As a final hurrah to Kiwi Girl's last semester at university (hopefully forever), we decided to celebrate by hiking up our backpacks and making the journey northeast of Kuala Lumpur to our first stop, Siem Reap in Cambodia. Side note: we had a super early morning flight to Siem Reap departing from the new KLIA2. We recommend using Skybus that departs from either KL Sentral or 1 Utama. They are the official bus provider for Air Asia passengers and you'll find you'll get a bigger discount on an already cheap ticket price if you buy it with your flights. The buses depart every half hour and this is honestly the best and cheapest way to get to the airport without the hassle. You can find their bus schedule here: http://www.skybus.com.my/schedule/ What was an uneventful flight turned into a rude awakening upon landing at Siem Reap International Airport. Most tourists (other than visitors from ASEAN countries) have to pay for a visa upon arrival ($20 usd - the preferred currency in Cambodia). Kiwi Girl's OCD tendencies meant she had pre-filled everything but her new visa number in the arrival form provided on the flight. Instead of giving her a chance to write in the number once she received her visa, an immigration officer demanded a bribe under the guise of providing a "VIP Visa" and ignoring her oversight. So be warned! Ensure you have everything filled out on your arrival card before handing it over to immigration counters. It's also important to bring some passport-sized photos with you as they will ask for one before issuing the visa. Money reluctantly handed over and still more than a little shell-shocked, we were picked up by what we would later describe as the best tuk tuk driver ever. Accommodation Siem Reap Green Home Guesthouse We didn't set out on this trip expecting luxury accommodation but the cleanliness of the place would be the one deciding factor for whether we would settle in for the night. This guesthouse had good reviews on TripAdvisor and our first impression upon entering the room was MASSIVE. It's practically a 1 bedroom apartment! While we wouldn't say the manager was particularly warm, the guesthouse did arrange all our temple tours at a much more reasonable price than elsewhere and for that reason alone we would stay here again. Room tip: We say pay the little extra for the rooms with the private seating area and balcony and email ahead to confirm a room preferably on the 2nd floor. There are no lifts here and the stairs are perilously narrow and steep, dangerous for Big Foots and heavy suitcases! Free airport pickup and breakfast is provided in the room rate, and we must say it was scrumptious and enough to fuel you for a full day of temple touring. Food Not used to the scorching heat, neither of us wanted to spend more than an hour outside under the midday sun. So in search of lunch we stumbled upon a traditional Cambodian restaurant on the corner of the busy intersection of Wat Bo Road (turn right from the Guesthouse and continue along until you reach traffic lights). We loved the Basil Rice so much we came for the same thing the next day! We recommend buying 1L chilled bottles of water here as it was cheaper than buying from the guesthouse. Tip: Expect to spend around $8-15 usd per meal for two including drinks in Siem Reap. Shopping
For a greater concentration of food places and general souvenir shopping, most will head to Pub Street, the equivalent of Khao San Road in Bangkok. Note it's not just the one street but a few streets clustered together (evenings only) selling everything from fruit shakes ($1 usd) to Cambodian silk pillow cases. You'll need to bring your bargaining A-game here as there is a huge amount of competition for your hard earned dollars. Tip: Massages here are notoriously good value for money but exercise caution when the offer seems too good to be true. We heard of reports of unclean premises and dodgy massage technique so it pays to do your research before being lulled into the temptation of $1 massages along Pub Street (yes, really). We recommend Lotus Dream Spa for a half hour foot massage ($5 usd) at the very least, you'll walk out with jelly legs in the best way possible!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWe're two Kiwi Malaysians navigating life in a modern global society. We love to seek adventure and are unashamedly food fanatics (without the pretentiousness). Most of all, we love connecting with others so please share with us your stories, opinions and recommendations! Archives
August 2017
Categories |