham and ricotta served with cherry tomato and rucola
The pizza was so good and we ended up finishing all slices. Both Kim and I do not eat crust but Il Forno’s pizza crust was thin and chewy so we also got to eat this part. Of course, we did not pass up the chance to order ravioli as this is another favorite of ours. After our excellent lunch, we found out that there were a few more stalls nearby so we shopped for pasalubong clothes.
We also visited the Day Market which was a few blocks away. I was able to buy a small legit leather bag for my mom. The kind vendor gave me a discount of USD 15 (from USD 35 to 20) so yay for that!
Even if it was just early afternoon, the heat was already unbearable so we decided to eat ice cream in Blue Pumpkin. I saw a lot of people raving about it so I had high expectations. Well, the ice cream was good but not really something that I would hype about. The air-conditioned store was heaven though because it kept us safe from the heat. T.T
After finishing our ice cream, we asked Mr. Kim to take us back home so that we could rest before our ATV ride scheduled for late afternoon. We asked him to pick us up again at 4PM then drop us off near Red Piano since that was our meeting place with an employee from QUAD ADVENTURE CAMBODIA.
We found Nico (the employee) and his tuktuk near Red Piano, and he drove us to a part of Siem Reap that already resembled countryside. Once there, we were given orientation on the sunset ATV ride we availed (USD 32). Since Kim and I do not drive a car and have never tried riding an ATV, we were given an ATV drive test. We both failed so we ended up with a guide riding behind us so that they could maneuver the ATV if it was already difficult for us.
The whole ride took about an hour. The best part with the ATV ride was we can stop whenever we want to, if we wanted to take pictures or just admire the view.
We also passed by a lot of locals and most of the kids we encountered happily waved to us. Hopefully, they were not too disturbed by the loud noise that the ATV made. Our first stop was at a big fish pond where we could feed the fish…
We rode our ATV again afterwards and proceeded to our last stop where we could watch the sun set…
Beautiful sunset to end our day
When we finished our ATV ride, Nico drove us back to Pub Street since Kim and I plan to feel the night life in this place. We ate at TRIANGLE where the dining area was out in the open. We ordered fresh spring rolls, barbecue, and flat noodles that was cooked like pancit here… Only the spring rolls tasted good. It was such a letdown because the place has a TripAdvisor sticker + their specialty is grilled food. The meat in the barbecue was too tough to chew and the veggies on the stick were quite soggy. As for the flat noodles, it tasted bland. *sigh*
Good thing we would drop by MISS WONG after this so we decided to just order food there aside from cocktails…
We ordered these cocktails and two servings of Steamed Shrimp Har Gow. If it was not that expensive, we would have ordered more servings. I liked the Passion Fruit Cosmopolitan I ordered but the alcohol was too strong for me. I still ended up with palpitations even if I added water into it. T.T Kim’s Lemon Grass Collins was better since it did not have strong alcohol kick and taste.
Passion Fruit Cosmopolitan
Lemon Grass Collins
We went to another drinking place after this but only Kim ordered a mug of beer since it would be bad for me if I did the same. Not a fan of beer anyway so I did not mind. We walked around Pub Street some more before meeting up with Mr. Kim…
While walking back to our tuktuk, Mr. Kim pointed to the fried ice cream stall. We initially wanted to buy here earlier but the stall was still closed. We looked at Mr. Kim and told him we would buy one before going home. We found the serving to be good for sharing at that time since we were quite full already. We chose mango and dragon fruit to be mixed together then had mango bits as toppings. Oh, it was perfect for the humid weather. We were able to gobble it up after a few bites while riding our tuktuk on the way home.
Called it a night after arriving at our house as we had to get up early the following day to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat.
Our 1st activity was to watch the sunrise in SRAS SRANG. We were already there a few minutes past 5AM and it was really dark. Kim and I were a bit afraid to go alone and find a spot since we might fall down (too paranoid lol). Mr. Kim, our tuktuk driver, seemed to sense it so he offered to accompany us.
FEBRUARY 18-19, 2016
Kim (my best friend) and I booked a trip for Siem Reap last month. Our flight to Siem Reap was scheduled on the evening of 18th. There was a 30-minute delay but we did not mind it that much.
We arrived at Siem Reap International Airport at around 10PM (Siem Reap is 1 hour behind Manila). We had a tuktuk driver, Mr. Somnang, who would pick us up from the airport. He was recommended by our Airbnb host. Charge is USD 7. Yup, Siem Reap uses USD as currency especially for tourists. I read in forums and blogs that it is better to already have USD with you rather than having it exchange in Siem Reap since some money changers can rip you off. Do not exert effort anymore to exchange USD to Cambodian riel.
The ride from the airport to our Airbnb home is about 20 minutes. Bunthai, our kind host, waited for us even if it was already quite late. She showed us to our room and briefed us on other details we should take note of during our stay. We chose to stay in her listing (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5140353) because of the following:
Near proximity to Angkor Archaeological Park (just 5 minutes away by tuktuk)
Clean bedroom (with aircon) and bathroom
Strong and reliable Internet/Wi-Fi connection
Has swimming pool — perfect for the hot weather
Responsive and accommodating host
Last but not the least, very affordable rate per night
After settling down in our “home” for the next five days, we decided to call it a night since our tuktuk driver for our Angkor Archaeological Park trip would pick us up at 4:45AM.
The next morning (02/19) Mr. Kim, our tuktuk driver, picked us up from our Airbnb home. He was able to speak with Bunthai and get directions how to get to our place since it does not have an address.
Upon arriving in Angkor Park, we bought a 3-day pass for USD 40. They took a picture of us first then printed the ticket with our own picture in it. Do not lose this pass because every temple you go to checks this before you get to enter the place.
How did we go about our temple run adventure in Angkor Park? I researched itineraries shared online on avoiding crowds, compared each one of them, and came up with my own. The itinerary in this travel series is quite similar to one of the itineraries I encountered online (forgot though where I found it T.T). I’m proud to say that with the route I made (and with a dash of luck), we experienced very few to no crowd at all in most temples we visited. The only exceptions are Angkor Wat and Bayon which are crowded any time of the day, and Phnom Bakeng which is very popular during sunset time.
Our 1st activity was to watch the sunrise in SRAS SRANG. We were already there a few minutes past 5AM and it was really dark. Kim and I were a bit afraid to go alone and find a spot since we might fall down (too paranoid lol). Mr. Kim seemed to sense it so he offered to accompany us. He told us some details about the place then he showed us a picture of him as a student. Apparently, he is currently studying nursing and working as a tuktuk driver helps in his education.
How did I end up with Mr. Kim as our tuktuk driver? I was researching about Siem Reap when I chanced upon a blog that recommended him. I checked out Mr. Kim’s website (Kim Cambodia Driver) and found his rates for tuktuk driving. His rates are reasonable — either at par or cheaper than other tuktuk drivers. In addition, we had unlimited bottled water supply for the whole day, and he stored these in a cooler so we always feel refreshed. Prior to arriving in Cambodia, we talked to each other through e-mail and I had a gut feeling already that he was kind. I have a more detailed review of him in my post on our last day in Siem Reap: https://itskeanne.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/siem-reap-day-5-shopping-more-food-trip/.
Back to Sras Srang — when we already found a good spot, Mr. Kim went back to the parking area. A few tourists started coming at past 6AM…
Watching the sunrise made me feel grateful to be alive as I get to witness the beauty of nature. We took some pictures after and asked another tourist to take a shot of the two of us.
After Sras Srang, we decided to have breakfast first. We asked Mr. Kim to take us to a place he would recommend and he picked Angkor Reach Restaurant, which is located near Angkor Wat. We were quite hungry already and since it was not yet that hot, Kim and I decided to get flat noodle soup (chicken for me, pork for her). We both loved our food plus it was quite cheap compared to the other international breakfast food items they have.
After breakfast, our 2nd stop in the park was PRASAT KRAVAN. No one was around when we arrived so we had the place all to ourselves at first. After a few minutes, a small group of tourists arrived although they also left early.
After taking some pictures, our 3rd stop was PRE RUP. We were quite shocked to see it up close since the place was huge and there was a long, steep flight of rock stairs at the main area. We were already excited to explore the place after seeing these.
After almost an hour of roaming around Pre Rup, our 4th destination was EAST MEBON. It originally stood on an artificial island as it was surrounded by East Baray reservoir. However, it is now dry so no more water around. A unique point of East Mebon are the elephants found in each corner of the 2nd level.
The place was quite small so it took us a short time to explore the place. After this, our 5th stop was TA SOM. I fell in love with Ta Som right away because it was surrounded by nature, particularly huge trees. When we reached the end of the area, it was there where we saw a structure that resembled part of Ta Prohm (based from what I initially saw in pictures).
Checking out the other side before entering…
…The view from the other side! Similar to Ta Prohm, eh?
We traced back our steps to the parking area and headed to our 6th stop — NEAK PEAN. We walked a looooong path before reaching the main area of Neak Pean. From a distance, we could hear a traditional instrumental music playing. Turns out the people playing music were men who were victims of land mine. I did not read any scam about this so I left money in their small basket.
Braving the intense heat at around 11AM
After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the main area. A LOT of tourists were already there but good thing they were not blocking the structures in the area.
Our 7th destination after this was PREAH KHAN. We walked a pathway of trees before entering the temple proper.
Tourists having fun posing here… but after 5 minutes, they were not done here so we had to move on T.T
We went back to Angkor Reach Restaurant for lunch but it was very disappointing. We ordered lok lak, fish amok, and a breakfast item… and nothing tasted delicious. Total disappointment since we were looking forward to tasting Cambodian cuisine. 😦
In the afternoon, our 8th (and last) stop for the day was ANGKOR WAT so that we can see the buildings lighted by the sunset. We entered through the East Gate since I read a few bloggers recommending this route if we wanted to get a good spot for sunrise. There were lots of monkeys around and one of them tried to steal my water bottle. T.T But the view of Angkor Wat from the East Gate was awesome — since the sun was already at the other side, it illuminated the whole temple.
Did we enter Angkor Wat using this gate for sunrise during our 2nd day trip in the park? Find out here. 😉
Angkor Wat – view from East Gate
It took us more than an hour to explore the place as Angkor Wat is insanely huuuge. It was a good thing this was our last stop for the day so we could take our time to go around. I read that visitors can climb the highest tower in the temple. We were supposed to do so but the line was so long + out in the open so the heat of the sun was a killer. We just moved on to the other areas of Angkor Wat.
After taking pictures here and there, we went to a spot with very few people to watch the Angkor Wat get illuminated by sunset. Since this is the only temple facing west, it is more ideal to watch the sunrise here; but, I do agree with other travelers that being present here during sunset is a sight to behold as well.
After a whole day in Angkor Park, I told Mr. Kim that we will have dinner in Cuisine Wat Damnak. When we got there, we were told that we should have a reservation to be entertained. This was quite weird to me because I researched about the place and no one mentioned that it was just a reservation-only place. I decided to take Kim to Marum Restaurant instead.
Marum is managed by an NGO that focuses on helping street children and marginalized youth. Most of the staff are students in training but during our visit, I saw two people who had “teacher” at the back of their shirt. Curious on what kind of food they have? This restaurant serves Cambodian cuisine but they put a twist in every dish.
We were given free appetizers and one of them is silkworm. We gave the teacher a weird look when he told us what it was but he just laughed and said that it tastes good plus there’s a creamy texture inside. We contemplated for quite some time whether to eat it or not… in the end, oh come on let’s do this for experience. True enough, it did not taste weird so we were able to finish this.
Free appetizer — the one at the rightmost side are silkworms
For dinner, we had mushroom and rice brie balls, dumplings, and fish amok. Everything tasted delicious and Marum was able to redeem fish amok to us. We also ordered Cambodia Beer and Angkor Beer since we kept on seeing these in the restaurants inside Angkor Park. Kim and I prefer Cambodia Beer over Angkor since the bad beer taste was not prominent.
Wild Mushroom and Brie Rice Balls with Marum Leaves and Beetroot Mayo
Dumplings (but I forgot what the ingredients were)
Fish Amok
Happy ladies because of the delicious dinner. Bawing-bawi ang masamang lunch!
We ended up with happy tummies because of our dinner in Marum, and we highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Siem Reap. Do not expect though that their prices are dirt cheap. Price of dishes start at USD 4 and above.
Headed home after dinner to catch some z’s and be prepared for the next day.
Anne Goes to Places 