Page1: Day 1-2 Angkor temples, Kampung Phluk & flooded forest

Page1: Day 1-2 Angkor temples, Kampung Phluk & flooded forest

23 Nov 2008 - Singapore to Siem Reap 10:20am MI 616 Singapore to Siem Reap 11:25am Touchdown Siem Reap, no-frills airport pick-up arranged by La Villa Loti We were in the hotel by about 12:00pm Took a walk from La Villa Loti to Old Market Area Tea break @ Danmark Khmer Restaurant - Khmer Pancake - Fresh spring roll wtih prawns (the rolls here are very refreshing taste) - Fresh cocunuts Walk around old market area which were the usual shops selling guidebooks, scarfs, T-shirts and such. Artisan D'Angkor - had a nice collection of higher quality silk products Dinner @ Pho Yong USD$2 beef noddles - pho was very good and more chewy (QQ) than those you get in Singapore. Bought a fresh mango from a supermart.

24 Nov 2008 - Angkor Temples and Kampung Phluk, flooded forest 06:30am Breakfast @ La Villa Loti Had a quick breakfast of eggs, fruits, yorgurt, french loafs, pineapple jam. Soluy, our guide was already waiting for us at reception area. We set off at 6.45am to the ticket counter. No queue, took a digital photo and paid USD$40 per pax for a 3-day pass. We are now ready to start our temple tour ! South Gate of Angkor Thom                                    Bayon Temple Bayon is structurally very impressive and is charterized by the 4 faces on each parsats Baphuon Temple Unfortunately the temple was closed and we could not enter to see the large reclining buddha . From the outside, we could barely make out the shape of the buddha. Apparently they have been doing restoration for a long time, dismantling it as there was a mistake in the stone placement (that took another 20 years ?) Guess they should finish it in the next 100 years :> Phimean-akas Temple Steep climb, narrow steps and soon you will learn that most temples are such :> Elephant Terrace Leper King Terrace East Gate of Angkor Thom 1.5km flat walking trail from the main road to this gate. Set in the middle of the forest, away from cars and being the only ones there, this gate brings you back to the Angkorian era even though it is the same design as the south gate. Lunch @ Neary Khmer Restuarant (angkor) - Fish Amok - Sour Farm Fish Soup (very good) - Khmer fried rice - Deep fried pork ribs I excepted khmer food to be more spicy, later in the trip, we learned that chilli was not traditionally introduced into khmer cruisines as such their taste is a lot more mild than thai food. 1330 Went to town to buy tickets for boat ride to Kampong Phluk, the slited village. Tonle Sap Lake - Kampong Phluk Boarded a small narrow motorized boat.  Life in the village The Flooded Forest Got on an even smaller boat, "arm-powered" by the village lady so that we can navigate among the flooded forest. This was the end of the wet season, so water level was pretty high, amazing how the entire place looks as we were floating among the treetop. The water at this part of the lake was probably about 4-6m deep. Dinner @ The River Garden Was quite tired after a long day out. Decided to eat at the nearest restaurant 150m away from La Villa Loti Ordered the fresh spring rolls, papaya salad, mango chicken stir-fry with cashew nuts and pad thai