Two ElephantsHead to Head
Different Sizes
Different Colours
Different Shapes
But in their minds
Different Sizes
Different Colours
Different Shapes
But in their minds
They hope to think alike
It was a very early flight I had to catch to Bangkok because of the flight connection at the Bangkok International Airport to Siem Reap. The flight was scheduled to leave at 11.00am in the morning, meaning should I want to join my traveling mate on this flight, I have reach Bangkok latest at 10.00am. So I decided to take the Singapore Airlines which left the airport at 7.30am and arrive at 9 plus. It was quite a scary feat because I have never been to Bangkok International Airport as my last trip to Bangkok was about 10 over years ago. Nevertheless, i reached Bangkok in one piece and had very much lots of difficulty orientating my way to the gate for the flight to Siem Reap. By the time I reached the gate, I was the last passenger to board the plane. Needless to say, there were very pleasant surprises on the plane - "I won't let you travel alone, even if I have to fly across the world to join you." Words I once spoken, I would like to keep them dearly.
After my Bangkok adventure and another 1 hr later, we touched down at Siem Reap International Airport and was picked up by our hotel representative. A quick 15 minutes ride later, we arrived at our hotel - Pavillion D'Orient.
Of the many hotels we ever resided, this hotel was very quaint and to certain extend special. There were only 20 rooms and each room was immaculately attended. Fresh fruits were delivered to the guest everyday with aroma incense as well as the very much appreciated twice-a-day house keeping. The rooms were not big but every piece of furniture was delicately put in. The moment one stepped into the room, there was immense invitation to stay.
Our first day in Siem Reap was very relaxing. We did not indulge in any temple visits or city roaming, simply spent the day in the hotel - snoozing, swimming and relaxing. The hotel pool was slightly salted and the deck chairs were always topped with tropical fruits for guests. Because of the few number of rooms in the hotel, there were very few guests and we had the pleasure of having the entire pool to ourselves. After the swim, we headed for Siem Reap city. The stay in Pavillion D'Orient came with free transport anywhere in Siem Reap, so by the time we were ready at the lobby, there was already a Tuk Tuk waiting for us.
We went for dinner at a nice flashy upmarket restaurant called the Blue Pumpkin, after which we went for a nice dash of Cambodian massage at the Bodia Spa. The massage was brilliant, not the conventional Thai or Swedish forceful ones, but gentle and swiping motions. We had a couple of nice lattes before heading back to the hotel to close the day early for sunrise at Angkor Wat the next day.
We arrived at Angkor Wat the next day at around 6am and witnessed the sunrise over the temple. Though it was a spectacular, it was not anywhere matching to that I saw at Borobudur. Nevertheless we did have a good time wandering around the temple grounds, looking at the scriptures carved on the temple walls, and to have a closer understanding of its cultural background. My travel mate did a very nice sketch on the temple infrastructure and the by-passers lost no time showering compliments. After Angkor Wat, we return to the hotel to grab some lunch and to have another dip in the pool before heading for Ta Prohm Temple - otherwise known as the "Tomb Raider" temple.
My travel mate adores the Ta Prohm temple - it wasn't as "done-up" as the Angkor Wat - and was left in the wash of time to develop accordingly. The trees enveloped the temple walls and grown naturally over the centuries. We spent a good two hours there before heading to Siem Reap city again for a nice vegetarian dinner on a private second floor balcony. The day was nice, one worthy of a good memory.
The following day, we took a very long ride to Beng Melea, to see the River of a Thousand Lingas. Following that we saw the reclining Buddha on a temple perched high on the hill top, bathed and swam in a waterfall at Kbal Spean. This day trip took our entire day, leaving us the evening to spend in Siem Reap city, where we had a comfy and nice foot massage at a sleazy joint (but it was fun), dinner at an Indian restaurant and dessert at the FCC, otherwise known as the Foreign Correspondence Club. Being a hectic day, we retired early back to the hotel, watched some Cambodian TV and then rested for the day.
Angkor Thom was last on our agenda with the Bayon Temple being the highlight of this trip. To me (and I speak for my travel mate), this temple is definitely more of an eyeful than Angkor Wat. Sometimes we feel that Angkor Wat is a little overrated with its intensive and over exposure. The signature feature of Bayon Thom is probably the faces - many theories were made as to whose faces did the carvings depict - from Buddha to the ancient rulers. Theories after theories - quite an impressive and interesting read. Angkor Thom took our entire morning leaving us to rest and really indulge in lazing for the afternoon.
Came the evening, we spent our final night at the Amansara Resort for yet another dear dinner - but the food was once again fabulous. We were shown round the resort by a Swedish Resort staff. The rooms were magnificent and almost everything was immaculate. For more than USD1200 per night - well, they better be! After dinner, we went back to the hotel and retired for the night.
The next morning, we spent some time packing and went to Siem Reap city for one last time before we checked out of Pavillion D'Orient and took a flight home via Danang.
It was a really nice trip.
It all started when my traveling mate remarked one fine day, "I want to see the Angkor Wat." And so Angkor Wat we shall see. My traveling mate was having a Youth Conference in Bangkok prior to the trip, so we decided that we shall both travel on our own and meet at Siem Reap airport instead. However, two days prior to the departure, I suddenly remembered something which we both agreed - that the best part of the holiday, is the journey to the airport, looking at the airport control tower emerge from the canopies of the raintrees planted alongside of the road. And if the best part of the trip is the on-going, I would not give it a miss to anyone. Thereafter I went to amend the flight details of my trip, and decided to surprise my travel mate by flying to Bangkok instead of Siem Reap, so that we can meet up, and enjoy the thrill of going to Siem Reap together.
It was a very early flight I had to catch to Bangkok because of the flight connection at the Bangkok International Airport to Siem Reap. The flight was scheduled to leave at 11.00am in the morning, meaning should I want to join my traveling mate on this flight, I have reach Bangkok latest at 10.00am. So I decided to take the Singapore Airlines which left the airport at 7.30am and arrive at 9 plus. It was quite a scary feat because I have never been to Bangkok International Airport as my last trip to Bangkok was about 10 over years ago. Nevertheless, i reached Bangkok in one piece and had very much lots of difficulty orientating my way to the gate for the flight to Siem Reap. By the time I reached the gate, I was the last passenger to board the plane. Needless to say, there were very pleasant surprises on the plane - "I won't let you travel alone, even if I have to fly across the world to join you." Words I once spoken, I would like to keep them dearly.
After my Bangkok adventure and another 1 hr later, we touched down at Siem Reap International Airport and was picked up by our hotel representative. A quick 15 minutes ride later, we arrived at our hotel - Pavillion D'Orient.
Of the many hotels we ever resided, this hotel was very quaint and to certain extend special. There were only 20 rooms and each room was immaculately attended. Fresh fruits were delivered to the guest everyday with aroma incense as well as the very much appreciated twice-a-day house keeping. The rooms were not big but every piece of furniture was delicately put in. The moment one stepped into the room, there was immense invitation to stay.
Our first day in Siem Reap was very relaxing. We did not indulge in any temple visits or city roaming, simply spent the day in the hotel - snoozing, swimming and relaxing. The hotel pool was slightly salted and the deck chairs were always topped with tropical fruits for guests. Because of the few number of rooms in the hotel, there were very few guests and we had the pleasure of having the entire pool to ourselves. After the swim, we headed for Siem Reap city. The stay in Pavillion D'Orient came with free transport anywhere in Siem Reap, so by the time we were ready at the lobby, there was already a Tuk Tuk waiting for us.
We went for dinner at a nice flashy upmarket restaurant called the Blue Pumpkin, after which we went for a nice dash of Cambodian massage at the Bodia Spa. The massage was brilliant, not the conventional Thai or Swedish forceful ones, but gentle and swiping motions. We had a couple of nice lattes before heading back to the hotel to close the day early for sunrise at Angkor Wat the next day.
We arrived at Angkor Wat the next day at around 6am and witnessed the sunrise over the temple. Though it was a spectacular, it was not anywhere matching to that I saw at Borobudur. Nevertheless we did have a good time wandering around the temple grounds, looking at the scriptures carved on the temple walls, and to have a closer understanding of its cultural background. My travel mate did a very nice sketch on the temple infrastructure and the by-passers lost no time showering compliments. After Angkor Wat, we return to the hotel to grab some lunch and to have another dip in the pool before heading for Ta Prohm Temple - otherwise known as the "Tomb Raider" temple.
My travel mate adores the Ta Prohm temple - it wasn't as "done-up" as the Angkor Wat - and was left in the wash of time to develop accordingly. The trees enveloped the temple walls and grown naturally over the centuries. We spent a good two hours there before heading to Siem Reap city again for a nice vegetarian dinner on a private second floor balcony. The day was nice, one worthy of a good memory.
The following day, we took a very long ride to Beng Melea, to see the River of a Thousand Lingas. Following that we saw the reclining Buddha on a temple perched high on the hill top, bathed and swam in a waterfall at Kbal Spean. This day trip took our entire day, leaving us the evening to spend in Siem Reap city, where we had a comfy and nice foot massage at a sleazy joint (but it was fun), dinner at an Indian restaurant and dessert at the FCC, otherwise known as the Foreign Correspondence Club. Being a hectic day, we retired early back to the hotel, watched some Cambodian TV and then rested for the day.
Angkor Thom was last on our agenda with the Bayon Temple being the highlight of this trip. To me (and I speak for my travel mate), this temple is definitely more of an eyeful than Angkor Wat. Sometimes we feel that Angkor Wat is a little overrated with its intensive and over exposure. The signature feature of Bayon Thom is probably the faces - many theories were made as to whose faces did the carvings depict - from Buddha to the ancient rulers. Theories after theories - quite an impressive and interesting read. Angkor Thom took our entire morning leaving us to rest and really indulge in lazing for the afternoon.
Came the evening, we spent our final night at the Amansara Resort for yet another dear dinner - but the food was once again fabulous. We were shown round the resort by a Swedish Resort staff. The rooms were magnificent and almost everything was immaculate. For more than USD1200 per night - well, they better be! After dinner, we went back to the hotel and retired for the night.
The next morning, we spent some time packing and went to Siem Reap city for one last time before we checked out of Pavillion D'Orient and took a flight home via Danang.
It was a really nice trip.
