KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – After an early wake-up call by our hotel in Kuala Lumpur at 3:00 am, we found ourselves riding a cab to Kuala Lumpur Central which was the designated pick up point of the Sky Bus.  We were going around for a couple of minutes that we missed our 4:30am bus and had to wait for another thirty minutes for the next bus.  Since the airport was roughly an hour away, I was getting worried that we might not be able to make it on time for our 7:00 am flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Since we were lucky, the dependable Sky Bus arrived ten minutes early so we were already at the check-in counter by 5:50 am.  After grabbing a dozen doughnuts from a doughnuts stall, we were already comfortably seated at the boarding gate waiting for the ground crew of Air Asia to give the go signal for boarding.  Great thing, the plane sashayed down the runway at exactly 7:00 am.  In no time at all, the in-flight crew started rolling the food cart.  My partner and I took advantage of being able to choose our meals online when we bought our Air Asia tickets.  By doing so, we were able to purchase our meals in advance and at discounted prices.  I chose to have Roti Canai while my partner chose Nasi Lemak.  The meals were served piping hot.  Not bad at all for in-flight food.

In less than an hour, the captain announced that the plane has started its descent to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Oooh, I couldn’t contain my excitement!!!

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA – Nope, I did not get to see even a glimpse of Angkor Wat from the plane.  Well, I wanted to but I did not know where to look.  I just thought to myself that maybe it will be a big surprise and that I should just be patient as I will get to see Angkor Wat in the next hour or so.

When we landed, we were immediately fascinated with the quaint International Airport of Siem Reap.  It was not impressively big as the airports of Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok but it was very charming.  The designer obviously took careful consideration of Cambodia’s rich culture and traditional design.

The receiving hall, which was a small area located before the Immigration Counters, was designed with interesting images.  The airport’s ground staff had to strictly direct arriving passengers to go through immigration as a lot of people were staying on at the arrival hall to take souvenir photos.  So we were forced to keep our cameras and go through immigration and collect our luggage from the carousel.

One important thing that I should mention about Cambodia is that US Dollars are widely used.  This means that there is absolutely no need to change your money to Riel.  If you pay anyone in Siem Reap US Dollars, your change will also be in US Dollars.  Pay in Riel and expect your change to be in Riel as well.

We were informed by our hotel that our room rate included complimentary airport pick up when we booked our room.  So when we went out of the airport, we slowly screened the welcoming group for someone holding banners with our names written on them.  Luckily, we found our escort, Mr. Rith, and he asked us to go with him to his vehicle.  We were expecting a van or a car but our ride was something a lot better – we got ourselves a tuk-tuk!  The tuk-tuk is a very popular mode of transportation in Cambodia.  The name was based on the sound of its engine.  There is nothing complicated about these tuk-tuks as these are simply motorized rickshaws that are usually patronized by tourists mainly for the novelty that they offer.

My partner and I were so excited about our first tuk-tuk ride in Siem Reap that we asked Mr. Rith to take our photo.  So off we went.

We were comfortably seated in Mr. Rith’s tuk-tuk and watched the beauty of Siem Reap slowly unfold before our very eyes.  There were sightings of little villages, locals who were busy going about their daily work, luxurious hotels like the Amansara Hotel Siem Reap, traditional houses, and various directional signs saying “to Angkor Wat.”  The roads were clean and properly maintained – no big holes or dirt roads.  The air was refreshingly clean which was perfect for our open-air tuk-tuk ride.  But, it was soooo hot! The sun’s rays pierced our skin and were scorching us alive.  This is why you should never forget to put on sunscreen and remember to wear your sunglasses to protect your eyes.  It is also advisable to drink lots of water to avoid dehydration.

When we reached our hotel, we were warmly welcomed at the reception.  After checking-in, we were asked if we were interested in hiring a tuk-tuk for the tour of the temples and if we would like to be accompanied by an English speaking guide.  My partner and I wanted to make the most of this trip so we booked our Mr. Rith’s tuk-tuk for US$ 15 and a guide for US$ 25.

There was a need for us to freshen up a bit after our flight so we told the reception desk that we would be ready in roughly an hour.  Since we were both excited, we were already riding the tuk-tuk for our tour in no time at all.  Our English speaking guide, Mr. Sambo, was with us and was already telling us about Angelina Jolie’s contribution to the Kingdom of Cambodia and told us that he also met Ms. Jolie in person.  Wow, that was certainly a bonus.

Mr. Sambo informed us that the first thing that we had to do was get our Tour Passes from the Apsara Authority countries that are located near the entrance of Angkor Wat.  We approached the counter and got ourselves Three-Day Passes for US$40.00 each.  If you will only use it for two days, the rate will still be the same.  There was also an available One-Week Pass which would cost you US$ 60.00.  These Tour Passes are so cool because they will take your photo at the counter and print your photo on your passes.  Take care of your passes to avoid having to pay for them
again.  Plus, these passes are great souvenirs of your visit to the temples because you would have to bring them each and every time you visit a temple.

Armed with our Three-Day Passes, we were ready to start our much-awaited tour of Siem Reap’s amazing temples.

(To be continued)

Posted in Attractions, Cambodia, Malaysia, Things to do

This entry was posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Attractions, Cambodia, Malaysia, Things to do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.