Angkor Wat

Second day of the trip was fully dedicated to Angkor Wat, the destination of wonder or what some other like to call it as, "The destination that made our Kingdom, 'Kingdom of Wonder'".  

Second day of the trip was dedicated to Angkor Wat, the destination of wonder or what some other like to call it as, "The destination that made our Kingdom, 'Kingdom of Wonder'". A place where structures tell stories, a place where the exciting present Khmer meets the glorious Khmer of the past.

Angkor Wat, to me, is a very kool site. And it’s as simple as that.

Let me introduce Angkor Wat. This is my second time visiting it. It had not been awarded No. 1 when I visited last time. I was 10 then.

I am 14 now and so, it definitely had to be refurbished. The increasing love and care from both the locals and expats have made Angkor Wat great again, that has taken Angkor Wat to the position of the best world heritage site.

It was built as the home of Gods. Most of it was made of sandstones. It's surrounded by a lake full of crocodiles. If you can see it like I see it, it looks like a picture frame and the temple is right in the middle surrounded by another layer of bush of tall trees. The Gods who used to live there moved to the Guimet Museum in France. They are still there now. I wonder if they miss this place, if they miss us.

To my surprise, I was happy while in there. Angkor gave me happiness.

One of the best moments in Angkor Wat was to sit down in the middle of what used to be a pond inside the temple. I think I like real and simple things, that’s how I judge things whether they are kool and amazeball or not. The sun was shining at me just like the spotlight you see on those magic shows, the pillars and walls around me were all molded, and it was just me daring to sit there with my fishing hat on, the crowd was staring and eyebrowing me while my fellow comrade took my photos, but there were no time to waste, I had to enjoy what was there, and I did it. The crowd were tempted too as some of them came down in the pond, as well. What a whistleblower I was!

We had more Gods in there but most of them had moved to France. One had stayed back; as it looks like and so, I went to him. He stood in there mighty tall. People were lining up to offer their prayers and many were receiving the Kalava (a red blessed string) as blessings. I got an awkward story there. According to Hinduism which inspired the idea of Angkor in some angles, and Prof. Wikipedia, it is said that only married women would get it tied on their left wrist and the rest of us were to use our right wrist and I got mine tied on my left wrist. I am switching it to my right wrist as I am writing about it. Being blessed by a God in the biggest religious site in the world was a big honour, I guess I’m very blessed right now.

There were kids running around the temples, jumping of the small cliffs, it looked like they were playing hide-and-seek, as if the Angkor Wat was their house; there is nothing special about the kids, I felt so good seeing them enjoying the temple even if they might not actually know what it is, young, wild, and free. The reason why I think people like Angkor Wat is that the moment you get in, some might assumed that it’s a holy place and is restricting them from touching, but here in Angkor Wat, you simply can feel the place as if it’s yours, not just standing in front of a line which says “DO NOT TOUCH OR CROSS”. When you go to a historical site, everyone wants to feel it, look at the foto below or above, I was literally laying down on one of the blocks of stones, and sunbathed as well. I layed down on the stairways, and I was even pretending as one of the knights of the round table, with my fishing hat and the selfie stick.

I see these moments through my own eyes, make it as a foto, and convey it with words. If the words did not impress, the following fotos should get the job done.

Hongyy’s Business/Imagination Mode: ON

I’m feeling so excited as I reach this part, because my imaginations are pretty well structured, not just a fantasy that won’t be possible but something that can be achieved if want or need to. Imagine a ticket that will allow everyone to get access to at night, a tent would be niiice, the tourists can have traditional Khmer foods serve right in Angkor Wat, and there will be Apsaras dancing with Angkor Wat as their stage and the lights that will keep Angkor Wat alive and kicking like never before. A sleepless night that is very priceless and very worth it, traditional Khmer games will keep the ‘historical’ atmosphere and even make it better. Of course there will be guards nearly everywhere, surveillance system and all will be expected, since it’s one of the most visited world heritage in the world, it has to be protected, but I personally think that the annoyance that will obvious trigger our anger iOS actually beyond acceptable, we get to stay in Angkor Wat (please sarcastically say it.), who cares about the annoyance?

The simple-looking restaurants right in front of Angkor Wat might just be the koolest spot ever to just sit and eat and enjoy the view; the view of what? the view of the Angkor Wat, it is indeed out of the universe. I had my curry.

I had to confirm with my mom if ‘Ta Prohm’ was actually ‘Ta Prohm’, I did not remember the name of the place, but my memory described the site as a very bushy, slimy, rocky, and moss-occupied.

Pub Street | Siem Reap

Pub is for Public House, a house open to the public and so, Pub Street would obviously be the street open to public. I say, it is. All of us who have been on this street would not doubt and for those who are going to be on this street soon or sooner shall not doubt as well.

Let us take a walk.

The atmosphere here is amazeball, lemme tell you about everything one by one, bond with me for tonight. So I just finished half of the whole L sized chicken-curry-flavored pizza, uh-huh, I ate a lot; it's a trip, chillax / Diet Mode OFF.

We shall start with something funny. So there's this bench with wings for people to sit on and pretend they're angels and they can fly and of course, take fotos. That's not why I found it funny, it's them who would not sit on the bench and would choose to stand behind the bench and therefore, behind the wings instead, making it look like they got wings growing out from their waist, eheheheh. It wasn’t that late for people to lose that much of senses.

Have you noticed that I would only start the article when I'm full? and yes, I'm currently shupa duper gutted with food. And yes I'm still eating the leftovers.

I'm known as Mario, and this time around, I've been jumping on and around the Pub Street these few hours. The food stalls have been buzzing, their foods have been corrupting everyone bite by bite.

I've been taking fotos as well as enjoying what I take, got some pretty niiice fotos indeed; well, we are in a foto paradise, no doubt.

I personally think that it's the lights that are making the Pub Street, the 'Pub Street', if it wasn't for the noise and the crazy characters jumping in and around the block, enjoying their holidays. And that's what Pub Street does to people, I am just so proud of how what it can deliver these to us, I'm happy.

This guy who tagged along with me on this trip asked me one question.

"Ain't it KOOL to write your own article for the blog on Pub Street at 10:30 eating pizza and listening to mashed up songs on Pub Street?"

And yeah, I answered, "It's pretty God Damn AWESOMEEEE."

There's this Scorpions song from the bar across the road, right to me and there’s that David Guetta mix from the bar on my left and there’s this group of Khmer musicians playing instruments on the street seeking donation rite in front of me; it's so nicely *uncensored sound* up, and I like it.

Before getting dirty, the civilized version of Pub Street in the morning was more of a simple refreshing kind of place where you get good breakfast and niiice coffee and quiet atmosphere. Psa Kandal beside the street helps.

Amok was no more than a simple Khmer dish and I got the full package, got to taste the veggies and the meat at one same time. I thereby called this dish ‘The Pre Lunch’, everyone who knows me would be knowing that I do eat a lot. Roaming around the ‘not yet a Pub Street’ was kinda boring when you know it’s far more amazeball than it is in the morning compared to the Night Mode of Pub Street. I ended my treasure hunt at ‘Café Central’, there was a very catchy name on the menu, so I asked the waitress that was waiting our table: “Watermelon AND Lime Shake or Watermelon OR Lime Shake?”, and she replied sarcastically, “Nooope… not an ‘OR’, it’s an ‘AND’”. I finished the sarcastic Shake right before I decided to move my seat nearby the window, uh-huh, I like the fresh air around this cafe. This street is noisy, smoky, crowded, sweaty, peaceful, entertaining, fresh, fun, happy, colorful, quiet, charming, tricky, fresh, tempting, mysterious, helping, cultural, modern, risky, demanding, loving, friendly, and all the other adjectives you can think of.

Note: I started the “Siem Reap | Epic!” article around this time, while taking my cold medicine and dozed off after I’ve written only few paras.

Now let’s get back to the Pub Street at its best, I spent my nights here, and the energy seems to not go anywhere at any time, there were no time when I see the crowds emptying, the moment two goes out, five comes back in. The atmosphere, if you see it like I see it, is immortal. There will always be a dance-off on the street every now and then, the Khmer orchestras were always there even if it was Pchum Ben. I think they have kept their place in the Pub Street, most of the people visiting must've heard of them. They have been there all season long, entertaining the visitors who came to visit their Pub Street. They have become global citizens, their culture has been widened, they're happy when it's Christmas, when it's Halloween, when it's ThanksGiving, they celebrate it all. It's somehow good that they're who they are now, it's pretty obvious, they breathe the Pub Street, it's how they make their living, it's where they belong.

From the vibe to the crowds to the friendliness to the colors to the lights to the food to the music to the faces, all of us from different countries, but yet we somehow interact as if we've been friends for quite some time, and I think that's how our society should work, I would love to expand the Pub Street, the bigger the better.

Pub Street is as colorful and tempting as the above foto can be; like it or not, you want to try it and I say you should.

Siem Reap | Epic!

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in an almost-real kind of coffee-shop, just drank a "watermelon and lime together in a shake", not sure what's gonna happen to Mr. Timmy.

It was a 'not-okay' ride on another not so VI (Very Important) kind of VIP bus, my neck hurts, my legs feel like they have been tied up for a long time and I was packed in a smaller than me space.

After checking in early in the morning, I napped a big bit in my three bed room in the guesthouse up until the almost - noon. I came along with two genuinely patient people. We came out for food, ended up eating wherever we wandered to. It started to rain and we could not wander around any longer and so I ended up eating more, we were now seated at the almost-real kind of coffee-shop I mentioned earlier.

The Siem Reap trip that I have been waiting for a whole year finally came true and it went EPIC as grand can be. I ate everything, every time, and everywhere.

The Pub Street was a nightly routine, I would go there right after the long unusual afternoon naps, either was a nap out of exhaustion or was just a nap out of freedom to do so. Happy Pchum Ben Holidays to everyone.

The muddy soccer field, the sound of lizards and geckos chitchatting at midnight, the live music concerts of the sleepless toads, the dormitory with the bunk beds, the un-lockable door, the rob-probable windows, the unkind stingy shower hose; that is only how I could describe the guesthouse I stayed at. It was great. That guesthouse named, Garden Village, about a half a mile away from the Pub Street, has been tagged by Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor.

On the way out of the guesthouse to the Pub Street, right by the main road-side, rite in front of a mart, there is this Pho Yong, a street food vendor with so much people eating and waiting for just a simple bowl of Pho, the Vietnamese noodle dish. The site was, still is unbelievable. It posed as if that was it.

To make things worse, I was denied thrice by this Pho Yong. First shot, they had run out of meatballs. Second shot, they would not give take-aways. Third shot, there weren’t any seat for me. Everyone was there; farangs, locals, other asians, Khmers from other provinces and I was not counted for. “Get a life”, I motivated myself.

I never gave up, and got my share of bowl and that was when the rain decided to rain a bit. No one moved though! People there seemed to care enough for their seats and the Pho that none took cover and showed respect to the sweet rain. Not to forget, there are many interesting places to eat almost anything just rite across the street into the Pub Street. We all so patriotically stuck with the Pho. And, I was so lost with the Pho that I did not even take a foto of it or the corner. 

Foto Courtesy: google

There was one signature thing that I didn’t do, and I still do not consider doing it any time soon; FEED OUR FISH WITH YOUR DEAD SKIN.

It’s not that I did not or do not have the soccer balls to do it, it’s just that I really did not want the fish masseurs to touch me at all. Just like one of my fellows that hates most of the reptiles, it’s not like lizards can scare him, it’s just that there will always be something in everyone’s life that we all dislike, it’s between the “scared of it” zone and the “I don’t like it” zone. I was lost in this case as well, I did not take any fotos of the fish masseurs. 

Foto Courtesy: google

It’s not my first time here in Siem Reap, my last visit was five years ago, I was too young to enjoy whatever fun that Siem Reap had to offer to me back then. I would still consider myself as a first-timer in Siem Reap, and as always, first-timers visit the best of the best, Siem Reap has to offer to us.

I tagged Angkor Wat with my second day in Siem Reap.

Angkor Wat gave me goosebumps. It is the real deal.

I woke up as late as routinely, “the sunrise of Angkor Wat” plan got absolutely denied, I just felt like Angkor Wat could not be running away, and so, I took my time.  

I tuktuk-ed all the way to Angkor Wat, and on the way was a ticket counter, but I did not get off, obviously because I am a Khmer. Just right when we were done there, there was a lady who we had to pass through with the entry tickets for my fellow expat compadres, so they showed the tickets, I didn’t have any as I did not need one and then the lady looked at me, “Ticket please”, she asked in a very practiced accent, “Nhom Khmer Ta (I’m a Khmer)”, I answered and she hit me on my right shoulder out of shock. I had my fishing hat on.

We reached the Angkor Wat, with the Angkor Wat style, taking fotos straight up, that’s how we did it! I’m not gonna say anything further, please check the fotos I took and see if you could see what I saw and felt there.

                   

Same applies for Ta Prohm.

I’m too young to talk about LIFE; but somehow, I’ve become friends with LIFE. Let’s just say that I see the Pub Street as something more than just a public street filled with colored lights. In Pub Street, I found life, I found the Banana Pancake.

Me eating and me describing the food are different, the last happens the least and I gotta say that the Banana Pancake has made its way to “HONGYY ALL-TIME FAVORITE FOOD”.

Saying that its taste is indescribable might be too much, it’s just a pancake, many would say. There are certain food in the world that I would want to learn to cook, and to be honest, it is one of them, that’s how much I liked it and liking it.

There must be a reason behind this best-selling snack in the Pub Street, the simplicity of both its look and its taste, making the wait very much worth it. The only thing that’s making them not relevant, is that they would appear only at night, but if you see it like I see it, then appearing only at night had made all the banana pancake vendors become slightly more special. It’s a fun mix as well, just like eating chinese buns and drinking coffee, the mixture of simplicity and koolness is indeed very hard to find these days, but there’s no doubt you’ll find it in the Pub Street.

I might sound like I’m exaggerating the whole thing just for the sake of the article, but it’s never like that, believe me, it was an extraordinarily crazy. There is something about simple things that catches the heart and soul.

I have willingly chosen not to upload any foto of the banana pancake. I would want you to find it by yourselves as and when you get a chance. Fotos say thousand words but banana pancake in the pub street speaks more….try it!....not just the banana pancake but the whole street, it is for the public.