Siem Reap: Journey through the Ancient Architecture

We visited Siem Reap in October 2017. Mainly to see Angkor Wat and then to give some hard experience to our girls, considering this was their first trip to a least developed country. Travel ain’t always comfortable and rosy while we look for fun, it has unhappiness or difficulty sometime. High alert needed.

Well, in this trip here, grateful for safe and happy journey. #journeythroughtheancientarchitecture

My IG @_miscjoys_

The reality was, our girls (and mother-in-law) were forced to wake up at 4am to see the ruined temples yet people attempted to protect or repair every piece of the structure and many of us (so many!) came from different part of the world to see it. Also, the fact that it was hard to reject some innocent eyes looking at me to beg me buy their merchandise. They were very persistent in persuading me to buy the postcards, shawl or scarf, lower and lower further price, so much so the girls asked me why not I just simply help them? In and out from the Angkor temples, the girls observed the rustic and green environment, looked very much like our kampungs in Malaysia- unsophisticated houses, small narrow roads, though drivers drove on different side of the road than us. On top of that, all kind of plantation, cows, chickens or ducks (or goose) were seen, suggesting abundance of food source and children running amok along roadside, implying carefree happy childhood… did they go school? Anyway, many we met were down to earth, hardworking people, and they preferred US dollar (USD) rather than their own Cambodian Riel (KHR). Not to mention the spiky hot weather had no mercy to anyone. It was unbearably hot. 

Here's sharing our travel dairy for anyone keen to visit Siem Reap. Please note that, this travel diary is not a pre-planned itinerary, it is purely for your reference and we wouldn't be responsible for any part of your travel plan. Few highlights:

§    Visited Elma English School: To understand a little bit more of "half of the population is illiterate and living in or near poverty". We also wanted to see how we can help them. Brought the girls closer to real issue of poverty and wanted them to get involved, alas I was the only one reading stories to the kids there. My girls were stunned, or maybe needed to take a little longer time to adapt the environment. 

       We've donated USD90 to them. Hope they has good use with the money.


      You can consider to visit Tonle Sap lake, where you will be seeing most fascinating glimpse of the local living by the water.  

§    I only did booking for two accommodations, two-night stay each:

a.   Green Empire Resort Hotel: SGD135.++ (via Agoda) for Family Suite (consist of two bedrooms) | More pictures in my IG.

b.   FCC Angkor: USD359.++ (for two standard room (facing garden, no pool view) | More pictures in my IG.

§    We didn’t engaged guided tour (to Angkor temples) or driver. My husband thought that we read so much about it and shall just visit the temples at our own pace. Mr Seng was engaged by Green Empire to pick us up from airport, and I was just conveniently engaged him continuously to Angkor temples (full day service from 4.30am = USD45) as well as to FCC and to Elma English School in Sambour (another full day service USD35). When I was checking on where or how far is Sambour Village, Mr Seng initiated to call Elma to learn more (they don’t use digital map like us) even before I confirmed to hire him.

But I would suggest you to engage a tour guide to walk you through and learn quick about the heritage site.  

§    Places that we had our meals were purely randomly picked as and when we were around the area. If you want more (better) reference, Mummy Ed has good recommendation.

§    During our flight to Siem Reap, I happened to read from Jetstar's magazine that, Siem Reap has 4 local markets recommended for tourist, but I would recommend you just the first two below

a.   Old Market (Psar Chas): local wet market as well as tourist attraction selling souvenirs and what not;

b.   Made in Cambodia Market: uber chic open-air market to cater for tourist;

c.   Siem Reap Art Center Market: quiet art and craft market and seems being forgotten;

d.     Original Angkor Night Market: Similarly, quiet market and contradict ambiance to the Pub Street. 

§    We learnt from Mr Seng that "Orh-kum" means thank you in Cambodian Language. and often, you can tell from the locals' response, that they appreciate it very much that we made little effort to learn their language.  

§    Overall expenses for the trip was SGD3500 (approx) for 3 adults and 2 kids, included flights, accommodation, donation to Elmas School, transportation, food and daily expenses and travel insurance. Cash wise, I exchanged for USD700 and another  KHR131,000 (=SGD50.00) for our use during the entire trip. 

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Trip to Siem Reap: 5D4N itinerary

Angkor wasn't just remarkably astonish, it was also about the smart water system built of that time and how it was not made known to the world for so long until Henri Mouhot's rediscovery. I don't think anyone should give Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom a miss. So feel free to let me know if further information needed to convince you a trip there.

Sharing with you a little about Khmer's past that I extracted from the book I read in FCC to round up this post:

Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, Indochina was ruled by one of the most powerful and productive dynasties in its history: the Khmer.

Although influenced by India, the Khmer succeeded in developing a distinctive culture that found its most vivid expression in temples. These unique buildings were made from long-lasting materials such as brick and stone to reflect their function as the abode of the immortal Lords of Heaven. Inspired by a cosmic symbolism whose purpose was to promote the fertility of the soil and the prosperity of the Kingdom, the palaces of the gods were built surrounded on all sides by canals connected by channels and fed by a complex water supply system – Characteristic Setting Heightened the Architectural and Decorative Beauty of the Temples.

Having Some Fun #vegeart

I usually cook during weekend. Of late, I attempt in creating art with my food. I instagramed these fun moments and creations. Just a few of it though.

While soup is boiling, it's my play time. #vegeart. #阿宝贪玩 #厨房变手工房 . . Organic #phonoodles that I lugged back from my HCMC visit. Simple food but it's scrumptious! It goes welll with my #homecook spinach soup. Should have bought more.

A post shared by 阿寳 (@_miscjoys_) on Aug 8, 2017 at 10:52pm PDT

#homecook issue but first let me have a little fun. #vegeart (It is certain that it will be vegetarian tonight, just don't know what else I can find from the fridge) . #厨房变手工房 #阿宝贪玩

A post shared by 阿寳 (@_miscjoys_) on Jul 23, 2017 at 2:02am PDT

My weekend humdrum, looking for #weekendfun or art. #vegeart #阿宝贪玩 #厨房变手工房

A post shared by 阿寳 (@_miscjoys_) on Jul 9, 2017 at 1:41am PDT

Follow Me in IG~!

Long hiatus in blogging, while fill-up my time with adequate sleeps and exploring other things in life... trying to make life more meaningful in another way.

In the meantime, hop over to my newly set-up Instagram site- @_miscjoys_, follow me and say hi! (if you have not).

I have just reached 9 posts in Instagram! I think it is a good way to mini-blog, scribble thoughts from my head quick and in a light manner.

Kota Kinabalu: Blue Sea, White River and Green Rainforest

We just came back from a trip to Kota Kinabalu (KK). The trip meant to be outdoor exploratory, adventurous, and risky, absolutely not like any other holiday trip that we made to before. The trip recruited young explorers as low as 5 years old. It was first time for our urbanised children to get so close to and cherishing the nature, so we were prepared to be a lot more patience, to coax and distract the worry little minds while enjoying ourselves tremendously.

This was also a trip that I did very little in terms of planning. CS, my friend did all the necessary bookings and planning prior to the trip. In essence, the trip consisted of snorkeling, water rafting and jungle trekking.

Day 1: Snorkeling, Sapi Island

According to YS, another friend joined us this trip, island hopping may be tiring and meaningless considering young children of ours. Leisurely spent half a day for snorkelling at the shore of Sapi Island was enough for them to have the optimum fun of the sea and the beach.

Our First Archifest: ArKIDecture X Exhale | Children Workshop

Have you ever correlate the human body system with the complex building system? Such as circulation and respiration systems in our body versus a building structure and... if it breaths. This morning, the girls and I attended an arKIDecture workshop to learn the concept of a breathable building. We were lucky to be able get the ticket for this event in Archifest, as there was very limited tickets up for grab. Here, must thank Sarah for the alert!

ArKIDecture X Exhale | Children Workshop: The Breathable City Design : Breathable Buildings.

Love that we were in the space that was walled and sheltered with rainbow-scaffolding.

Kaohsiung: The Pier-2 Art Center

From Takao Railway Museum, you can also come to the Pier-2 Art Center - one that was transformed from a disused dockside warehouse. It was abandoned and faded away of its original purpose until a group of persistent artist who injected waves of creativity and inspiration into the spaces. The Pier-2 was then released and reborn and became a huge attraction to the local and tourist to enjoy fine art, contemporary art, to explore and to contemplate.  

We were half-recharged from Old Yancheng District and were not sure to call it a day or to continue our exploratory. The girls were pretty much up to their max, in term of exhaustion: from morning to almost evening, from the hotel in Gushan to Fengshan to Yancheng, almost equivalent to from the north to the east and the west of Kaohsiung. But since we could pick a route passing by Pier-2 to get a train back to hotel, why not? We pushed our limit and encouraged the girls too- to strike off the very last to-go-place for the day.

Kaohsiung: 書店喫茶 一二三亭(ヒフミテイ)

I wanted to visit one very peculiar cafe that I learnt from Selena, the writer.  So, from the Takao Railway Museum, we walked into the old Yancheng District of Kaohsiung. This part of Kaohsiung was modernized during the Japanese colonial period and many of which were still remain the same as old days. As it's very close to the harbour, as we walked, we saw some business very much related to shipping. 

With the address in hand, this particular cafe was not too difficult to be found, among the rows of old and new buildings. Once saw this very outstanding signage of "Takao Artistry Warehouse(打狗港都文化艺术仓库)", and an enlarged black and white photo of the above, with a cut-out in the middle hung on the wall, we had arrived!

However, as the entrance was kind of set-back from the building front and the cafe sign was humble to be seen, it would be missed.

Kaohsiung: Takao Railway Museum

Do you know that Kaohsiung was called Takao (打狗)? I didn't. After visited Takao Railway Museum, I learnt that, Kaohsiung was a small fishing village named Takao, meaning "bamboo forest" in local aboriginal name. The name was changed to Kaohsiung by the Japaneses, which was also pronounced "Takao" in Japanese, as they found the name of ta-kao (beating the dog)  to be vulgar.

The main building of the railway station was kept intact- the open counter, the maps and train schedule on the wall, the desks and the chairs of the workers, the stationery, the blackboard with white chalk, the waiting benches... (can see more from here)

And I thought, the museum was just the station building.

Kaohsiung: Fongyi Academy

I first learnt about this place was from a well-known Writer- Selena, through her blog. It was a place after years of restoration and renovation to retain and repair the Academy's origin and uniqueness. Those funny figures scattered around the Academy sure attracted me to put it into our itinerary. Good place to introduce a brief history of the ancient Chinese Education and its civil examination system to the girls, I thought.

First built in 1814, the 19th year of Qing emperor Jiaqing (嘉慶), the Fongyi Academy is considered a third-grade heritage site. It has 37 rooms and the academy's internal altars, as well as desks and chairs; it was a place where prospective examinees took the initial exams and the largest Confucian academy preserved in Taiwan. (source)

Grateful

1.

This is part of the daddy's reporting since the beginning of the year, letting me know of Little Bomber's behave in the morning when he sent her to childcare center. I've resume full time working scheme and no longer able to do the sending-the-kids-to-school, witness their (either) cheeky face or grumpy face, give a hug and bid goodbye. But the daddy did one little but brilliant initiative by reporting the situation via WA (What’s App) message, almost everyday. In a line or two, he would shared with me his joy if Bomber didn't bomb him, or his achievement of handling an outburst. Sometime, I felt my presence with them and mentioned the morning incident unconciously during our dinner chatting, and Bomber would asked, "how did you know? You were not there?" Hmmm... 

She later realised that the WA conversation (between mummy and daddy) in daddy's phone containing many of her mornings' picture...