5-Day Siem Reap Trip for Two for Only P38K- Part 5

Back to Manila

The bus rates sign at the Aranyaprathet Bus Station.

Unfortunately, Hubby and I had to go back home. We wished the trip could've lasted longer. We went back the same route, traveling along Cambodian dirt roads that will test the limits of the squeamish going to the Poipet-Aranyaprathet border. Instead of touring Bangkok, which we initially planned, we instead went to the airport right away. We were too tired and we didn't have enough time to go around Bangkok. We also risk missing our flight. Finally, we arrived at the airport with time to spare, 3 hours before our flight.

Overall cost breakdown summary:
Transportation Cost (including airfare) - Php 17,708
Accommodation - Php 7,461.25
Food and Miscellaneous items - Php 4,606
Tours - Php 9,035.75
Grand Total - Php 38,811 - not bad for a 5-day trip for two. CERTIFIED VFM (Value For Money)!

What a great trip! We were absolutely smitten by Siem Reap's charms. We hope to go back soon!

5-Day Siem Reap Trip for Two for Only P38K- Part 4

Second Day - Whirlwind Tour of 10 Temples

Learning from the Day 1 Tour, Mr. Tuktuk driver became our guide for the whole day. Hubby and I started the day having Happy Herb Pizza, where a special "herb" is a key ingredient to all their pizzas. I guess that's why we had the stamina to visit all those sites.

Happy Herb Pizza, with special "herbs" and "spices"

All in all, we visited the following:

1. Angkor Thom
2. Bayon Temple (where majority of Day 2 pictures were taken. We still couldn't get over the smiling faces of the temple. We also met Chito, our elephant tour ride.)
3. Preah Khan Temple
4. Temple of the Leper King
5. Terrace of the Elephants (where I was nastily bitten by a sarang, some sort of a dragonfly. It hurt like hell and my thumb swelled. But at least I didn't need to go to a hospital)
6. Ta Keo Temple
7. Banteay Kdei
8. Srah Srang
9. Phrom Bakheng - where we saw Siem Reap from a high vantage point and watched the sunset. Really nice!
10. Chay Say - It was undergoing repairs though so we weren't able to get in

In the evening, I tried the Cambodian massage while Hubby spent his time at an internet cafe. He never did like massages. After that, we tried to get some last minute pasalubong shopping at the Old Market, but it was closed already (For future Siem Reap travelers, the Old Market closes at 6pm). But we had the best value-for-money meal ever at the Old Market, where they serve a sort of a filling and spicy Cambodian pancit or some sort of a pad thai. It's super yummy! We also chatted with some Japanese tourists while we were there. My hubby was able to practice quite nicely his 6 units of Japanese in college (I had 12 units in Spanish and all I can remember now is "Que Hora Es?")

Terrace of The Elephants (where I got bitten by a sarang. It was nasty.)

One of the sections of the Preah Khan Temple

Elephant Ride at Bayon Temple (our elephant's name is Chito)

Ta Keo Temple. According to Mr. Tuktuk, construction was abandoned during the ancient times because it was struck by lightning. Ancient Khmer people felt the gods didn't want them to continue building this, so bye bye temple..

Cost:
So for Day 2, our tally of costs was:
Tuktuk tour - USD 12.25 (It was actually USD 10, but we gave him a tip) (Php 575.75)
Entrance - USD 40 (Php 1,880)
Elephant ride at Bayon - USD 20 (Php 940)
Massage - USD 5 (Php 235) - a bargain!
Food and Pasalubong - approximately USD 50 (Php 2,350)
Feeling like a Traveling Superwoman... priceless!

5-Day Siem Reap Trip for Two for Only P38K- Part 3

First Day - Temples, temples and more temples...

First on the tour list was to go to Angkor Wat. Hubby and I hired a tour guide, his name is Vuthay. He took us through Angkor Wat, Bayon and the Tomb Raider temple, Ta Prohm.

Having a moment at Bayon temple

Kissing the smiling face at Bayon

The couple shot at the famous Angkor Wat

Ta Prohm Temple, or some people call the Tomb Raider Temple

Vuthay did a good job, and his fee was okay. But on hindsight, it would've been a lot cheaper and you can cover more ground by renting a tuktuk for the entire day and have the driver act as your tour guide too. Some tuktuk drivers know broken English so you can get by with that,especially if you have a guide book on hand. We felt that we didn't cover much ground on the first day of tour but at least we used the experience as our basis for the next day tour.

In every tour, make sure that you wear comfortable clothing and shoes. And bring these essentials:
1. extra shirt
2. water
3. towel (or wet ones if you can)
4. sunglasses
5. sunblock (I failed to bring this one so I was toasted for the entire day. But I'm okay with it, we needed the sun.)
6. camera with battery (fully charged)
7. photocopies of passports and an official ID, like a driver's license - a passport can be handy in getting discounts but I would rather buy at regular price than lose my passport
8. of course, money and ATM/credit card
9. phone
10. mosquito repellant (very important, especially with dengue cases going up)

Numbers 8 and 9 are a no-brainer, anyway.

The thing about Siem Reap is that their restrooms are really clean, they have adequate water, but they have humongous mosquitoes, double the size of the ones in Manila. Pretty scary too, so make sure you do a quick one in the bathroom and get out fast before you get bitten by one gigantic mosquito.

After the trip, we went to The Blue Pumpkin Bar, where it's a pastry and coffee shop on the first floor, and a bed and bar on the second . We had some dessert and rested our trek-weary legs.And then off to an Irish pub... in Cambodia! (go figure). It's called Molly Malone's Bar and we tried their Guiness. It had a strong taste that I didn't really like as much. Give me a San Mig Light any day!

Blue Pumpkin Bar - although we didn't see anything blue here. It's a great place to hang out.

Cost:
So the total spending for tour day 1 consisted of:
Tour guide fee - USD 25 (Php 1,175)
Tuktuk rental - USD 15 (Php 705)
Entrance for 2 to Angkor Wat complex - USD 40 (Php 1,880)
Food - USD 23 (Php 1,081)
Being with my Hubby at Angkor Wat, taking countless pictures... priceless