Here are the summary of our expenditure during our stay in Langkawi for 2 days 1 night!
Well I didn't spend anything on merchandise because.. I don't know. It doesn't appeal me, I guess.
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Langkawi (Day 2)
Feeling a bit dizzy in the morning since slept late last night. Some of them played Bang! at the hotel lobby. Just three of us, woke up, get ready and head to the beach for awhile. Then had breakfast just like yesterday at the same warung. We were waiting for others for breakfast but unfortunately they were late. So we went around of the hotel, thinking to swim at the swimming pool. Have lots of swimming pool there from adults to kids. Yeap our first activity for this day was swimming!
Since it was last day, after swimming we get ourselves ready to check out. Packed our things, checked out and put our luggage in the car. We had our lunch at a restaurant called Red Tomato. You need to eat here at least once. And if there is many of you please order different foods from each other so you can taste different foods. I would come back here again because it was delicious! Plus, they have 2, 3 friendly cats! After brunch some of us bought chocolates in the nearby duty tax free shop. I'm not quite sure how much is the difference compared to the tax imposed goods.
Then we went to Langkawi Cable Car. It was around noon at that time. Each of us have to pay RM35 for entrance fee. Meanwhile, there was an entourage. It was our fourth Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir. We took some photo with him before he went off with his entourage. What an odd! Anyway, back to ticketing, there are several packages ready for the visitors such as duck boat tour, cinemotion, etc. Can always check out their website http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/ for more info.
There will be two stops or stations along the way. First station is more to Langkawi view then second platform is supposedly for connecting with sky bridge but it was temporarily closed until further notice. Of course the second station can see wider view of Langkawi Island. If you are lucky there will be mist at second station. Each station will have photography session whereby the staff there will be taking your pictures and print it for you. Yes, have to pay separately.
After an hour or so we are back at entrance of the cable car. We fed some fishes in the entrance area. Rest for awhile. Pictures, pictures. Then we went to the char kuey teow and rojak stall nearby of the airport, next to the sea. There were a lot of stalls there. Since we don't have any clue which one is the best we've tried the white lorry kuey teow and rojak at first. Their kuey teow was fine but the rojak is not so.. Well we moved to the next stall which have tables on the beach. The rojak was fine too.
Then we went to the airport. Parked the car rent at airport carpark. Call them to pick it up.
That's about it!
Then we went to Langkawi Cable Car. It was around noon at that time. Each of us have to pay RM35 for entrance fee. Meanwhile, there was an entourage. It was our fourth Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir. We took some photo with him before he went off with his entourage. What an odd! Anyway, back to ticketing, there are several packages ready for the visitors such as duck boat tour, cinemotion, etc. Can always check out their website http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/ for more info.
There will be two stops or stations along the way. First station is more to Langkawi view then second platform is supposedly for connecting with sky bridge but it was temporarily closed until further notice. Of course the second station can see wider view of Langkawi Island. If you are lucky there will be mist at second station. Each station will have photography session whereby the staff there will be taking your pictures and print it for you. Yes, have to pay separately.
After an hour or so we are back at entrance of the cable car. We fed some fishes in the entrance area. Rest for awhile. Pictures, pictures. Then we went to the char kuey teow and rojak stall nearby of the airport, next to the sea. There were a lot of stalls there. Since we don't have any clue which one is the best we've tried the white lorry kuey teow and rojak at first. Their kuey teow was fine but the rojak is not so.. Well we moved to the next stall which have tables on the beach. The rojak was fine too.
Then we went to the airport. Parked the car rent at airport carpark. Call them to pick it up.
That's about it!
Langkawi (Day 1)
6.15am, my phone alarm was ringing. My friends already awake at that time. Emi, having problem with sleep and Izzul, just being excited to be in Langkawi. While Azri.. deep in his dream.
Done Subuh prayer, asked by my partner to do some jogging here. So at 7am with our running shoes, start to run from the hotel, onto beach and ran along the beach until we reached Holiday Villa. Didn't know the hotel is there. We walk through the hotel to the main road and continue to run from there until Aseania. But we stopped at a warung at three way junction near to the hotel. Had our breakfast there since no breakfast included during our stay at hotel. Not a bad breakfast though, nasi lemak and teh tarik with some hot dogs.
After breakfast we decided to go with Mangrooves tour about RM90 per person. I think for this rate we were ripped off. This is majority decision, not mine. So have to go along with it. Around 9-ish am there was one van picked us up from the warung. The journey took about 30 minutes as far as I can remember. It was a bit long journey to the jetty.
As soon as we arrived, we were instantly given a sticker (some kind of ticket for the tour) to stick to our shirts. Waited for awhile, we hopped on to the designated power boat, without a tour guide. There were 9 of us plus 2 Mak Ciks.
Since there was no proper tour guide with us at that time, the boat driver actually guide throughout the journey. Really helpful. But he can only converse in Malay. Our first stop or rather sightseeing was mangroves along the river. There was a group of monkey in the mangroves area which there were waiting for people to give foods to them. They can actually swim. Oh, it was raining at that time by the way but still we just go along with it and it was awfully cold. We were shivering. Anyway, fed the monkeys, then eagle feeding. There are a few eagle species in Langkawi (which I am totally forgot). We witnessed how the eagle actually hunt for the food in the sea... In rain. Which I am really impressed with it. There is one species that have limited numbers in Langkawi (which I cant remember what). It was amazing.
Next we head into a canal whereby they call the area as 'Cowboy' area. The reason? There was a boat in front of us which carried an Arabian couple. We saw a monkey jumped from a tree to another then went onto the boat in front of us and then grabbed some food from them. Soooo have to be careful in case the monkeys mistook your valuable things as food. We were fine in the boat. No monkeys invaded our boat! After that we passed by a cave named Crocodile cave just because the mouth of the cave looks like a croc.
Then we reached at a fish farm area, where we briefly stopped there. The rain has stopped at that time and there were numbers of private yacht boats around. We berthed at one of the fish farm. We were guided by the guide at the fish farm, they showed us all the fishes there. Two of us actually get to fed some kind of sting ray type of fish.
Next we proceed to bat cave. Obviously there was a lot of bats in the cave we went in. Our guide was really knowledgeable about the bats. In short, bats is not evil, they contribute something in our daily lives too. We were there for like 30 minutes or so.
Next, we get into the boat and head to the open sea. And it was raining cold again! From the open see we saw a big word at the hills in the area which written Kilim Geoforest Park. So that's about it. One of us was given an opportunity to drive the boat at Adaman Sea. It was tough, she said. Because need to fight the wave coming from boats around us and the sea itself. After awhile we arrived at a beach, where people can swim for about 30 minutes. Then they took us for lunch at a floating restaurant nearby to the beach. Don't need to pay the lunch as it was included in the package but it was only fried rice with some soups and a jug of cordial drink. I think you can choose beforehand tho.
Lunch on the floating restaurant was our last stop in this tour, so after that we were back at the jetty. Took the same van and dropped us at the hotel. But before that we bought kebabs nearby, which was delicious! The price was around RM10 per piece. Bought the kebabs, ate those in our room, clean and recharge ourselves for evening activities.
Around 5.00pm we went out again, to have surprise birthday celebration for one of our friend. So we drove into the town and bought a cake at Secret Recipe. With two cars we head on to Telaga Harbour, near to Langkawi cable car. Had some drinks at The Loaf while waiting for sunset.. And surpriseee birthday! Cake~!
After that we went to have a proper dinner somewhere in Kuah. Supposed to eat some seafood but end up only fried octopus and tom yam with rice. But it was not that bad. We ate em all. Then we head back to the hotel but some of us dropped by the town near to our hotel.
That's about it. Our first day in Langkawi.
....to be continued
Done Subuh prayer, asked by my partner to do some jogging here. So at 7am with our running shoes, start to run from the hotel, onto beach and ran along the beach until we reached Holiday Villa. Didn't know the hotel is there. We walk through the hotel to the main road and continue to run from there until Aseania. But we stopped at a warung at three way junction near to the hotel. Had our breakfast there since no breakfast included during our stay at hotel. Not a bad breakfast though, nasi lemak and teh tarik with some hot dogs.
After breakfast we decided to go with Mangrooves tour about RM90 per person. I think for this rate we were ripped off. This is majority decision, not mine. So have to go along with it. Around 9-ish am there was one van picked us up from the warung. The journey took about 30 minutes as far as I can remember. It was a bit long journey to the jetty.
As soon as we arrived, we were instantly given a sticker (some kind of ticket for the tour) to stick to our shirts. Waited for awhile, we hopped on to the designated power boat, without a tour guide. There were 9 of us plus 2 Mak Ciks.
Since there was no proper tour guide with us at that time, the boat driver actually guide throughout the journey. Really helpful. But he can only converse in Malay. Our first stop or rather sightseeing was mangroves along the river. There was a group of monkey in the mangroves area which there were waiting for people to give foods to them. They can actually swim. Oh, it was raining at that time by the way but still we just go along with it and it was awfully cold. We were shivering. Anyway, fed the monkeys, then eagle feeding. There are a few eagle species in Langkawi (which I am totally forgot). We witnessed how the eagle actually hunt for the food in the sea... In rain. Which I am really impressed with it. There is one species that have limited numbers in Langkawi (which I cant remember what). It was amazing.
Next we head into a canal whereby they call the area as 'Cowboy' area. The reason? There was a boat in front of us which carried an Arabian couple. We saw a monkey jumped from a tree to another then went onto the boat in front of us and then grabbed some food from them. Soooo have to be careful in case the monkeys mistook your valuable things as food. We were fine in the boat. No monkeys invaded our boat! After that we passed by a cave named Crocodile cave just because the mouth of the cave looks like a croc.
Then we reached at a fish farm area, where we briefly stopped there. The rain has stopped at that time and there were numbers of private yacht boats around. We berthed at one of the fish farm. We were guided by the guide at the fish farm, they showed us all the fishes there. Two of us actually get to fed some kind of sting ray type of fish.
Next we proceed to bat cave. Obviously there was a lot of bats in the cave we went in. Our guide was really knowledgeable about the bats. In short, bats is not evil, they contribute something in our daily lives too. We were there for like 30 minutes or so.
Next, we get into the boat and head to the open sea. And it was raining cold again! From the open see we saw a big word at the hills in the area which written Kilim Geoforest Park. So that's about it. One of us was given an opportunity to drive the boat at Adaman Sea. It was tough, she said. Because need to fight the wave coming from boats around us and the sea itself. After awhile we arrived at a beach, where people can swim for about 30 minutes. Then they took us for lunch at a floating restaurant nearby to the beach. Don't need to pay the lunch as it was included in the package but it was only fried rice with some soups and a jug of cordial drink. I think you can choose beforehand tho.
Lunch on the floating restaurant was our last stop in this tour, so after that we were back at the jetty. Took the same van and dropped us at the hotel. But before that we bought kebabs nearby, which was delicious! The price was around RM10 per piece. Bought the kebabs, ate those in our room, clean and recharge ourselves for evening activities.
Around 5.00pm we went out again, to have surprise birthday celebration for one of our friend. So we drove into the town and bought a cake at Secret Recipe. With two cars we head on to Telaga Harbour, near to Langkawi cable car. Had some drinks at The Loaf while waiting for sunset.. And surpriseee birthday! Cake~!
After that we went to have a proper dinner somewhere in Kuah. Supposed to eat some seafood but end up only fried octopus and tom yam with rice. But it was not that bad. We ate em all. Then we head back to the hotel but some of us dropped by the town near to our hotel.
That's about it. Our first day in Langkawi.
....to be continued
Langkawi (Arrival)
Middle August 2014 trip!
This trip was planned 2 months before. Actually it was not a well planned like Siem Reap or Singapore. More like laid back trip. Just gonna follow my friends which places they want to go.
I can't say today as day one though. Arrival! There were nine of us in this trip. Our 1 hour AirAsia flight from KUL to LGK was during at night. As soon as we arrived Langkawi International Airport, we immediately look for our rental car. We already booked our car two weeks before the trip. One MyVi and one Avanza, far from what my friend has been agreed which he requested for two Vios. But it's okay... As long as they still charge the same rate, which is RM80 per day per car. Its their mistake anyway.
While waiting for our friend to pick up the car at the rental car's office, we walked to the nearest warung (restaurant), Airport Corner for a dinner.. or supper (11pm already at that time). Just 10 minutes walk from departure hall. Usual malay food, nasi goreng, mee goreng, etc. Normal price like in KL, RM5-8 per meal with drinks. After awhile, cars were there. Looking very new. The MyVi is the latest version. Here, they will not fill the fuel for you. Instead you will get almost empty fuel tank so have to refuel as soon as you get the car. RM20 fuel per car.
After dinner, we went straight to our hotel, Aseania Hotel near Pantai Chenang. It was midnight at that time. Register, collect keys, picked up our bags, to the room and sleep to ready for next day's adventure..
This trip was planned 2 months before. Actually it was not a well planned like Siem Reap or Singapore. More like laid back trip. Just gonna follow my friends which places they want to go.
I can't say today as day one though. Arrival! There were nine of us in this trip. Our 1 hour AirAsia flight from KUL to LGK was during at night. As soon as we arrived Langkawi International Airport, we immediately look for our rental car. We already booked our car two weeks before the trip. One MyVi and one Avanza, far from what my friend has been agreed which he requested for two Vios. But it's okay... As long as they still charge the same rate, which is RM80 per day per car. Its their mistake anyway.
While waiting for our friend to pick up the car at the rental car's office, we walked to the nearest warung (restaurant), Airport Corner for a dinner.. or supper (11pm already at that time). Just 10 minutes walk from departure hall. Usual malay food, nasi goreng, mee goreng, etc. Normal price like in KL, RM5-8 per meal with drinks. After awhile, cars were there. Looking very new. The MyVi is the latest version. Here, they will not fill the fuel for you. Instead you will get almost empty fuel tank so have to refuel as soon as you get the car. RM20 fuel per car.
After dinner, we went straight to our hotel, Aseania Hotel near Pantai Chenang. It was midnight at that time. Register, collect keys, picked up our bags, to the room and sleep to ready for next day's adventure..
Siem Reap; The Expenditures
We've came out with several budgets but not all money were spent during our stay there because not many things we could spend on... If only I can go there and explore all. Well, here are the expenditures!
I didn't spend so much on souvenir, around USD20 (Shirt and teas), forgot to include that one.
Click to enlarge
I didn't spend so much on souvenir, around USD20 (Shirt and teas), forgot to include that one.
Siem Reap (Day 4)
Final day at Siem Reap.
Our married friend had gone to the airport first because they had first flight of the day to KUL. Just four of us here. We woke up, had breakfast. Again, consistently delicious. We took our time that morning and finally went out to the market for last minute souvenir shopping around the town. We cycled to the nearest shopping mall. Bought some boxes of tea, fridge magnets for my family and a shirt which I really love wearing it. Then we head on to the market, where we tasted fried bug. You can just ask them to try one or two. Just ONE, okay, since they need to make a living out of it. If you are from Malaysia, it tastes like serunding daging and I think they were selling fried bees.
After quick round at the market, we headed back to the hotel. Packed our stuff, check out, get the same tuktuk to the airport.
It was fun to be in Siem Reap for 4 days and I think we should have spend more time there. A lot of things can be explore more like forest reserve there and waterfalls. A friend of mine actually spent a week in Cambodia.
Can't wait for next trip!
Nazmi
Our married friend had gone to the airport first because they had first flight of the day to KUL. Just four of us here. We woke up, had breakfast. Again, consistently delicious. We took our time that morning and finally went out to the market for last minute souvenir shopping around the town. We cycled to the nearest shopping mall. Bought some boxes of tea, fridge magnets for my family and a shirt which I really love wearing it. Then we head on to the market, where we tasted fried bug. You can just ask them to try one or two. Just ONE, okay, since they need to make a living out of it. If you are from Malaysia, it tastes like serunding daging and I think they were selling fried bees.
After quick round at the market, we headed back to the hotel. Packed our stuff, check out, get the same tuktuk to the airport.
It was fun to be in Siem Reap for 4 days and I think we should have spend more time there. A lot of things can be explore more like forest reserve there and waterfalls. A friend of mine actually spent a week in Cambodia.
Can't wait for next trip!
Nazmi
Siem Reap (Day 3)
Day 3, Saturday. We woke up late around 9-ish just before the breakfast period ended. I had a banana pancake. It was so delicious like when I'm writing this I am drooling right now. That's how delicious it was. The other guys came upstairs (where the breakfast is being ready) just after we finished our breakfast. Decided to put our feet into the fish spa thing there while they are having breakfast. We don't know exactly what to do that day, so just hang around for awhile until around 11-ish. We decided to cycle around the town until lunch time, lunch at a different muslim restaurant then Tonle Sap lake.
Really love that the guesthouse provide free bicycle. We started the journey from the Guesthouse and cycle to the busy road of Siem Reap. I think it was a highway. Full of motorcycle, yet it was relaxing ride.
The map we cycled. Didn't realised it was in square shape.
We stopped at a silk shop near to the Siem Reap river bridge. I couldn't find the name of the shop by googling it even with Google Street View. I do think the shop was still new at that time. Anyway, have a look at the shop. I don't know whether the price is reasonable or not. My friends bought a passport cover which costs around USD30. Tried to haggle but only got little discount from them. Paid for it, put in the bicycle basket and we continued our journey. We stopped yet again at Kantha Bopha Academy for Pediatrics which we thought it was a performing art centre but it wasn't because there was a banner showing art performance. Anyway, decided to stop because attracted to its perimeter fencing. A few pictures, cycle to our guesthouse to get ready for lunch.
Futsal court
As soon as we reached guesthouse, get ready for lunch and Tonle Sap trip. Our TukTuk drivers always been ready for us, provided that we tell them earlier our plans.
We had our lunch at the same area as yesterday but different restaurant. The restaurant is called Muslim Family Kitchen Restaurant. We had some seafood, soups and other things I couldn't recall. We enjoyed our lunch there for one hour plus. Before we head to Tonle Sap, we stopped at Masjid An Neakmah for Zohor prayer, a masjid in Siem Reap. It is located a few meters away from the restaurant. There is also an islamic school behind of the masjid which schooling about 100 students with only 2 classes and only 2 ustaz are the teachers there.
We grabbed some attention from the kids there, they were playing with our female friends inside of the Tuktuk, nevertheless there were cute kids. Kids are being kids. So after the prayers we headed to Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. The journey took about less than 1 hour by tuktuk. All along the journey to the jetty, it was refreshing to see the scenery. The Tonle Sap jetty was under construction, so expect dust and sand flying everywhere. We boarded on 8 seater sampan, guided by 18 year old local which speaks good English. From jetty to the floating village it took about 30 minutes to reach there. The view was amazing, but the water was murky like teh tarik drink back home in Malaysia.
The floating village is like a normal village, they have pig farm, cats and dogs, schools, church, clinic, etc. expect that its all on the boat! I was told that since they are living on the boat, the government wont collect land tax, or whatever tax there is. We saw a lady inside of the lake towing the sampan with her child in the boat. The depth can be less than 1 meter during dry season but can go up to 10 meter during rainy season.
They brought us to a crocodile cage. They said once there were a lot of crocodiles around but now there are only inside of the cage. That was relief but pity at the same time. Then they took us to the shop for us to buy some food or water for the villagers as donations. It's like a forced-donation to us because we had no choice, they keep bugging us to buy something. We decided to buy instant noodles. So they brought us to the school, stopped there for awhile, had tour around school. There were 3 class rooms... and we saw a lot of rice the cooked and uncook one in the kitchen. But its okay they are in need of help after all with those condition.
Then we head back to the jetty after 2 hours tour of floating village. The sky is getting dark and we went back to our hotel.
Funny thing happened though, one of our tuktuk was knocked by a car in Night Market area. I dont know how they settle the thing but it was brief and so quick.
Arrived at the hotel, went back out for dinner, look for some merchandise and went back to hotel. Recharging for tomorrow..
....to be continued
Siem Reap (Day 2)
Alarm was set at 4.30am. Really early. But still, rolling on the bed for few minutes. At last we head out around 5.30am. I realised when I woke up there was a motorcycle sound at outside. And
yeap, those were our tuktuk drivers waiting at outside at 4.30am. The sun is already slighty came out. Hoped on a tuktuk and ride to Angkor Wat. Such a cool breezy morning. There will be officers stationed at the entrance, doing inspection on the Angkor ticket. We headed straight to Angkor Wat. Amazing view of sunrise. We still managed to photograph some amazing shot of sunrise over Angkor Wat. There were not many people at that time, and can see people already leave the temple early.
We were there for like 3 hours. Mainly taking pictures and appreciate the architecture and carvings. There are a lot of carving on the wall which will tell you stories about the Angkor Wat. There were a lot of tourist guide. There were 3 levels at the temple. So you need to do a lot of climbing, especially the top level. The staircase, although they modernised it, still it was so steep. But once you are up there you can see the whole of Angkor Wat.
Next up, Bayon temple. The temple site was under conservation and renovation due to some structures are already collapsed. This one is a bit easier than Angkor because it is smaller but the staircase, still so steep. Like my architect friends said, this staircase will fail if get inspected by fire and safety department!
After an hour at Bayon, we move to the next temple, Ta Prohm temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. This is the temple where there are a lot of growing trees inside of the temple. They are not only taking care of the temple but also the trees. Tuktuk will drop you off at West Gate, then you need to walk for 500m to reach the temple. Along the way there were landmine survivors playing musical instruments to support themselves as they are handicapped. Upon reaching the temple I was amazed at how the tree can grow on the temple. Those trees are huge. At that time it was at noon and there were a group of tourist arrived at the same time with us. After one hour there, we have to walk to another exit at East Gate. Another 500m walk to the gate. Same as West Gate, we saw a group of landmine survivors playing musical instruments in a bid to sell their CDs. As soon as at the gate we quickly get on to our Tuktuk. Back to Siem Reap for lunch.
We had our lunch at Cambodian Muslim Restaurant at Siem Reap. We tried Lembu Naik Bukit, which they will cook it at your table. Its like a steamboat and grill thing. There were six of us. So there were 3 dishes, lembu naik bukit, sweet and sour fish anddd can't remember another one. To be honest it was nothing special but the fish, ikan kerapu (grouper fish) was sooooo crisp like sooo delicious. Love it! But you need to try lembu naik bukit too because it was made in there.
Since a friend of us just arrived in the morning and he missed the Angkor Wat, 4 of us decided to follow him to the Angkor Wat. We entered the Angkor Wat again, but at that time, 4pm, the weather was so hot. Not recommended to wear jeans. Wear those Cambodian pants is much better. You can look for it around the market. At the end we just wait for him to finish walk around the temple. Luckily I have a bottle of drinking water. You have to bring at least one big water when touring the temple. At 5pm we got out of the Angkor Wat, thought of seeing sunset at Phnom Bakheng, but as soon as we get there, 5.30pm, it was closed to the public. So sad. That was the temple which has so many visitors and can climb up by hopping on the Elephant for USD20. Frustrated, we decided to go back to our Guesthouse.
At 8pm, we went our again for dinner. This time we cycled to the market. The market is not that far. Navigation was not a problem because you just have to remember the river and there are signage to the market. We ate at a Malaysian restaurant next to the market. Really couldn't recall the name. The owner is a Malaysian who stays there for 10 years already. He was a banker in Malaysia, transferred to Cambodia and now decided to open a restaurant in Siem Reap. Again, they ordered naan. Homemade mint was so delicious until the owner have to top up again. Then we walk around the market again. After awhile we cycle to our guesthouse, had a shower and booommmm! Sleeptime...
....to be continued
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| Angkor Wat Entrance |
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| The highest point of Angkor Wat |
Next up, Bayon temple. The temple site was under conservation and renovation due to some structures are already collapsed. This one is a bit easier than Angkor because it is smaller but the staircase, still so steep. Like my architect friends said, this staircase will fail if get inspected by fire and safety department!
We had our lunch at Cambodian Muslim Restaurant at Siem Reap. We tried Lembu Naik Bukit, which they will cook it at your table. Its like a steamboat and grill thing. There were six of us. So there were 3 dishes, lembu naik bukit, sweet and sour fish anddd can't remember another one. To be honest it was nothing special but the fish, ikan kerapu (grouper fish) was sooooo crisp like sooo delicious. Love it! But you need to try lembu naik bukit too because it was made in there.
Since a friend of us just arrived in the morning and he missed the Angkor Wat, 4 of us decided to follow him to the Angkor Wat. We entered the Angkor Wat again, but at that time, 4pm, the weather was so hot. Not recommended to wear jeans. Wear those Cambodian pants is much better. You can look for it around the market. At the end we just wait for him to finish walk around the temple. Luckily I have a bottle of drinking water. You have to bring at least one big water when touring the temple. At 5pm we got out of the Angkor Wat, thought of seeing sunset at Phnom Bakheng, but as soon as we get there, 5.30pm, it was closed to the public. So sad. That was the temple which has so many visitors and can climb up by hopping on the Elephant for USD20. Frustrated, we decided to go back to our Guesthouse.
At 8pm, we went our again for dinner. This time we cycled to the market. The market is not that far. Navigation was not a problem because you just have to remember the river and there are signage to the market. We ate at a Malaysian restaurant next to the market. Really couldn't recall the name. The owner is a Malaysian who stays there for 10 years already. He was a banker in Malaysia, transferred to Cambodia and now decided to open a restaurant in Siem Reap. Again, they ordered naan. Homemade mint was so delicious until the owner have to top up again. Then we walk around the market again. After awhile we cycle to our guesthouse, had a shower and booommmm! Sleeptime...
....to be continued
Siem Reap (Day 1)
This was planned at the end of 2013. We feel like we want to be at the place where not many Malaysians go, so we chose Siem Reap, Cambodia instead of other places like Thailand, Indonesia, etc..
Anyway, flight ticket was purchased in February (RM300++ without baggage). Flew with AirAsia from KUL-REP-KUL. We went there in the middle of the May. I was told by a friend which just I knew during the travel the price has been lowered to RM200++ 3 weeks before the trip. I was like, shut up. I can do other things with RM100. Initially the budget during stay in Siem Reap (not including accommodation) was USD200-USD250. Oh yeah, they use Khmer Riel and US dollar there. Malaysians, no need to have visa to go there.
We flew there on Thursday morning, 0650 hours. Since we will depart from klia2, we had to go there at least 3 hours before departure justtttt in case if there is confusion. 5 of us made it to the airport. Unfortunately one overslept. He bought a new ticket for the next day.
After 3 hours in the flight, safely arrived at the Siem Reap International Airport around 0815 hours local time. Note that if Malaysia is 8am, then Cambodia is 7am. Have to adjust your watch to 1 hour earlier. As we step out of the plane, the sky is blue, really great photo opportunity. The weather at that time was really nice, but not much wind. At the immigration, only have to fill the custom form, arrival and departure card. We were greeted by our two tuktuk drivers, Cheng and another driver I forgot his name... Sorry! They immediately walk us to their tuktuks which were parked outside of the airport compound.
I've emailed and requested the Guesthouse for 3 tuktuk because one of us is pregnant and afraid that it wont be comfortable for all of us to fit in the tuktuk but I was wrong. Even the guy who missed the flight could fit into the tuktuk. Tuktuk is a ride which is made with motorcycle and have this carriage behind the motorcycle. It is a 4 seater vehicle. Cambodia is left hand drive road, so it was a bit awkward.
20 minutes ride from the airport, we reached at Golden Takeo Guesthouse. The road in front of the Guesthouse is muddy when it is wet, which we didn't expected that. The airport pickup is free of charge. We immediately get into our rooms. Mine was double bed room, which is quite big for 2 person. It can fit 4 people there. 3 nights stay there for around USD66, booked through Agoda website.
Then we headed for brunch. One of us managed to made a list of halal restaurant around Siem Reap. That morning we decided to try Malaysian restaurant called D'Wau Restaurant. At first we went to near Soria Moria Hotel, apparently it is no longer there. The tuktuk driver then drove us to this newly built street mall. To our surprise its D'Wau Restaurant! They've moved to Angkor Shopping Arcade along the National Road No 6. We ordered Nasi Goreng Lok Lak, coconut shake and coconut itself. Delicious. USD5-7 per meal. The tuktuk driver told us that he learned English language from various school - public, private and volunteer school. His English was good enough for us to understand.
After brunch, we decided to visit a war museum. The entrance fee is USD5, comes with free tour guide, if you want to. There, you can see all the equipments from war tanks, airplane, bombs, guns, etc. used during war. Spent our time there for 40 minutes or so then went back to the guesthouse to rest after sleepless night before coming to Siem Reap.
The tuktuk driver recommended us to buy Angkor Wat ticket at four in the evening, since we wanted to see sunset over temple. There is a trick for this. If you want to go the temple on the next day, the ticket for the next day will start to sell after 4.30pm. Therefore, you will get a chance to see a sunset around Angkor Wat. So we bought a one day ticket for USD20. We were asked to stand for a picture there to be printed on the ticket. So cool! Its like a passport for you to go inside of the park. Since its already past 4.30pm, we can use that ticket for the sunset view. There are two temples that he recommended, Phnom Bakeng and Prei Rup. We chose to be at Prei Rup because Cheng said that temple have less visitors compared to Phnom Bakeng.
He was right. There were less people. The temple was really interesting for starter. The staircases are so steep. Need to be careful. The view was amazing. Although a bit cloudy but it was amazing. After the sun sets, we went straight to Pub Street and Night Market to find a restaurant. We went to Maharajah Restaurant, Indian cuisine. Ate mutton lassi where they serve you naan, rice, mutton and some kuah. Delicious I tell you. We spent for like USD7-8. Went for a short walk at the market then go back to the Guesthouse as we need to wake up early to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat!
....to be continued
Anyway, flight ticket was purchased in February (RM300++ without baggage). Flew with AirAsia from KUL-REP-KUL. We went there in the middle of the May. I was told by a friend which just I knew during the travel the price has been lowered to RM200++ 3 weeks before the trip. I was like, shut up. I can do other things with RM100. Initially the budget during stay in Siem Reap (not including accommodation) was USD200-USD250. Oh yeah, they use Khmer Riel and US dollar there. Malaysians, no need to have visa to go there.
We flew there on Thursday morning, 0650 hours. Since we will depart from klia2, we had to go there at least 3 hours before departure justtttt in case if there is confusion. 5 of us made it to the airport. Unfortunately one overslept. He bought a new ticket for the next day.
After 3 hours in the flight, safely arrived at the Siem Reap International Airport around 0815 hours local time. Note that if Malaysia is 8am, then Cambodia is 7am. Have to adjust your watch to 1 hour earlier. As we step out of the plane, the sky is blue, really great photo opportunity. The weather at that time was really nice, but not much wind. At the immigration, only have to fill the custom form, arrival and departure card. We were greeted by our two tuktuk drivers, Cheng and another driver I forgot his name... Sorry! They immediately walk us to their tuktuks which were parked outside of the airport compound.
I've emailed and requested the Guesthouse for 3 tuktuk because one of us is pregnant and afraid that it wont be comfortable for all of us to fit in the tuktuk but I was wrong. Even the guy who missed the flight could fit into the tuktuk. Tuktuk is a ride which is made with motorcycle and have this carriage behind the motorcycle. It is a 4 seater vehicle. Cambodia is left hand drive road, so it was a bit awkward.
20 minutes ride from the airport, we reached at Golden Takeo Guesthouse. The road in front of the Guesthouse is muddy when it is wet, which we didn't expected that. The airport pickup is free of charge. We immediately get into our rooms. Mine was double bed room, which is quite big for 2 person. It can fit 4 people there. 3 nights stay there for around USD66, booked through Agoda website.
Then we headed for brunch. One of us managed to made a list of halal restaurant around Siem Reap. That morning we decided to try Malaysian restaurant called D'Wau Restaurant. At first we went to near Soria Moria Hotel, apparently it is no longer there. The tuktuk driver then drove us to this newly built street mall. To our surprise its D'Wau Restaurant! They've moved to Angkor Shopping Arcade along the National Road No 6. We ordered Nasi Goreng Lok Lak, coconut shake and coconut itself. Delicious. USD5-7 per meal. The tuktuk driver told us that he learned English language from various school - public, private and volunteer school. His English was good enough for us to understand.
The tuktuk driver recommended us to buy Angkor Wat ticket at four in the evening, since we wanted to see sunset over temple. There is a trick for this. If you want to go the temple on the next day, the ticket for the next day will start to sell after 4.30pm. Therefore, you will get a chance to see a sunset around Angkor Wat. So we bought a one day ticket for USD20. We were asked to stand for a picture there to be printed on the ticket. So cool! Its like a passport for you to go inside of the park. Since its already past 4.30pm, we can use that ticket for the sunset view. There are two temples that he recommended, Phnom Bakeng and Prei Rup. We chose to be at Prei Rup because Cheng said that temple have less visitors compared to Phnom Bakeng.
He was right. There were less people. The temple was really interesting for starter. The staircases are so steep. Need to be careful. The view was amazing. Although a bit cloudy but it was amazing. After the sun sets, we went straight to Pub Street and Night Market to find a restaurant. We went to Maharajah Restaurant, Indian cuisine. Ate mutton lassi where they serve you naan, rice, mutton and some kuah. Delicious I tell you. We spent for like USD7-8. Went for a short walk at the market then go back to the Guesthouse as we need to wake up early to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat!
....to be continued
Singapore! The expenditures
Before I travel I will usually try to come out with a budget because from there you will know how much you will spend and maybe you could save somewhere during your trip. Anyway, here is my expenditure for three days Singapore trip.
"Cash in hand" include lunch, dinner, MRT pass and other relevant stuff. Sooo yeahhh. Surprisingly I still have SGD20 with me now.
Singapore! (Day 3)
Continued from Singapore! (Part 2)
Next morning woke up at 6am. As I wanted to have my shower there were so many... Javanese at bathroom. Queuing. 6.30am get down to the kitchen. Had light breakfast as previously. 7.00am-ish started our journey to Sentosa Island. The main event, UNIVERSAL STUDIO SINGAPORE! Yeap we were very much excited. Hopped on to MRT at Lavender, I think. It was during rush hour. Many people were walking and boarding the train. Changed train at Outram Park, and head on to Harbour Front.
We reached there at 8.00am-ish considering our friend had arrived at Singapore that morning from KL. Thought he had arrived but not yet. Rush hour. Waited for half hour or so. Used their public toilet there and found out there is no water. Luckily I checked it first before doing my business. Anyway, my friends had breakfast at McD there then we walked from Vivo City to the Sentosa Island. Reached at Sentosa around 9.30am-ish. Searched for the locker. It is near to the USS entrance. Will cost you around $20 for a big locker for a day. Our bags were big and there were three bags.
Claimed our Groupon ticket at the window counter then enter the USS! But disappointment of the day, the two roller coaster were closed for maintenance. Nonetheless it was nice but I was expecting more rides and more fun rides. By 3.30pm we finished all adult rides. Rest a little. Watched Sesame Street show. Took some pictures with characters. By 5.00pm we exit and bought a coin souvenir for SGD2.
From Harbour Front MRT, we disembarked at Bishan, boarded there to Kranji MRT. Boarded bus SBS 170 to Johor Bharu. Have to wait a bit longer because there were many people in the bus. Around 7.00pm arrived at Larkin, took the car from my Grandpa's house. Had our dinner at some RM5 chicken chop restaurant. A lot of people there because of the price. Started our journey back to KL at 9.00pm. Arrived in Subang at midnight.
It was a fun journey. Would love to visit Singapore again soon and spend time at the park. Planned to go to a park at East Coast Lagoon but time constraint and it was too far from other places. Sad thing our Malaysia Ringgit is getting weak against Singapore. Hoping for a better future.
Next stop?
Wait for next stop in May!
Next morning woke up at 6am. As I wanted to have my shower there were so many... Javanese at bathroom. Queuing. 6.30am get down to the kitchen. Had light breakfast as previously. 7.00am-ish started our journey to Sentosa Island. The main event, UNIVERSAL STUDIO SINGAPORE! Yeap we were very much excited. Hopped on to MRT at Lavender, I think. It was during rush hour. Many people were walking and boarding the train. Changed train at Outram Park, and head on to Harbour Front.
We reached there at 8.00am-ish considering our friend had arrived at Singapore that morning from KL. Thought he had arrived but not yet. Rush hour. Waited for half hour or so. Used their public toilet there and found out there is no water. Luckily I checked it first before doing my business. Anyway, my friends had breakfast at McD there then we walked from Vivo City to the Sentosa Island. Reached at Sentosa around 9.30am-ish. Searched for the locker. It is near to the USS entrance. Will cost you around $20 for a big locker for a day. Our bags were big and there were three bags.
Claimed our Groupon ticket at the window counter then enter the USS! But disappointment of the day, the two roller coaster were closed for maintenance. Nonetheless it was nice but I was expecting more rides and more fun rides. By 3.30pm we finished all adult rides. Rest a little. Watched Sesame Street show. Took some pictures with characters. By 5.00pm we exit and bought a coin souvenir for SGD2.
Roller coaster that closed for maintenance. Sad.
Far far away.
A must photo.
From Harbour Front MRT, we disembarked at Bishan, boarded there to Kranji MRT. Boarded bus SBS 170 to Johor Bharu. Have to wait a bit longer because there were many people in the bus. Around 7.00pm arrived at Larkin, took the car from my Grandpa's house. Had our dinner at some RM5 chicken chop restaurant. A lot of people there because of the price. Started our journey back to KL at 9.00pm. Arrived in Subang at midnight.
It was a fun journey. Would love to visit Singapore again soon and spend time at the park. Planned to go to a park at East Coast Lagoon but time constraint and it was too far from other places. Sad thing our Malaysia Ringgit is getting weak against Singapore. Hoping for a better future.
Next stop?
Wait for next stop in May!
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