Cambodia: Home Sweet Home (4/4)

… continued from Cambodia: Phnom Penh (3/4)

Morning’s he-e-e-e-e-re!! The sun is up and I can’t tell you the relief (and thrill) we feel packing up to leave this guesthouse and go back to Jasmine Lodge in Siem Reap. Yippy!

We head downstairs for the breakfast (inclusive, of course) and feast amongst the house flies and mosquitoes under the table.

After breakfast, we visit the Royal Palace. Built over a century ago, it serves as the King’s residence as well as the venue for official and religious ceremonies. Entrance fee is USD3 and there are multi-lingual guides available. You must be respectfully clothed when you’re here – nothing above the knee, no sleeveless tops, no shawls even.

Unfortunately, palace grounds are off-limits today cos the King is expecting some important foreign diplomats the day after.

This is the Napoleon III Pavilion – yeah, kinda sticks out like a sore thumb among all the Khmer-style architecture huh? Looks more like an iron dollhouse than anything else. Apparently, this building was transported to Cambodia all the way from France.

The Silver Pagoda … you can’t pics inside, but it’s named Silver Pagoda cos of the over 5,000 silver tiles that cover the floor. Each tile weighs over 1kg.The Buddha statues in there are … lavish, to say the least. The main Buddha in there is made from emerald … another is made from gold and adorned with over 2,000 precious diamonds, including a 25-carat diamond in the centre of its crown and a 20-carat one embedded in the chest!!

This is the Buddha Tree. It’s an odd-looking tree: its leaves are all huddled at the top while its flowers are dangling on twisted vines around its trunk.

Apparently, these flowers bloom every morning and fall off later in the day. That’s when women – particularly those who are pregnant – will gather the fallen flowers cos they’re believed to alleviate the pain of childbirth. Take the flower and rub it over the belly, I think.

Later that day, I purchase this book ‘Stay Alive, My Son‘ (USD16) – an account of the Khmer Rouge regime by Pin Vathay, a successful, highly educated professional who’s the only one out of his family of 17 who survived the terrible time. I plan to read it on the plane on the way home.

We go for lunch in this little restaurant by the roadside, kinda like a hawker stall. One thing you’ll notice here is that food isn’t entirely cheap. I can’t help it – being Malaysian, I’ve been totally spoilt with dirt-cheap delicious food available at every corner. Compared to what we have back home, of course everything macam damn expensive.

In Cambodia, the average price for a dish at a regular restaurant is USD5. Ask for a cheaper option and you’ll be steered to a roadside coffee shop-style restaurant where each dish costs around USD2 to 2.50. Even the hawker guys also selling things at USD1 and above for each, say, stick of meat or something!

And now, it’s back to take a bus back to Siem Reap. I’m really impressed with the bus service here – they’re not kidding when they say good service and clean toilet.

Speaking of clean toilets, I’m ashamed to say this but the public toilets here beat ours back home anytime. Can you believe it?? Even the ones at the wet market also better. We should be ashamed that after so many years of progress, we still can’t find a way to maintain our public restrooms in a decent state. Why people can but we can’t???

The bus ride is about 5 hours and we’re subjected to Khmer pop karaoke the whole time. It’s a bit depressing the first hour or so but after a while, you grow numb to it. The ironic thing is, 20 minutes before reaching our destination, the driver turns off the karaoke machine and puts on Flo Rida. Amah!

We reach Jasmine Lodge for dinner, then hop back onto the tuk-tuk immediately to go to the Noon Night Market. Must buy myself some more headbands and clutches before flying back home tomorrow.

At USD1 each, they’re a steal, so now, I’m the proud owner of five headbands!

And at USD3 each, I’m the proud owner of four clutches!

And of course, I get myself some more shawls … muahahhahaaa!!

The next morning, we leave for the airport at 6.30am to catch our flight back to KL. Usually on holidays, I dread leaving to go home but in this case, it’s different. I look forward to going back cos I really miss the comforts of home: my nice air-conditioned bedroom, my nice shower, my nice car, my nice office (what the hell did I just say??!!).

While the people in Cambodia are very warm, very hospitable and humble, they’re also really poor and have so little. It makes me feel guilty that I have so much and yet, I’m never satisfied. Couple that with the devastating events they’d recently gone through just a short 30 years ago … it just really disturbs you. Did you know that until today, I haven’t worked up the nerve to watch Schindler’s List cos I’m scared I’ll wind up depressed? Yes, that’s how emo I can get.

All the way home on the plane, I’m glued to my new book ‘Stay Alive, My Son‘. It’s heart-wrenching. Maybe I shouldn’t have read it so soon after the trip but I couldn’t help it … I’m not going to go into a whole book review here but suffice to say, it left me sufficiently depressed for the next few days.

I’m still in a bit of a funk right now as I’m typing this entry. Sigh. I’m thinking I’d better opt for a happier destination for my next holiday.

I NEED TO GO TO A BEACH.

Cambodia: Phnom Penh (3/4)

… continued from Cambodia: Angkor Wat (2/4)

Tuesday and it’s another early day. We’re going to Phnom Penh today, the country’s capital. I wonder how different it’ll be there.

We go by speedboat. It’s far, like 6 friggin’ hours. I mean, yeah, I’ve read that it’s a long trip but I guess it didn’t dawn on me just how loooooong. The boat is small, cramp and stuffed. If you have claustrophobia, this is not where you want to be.

By 1pm, we reach Phnom Penh. First impression: it’s so not like Siem Reap. For one thing, it’s dust-free. Roads are well-paved, it’s bustling and a lot more modern and developed. Sure, the drivers here are still crazy but at least, there’s some semblance of a traffic system here. Despite having read that it’s not very safe here – pickpockets are everywhere, apparently – I don’t feel unsafe. I like Phnom Penh a lot better than Siem Reap actually!

We are driven to where we’ll be staying for the night – the Sunday guesthouse. It’s a small family-run place – that’s pretty apparent cos when we get there, there’s a woman rocking her baby to sleep in the reception area.

The moment we see our rooms however, I think I speak for all four of us when I say that the first thought that comes to mind is a big fat, “Ugh.” There’s a funky smell emitting from the rooms and there are lots of mosquitoes. It’s decent enough, I guess, but I start to dread tonight when I actually have to sleep here. Double ugh. Man, compared to this place, Jasmine Lodge is a five-star hotel!

We go downstairs for a quick bite (during which I get about a million mozzie bites) and it’s off to Tuol Sleng – USD2 admission fee.

You can’t go to Cambodia and not visit this school-turned-prison where 22,000 prisoners were hauled in (mostly innocent civilians accused of having counter-revolutionary minds) and tortured to death. Of the 22,000, only 6 survived. I’ve read a lot about the Khmer Rouge regime and it’s always been a source of fascination … but it isn’t until you’re actually standing in the place where it happened that your fascination quickly turns to horror.

What sickens me to the pit of my stomach is that this place used to be a school where young children would come to learn, play, make friends, have a good time … to turn something so good into something so hellish is just indescribable. Corridors which used to hear children’s happy laughter were filled with screams of pain, agony, terror.

Classrooms where students used to sit and learn were turned into torture chambers …

… and some became rows of narrow brick cells where prisoners were shackled like animals.

Walls which used to have colourful pictures now have blood splattered all over them, prisoner numbers painted crudely on them. It makes your hair stand. Makes you want to cry.

I find it hard to snap pics in Tuol Sleng. I snap some at the start but halfway through, I just can’t anymore. Even now with the pics in my pc, I find it hard to look at them. The lady who guided us through – she tells us her husband and son were killed by the Khmer Rouge and her mother and daughter died of starvation in the labour camps. Omg. What can you possibly say to someone who tells you something like that?

Just about 30 years ago, the Khmer Rouge was ousted in 1979. By that time, Phnom Penh was fully destroyed – nothing left. Starting from ground zero. In just 30 years, it has made great progress but the scars of that genocide is still very much apparent everywhere you turn. To think that just 30 short years ago, a third of the entire country’s population (about 2 million people) were killed. After the regime’s four years of genocide, Cambodia was left totally, utterly destroyed.

Needless to say, after Tuol Sleng, we’re all very depressed. We go to the market to do a little shopping. One thing I notice is that they don’t seem as desperate here to sell you stuff like they are in Siem Reap. Folks from the big capital city, I guess. They’re quite la-dee-dah when you go to their stall, don’t always layan you also. Hmph.

There are also lots of beggars in Phnom Penh. There are nude toddlers running around the market – one of them even pees on my friend as his mother stands there and watches with a blank expression on her face. It’s weird. I don’t know if this is an honest accident or a ploy to get your attention, then bug you for money.

We visit the capital’s biggest modern temple. Quite a grand, impressive, (again) practically new place. I should be talking about the temple architecture or something but standing here, I’m once again struck by the poverty in this country.

There are limbless beggars and many small kids selling things here. It’s very sad to see. In fact, on the way to the temple, we passed by a rubbish dump … garbage is strewn all over the sandy ground and right on it are little children, nude and just playing around in the filth. Omg.

That night, we opt for Italian at the city’s biggest mall in the capital – Sorya. We figure we’ll hang around there for two hours but as it turns out, 20 minutes is more than enough. It’s no Pavilion KL, let me put it that way. More like Pertama Complex.

After dinner, we pop over to the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) on the tourist strip where foreign journalists and photographers used to gather. Today, it’s a popular spot with tourists for drinks and chilling out.

As the night progresses, we’re reminded that soon, we’ll have to go back to the Sunday guesthouse to sleep. Oh god. We really dread it … the initial plan is to stay out till late, till we’re sooooo tired that we’ll fall asleep the moment we reach our rooms (who wants to be awake in that hell hole??). We manage to do that. Kind of. Luckily, there’s a yellow light bulb in the room, so we keep that on instead of the glaring fluorescent light tube (I hate fluorescent lighting; they make everything look like shit).

I don’t sleep that well that night. There’s only one flimsy “blanket” for two people and we have to share!!! Good lord. The bed’s hard too. Thankfully, soon morning will come … and we’ll go back to Siem Reap …

Continued in Cambodia: Home Sweet Home (4/4) – to be uploaded soon

Cambodia: Angkor Wat (2/4)

… continued from Cambodia: Siem Reap (1/4)

The best time to visit Angkor is during the dry season between November and April, so we’re spot on! I’m excited – finally gonna get to see the magnificent Angkor that I’ve read so much about.

Angkor means ‘city’ and that’s what it was, back in the 12^th century, a bustling metropolis which included houses, palaces and other administrative buildings … they were constructed from wood, so these buildings have all decayed and disappeared long ago. What’s left are the temple complexes, which lasted cos they’d been constructed from bricks and stones. Of the over 100 temples left today, the most magnificent (and most famous) of them all is of course, Angkor Wat – the crown jewel of all the temples, the largest religious structure in the world!

Just to give you an idea of how great the Khmer civilisation was in those days, this city temple boasted a thriving population of 1 million back in the 12^th century when London had only 50,000 people. Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

After having breakfast at the guesthouse, we set off. Upon seeing the great temple up close, I can understand why visitors come back again and again and why they spend days here. It’s astounding. Massive.

I can just imagine it back in its heyday before it was abandoned in the 15^th century … the grandeur of it all. It’s surreal to think that hundreds of years ago, the Khmer King himself used this entrance and bridge to enter the temple. Wow.

What is a barren place now used to be a dense jungle. After the Angkor was abandoned, the jungle overwhelmed the city, hiding it for several centuries with thick tropical foliage. Can you imagine being among the first few Buddhist monks who chanced upon this mysteriously abandoned city while wandering in the jungle? That must’ve been mind-blowing. It wasn’t until the 19^th century that Angkor Wat was brought to the attention of the world by French explorer Henri Mouhot. The French people were so taken with Angkor that they undertook an extensive restoration project, which still continues today.

Gosh … you know, for the first time in my life, I wish I were a photographer. I can just imagine photographers going nuts with excitement here. It’s frustrating to see something incredible like this and not be able to capture it in a way that justifies its beauty – my lousy point-and-shoot abilities are of no use here!! Which explains the way my pics look … sigh … but these are the best I can do, so too bad. You have to bear with me!

Here are some embarrassing tourist poses we did … everyone who’s ever gone to Angkor must have these somewhere hidden in their album. Not me. I’m proudly displaying them here for all of you to laugh at. Hahaha.

These are the steps to the highest point in all of Angkor. It has been barred though cos apparently, two years ago, a Korean tourist lost his footing on the way down and fell to his death. Omg. Isn’t that horrible? Looking at the steps, I probably don’t have the guts to climb up. They’re so damn steep!!

Considered to be the “weirdest” temple in Angkor, the Bayon is made up of 54 huge towers, each with four massive faces carved onto each side. There are all together 216 giant faces, observing you with slight smiles, eyes closed.

The whole place feels kinda mysterious. Until today, nobody really knows whose face these sculptures represent. The gods? The kings? Who knows?

And here we are at the famous spot where they filmed Tomb Raider. There are no words to describe the scene at Ta Prohm …

… gigantic roots of the banyan trees snake around the temples like massive octopus legs, strangling them.

It’s like being eaten alive by the forest. It’s awesome, and a little creepy at the same time.

While other temples at Angkor have been restored and preserved, Ta Prohm has been pretty much left the way it was found. It really shows what the great tropical forest will naturally do to a man-made monument over time. Talk about destructive!

The trees’ roots have even pried apart the huge stones of the temples … their trunks straddling the roofs.

The giant roots may have enveloped most of this brick wall, but oddly enough, leave a little gaping hole for the face of this apsara dancer to peek through.

After a whole day of trudging in the scorching sun, burned to a crisp, assaulted by sand and dust, we decide to go for a good traditional Cambodian massage. While I’m not a big fan of massages – I’m very ticklish so I can never do foot reflexology; I hurt and bruise easily so I do NOT enjoy pain – I decide to go anyway. What the heck. Maybe Cambodian will be better leh?

It’s USD20 for an hour … private room. (You can go for cheaper options at USD5-8 but it’ll be out in the open with everyone else). All I can say about the massage is: owww. It’s a dry massage and I’m constantly grimacing in an effort to remind the lady to go soft on me. She must think I’m the biggest wuss in the world. I know they say massage only hurts cos you’re tense and stressed and all that. You need to be loosened up. Aiyo, maybe it hurts simply because they’re thumping and whacking you, and breaking every bone in your body! Duh.

We finish our massage with no incident (ie. no one’s bones were broken and nobody died). We then take a tuk-tuk to the Night-Noon Market.

This is where we go crazy again buying up all the cheap shawls, little bags and purses, headbands, etc. Everyone’s really eager to sell you stuff, so you can bargain to your heart’s content.

That night, Savoun brings us out to dinner at one of his favourite hangouts. The day before, we’d asked him what people do here at night. Apparently, karaoke is very popular. Okay. So karaoke it is.

We travel along this bumpy, dusty lane to a row of shacks that kinda resemble the open-air seafood restaurants back in KL except that these have got bright really garish lighting.

At the entrance are young girls sitting on rows of plastic chairs, all heavily made-up with the thickest false lashes you’ve ever seen, dressed in tight clothing. You can enjoy the company of these “beautiful girls” here for USD10 a night.

We order dinner (soup, chicken and fish) …

… and spend the night listening to random customers belt out their favourite Khmer pop songs on the karaoke machine on stage. Savoun even sings one for us. We ask him why Khmer songs always sound so slow and sad. He says it’s because love is always sad, then flashes a toothy grin.

Despite our guide’s cheery disposition, I get a bit depressed after an hour or two of listening to Khmer karaoke … but – as I will soon find out – not as depressed as I’m about to be once we get to Phnom Penh tomorrow.

Continued in Cambodia: Phnom Penh (3/4)

Cambodia: Siem Reap (1/4)

I think back to my trip to Cambodia with mixed feelings. There were bits which I enjoyed (hmm, mostly when I’m spending money), and there were bits which just made me feel really sad. It wasn’t the most comfortable holiday and was certainly not a relaxing one. In fact, I came home disturbed and more stressed than before I’d gone … but it was eye-opening and despite everything, I’m glad I went. Or is glad too perky a word?

Anyways, we land in Siem Reap early Saturday morning and are met by Savoun, our guide. It’s a new airport, so it’s all spic and span and nicely done up. A few minutes into the trip to our guesthouse and turns out that almost everything here in Siem Reap is new. We’re travelling along this really dusty ‘road’ (I use the term loosely here) and everywhere we turn, we see big spanking new hotels. Looks like they’re really racing to cater to the comforts of the burgeoning tourist market.

Within a few minutes, we reach our guesthouse Jasmine Lodge. First impression? Delighted, I’d say. For a place that charges USD4 per pax per night (breakfast included some more), it’s really nice! I’m surprised cos I was expecting something along the lines of Rumah Tumpangan Ah Seng, if you know what I mean. But no, Jasmine Lodge is adorable! I take an instant liking to the bright orange and purple building.

We get into our quad share room and whaddya know, we’re again pleasantly surprised: the room is newly refurbished and very clean. What a bargain!

After cleaning up, we’re off to Tonle Sap. On the way there, we get a firsthand look at driving Cambodian-style. Everyone is literally going everywhere. The sandy lanes are choked with cyclists, cars, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, pedestrians, you name it … and everyone is going in every direction. According to Savoun, you can pretty much drive whichever way you want – left, right, it doesn’t matter. Um, sometimes, traffic light red also the cars just go only. Good lord. Later, we’d ask a local from Phnom Penh what the accident rate’s like. He claims it’s quite low despite the crazy system (if you can call it that) they have. And when we have to cross the road, his advice to us is, “Just walk across. The cars will stop for you … just go slow and you’ll be okay.”

And people here honk. A lot. Our driver is honking all the way. Honk honk honk honk. He honks at cyclists, bikers, young kids on tricycles, little old ladies on walkers, everybody. No one is spared from the excessive honking. Amazingly, no one is killed either.

We finally get to the river that leads out to Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. We walk down this muddy slope to get into the boat.

First impression: brown. The water is murky and brown. Guess cos it’s the dry season now. Come the wet season, the water becomes clearer and the size of the lake swells up ten times its size. But for now, the water’s brown and it smells kinda bad too. Savoun tells us it’s the smell of rotting fish.

During our boat ride, we see floating villages – a mix of locals and Vietnamese stay here. They rear fish under their houses to sell for a living. There are little kids – mostly nude – running around in the swamps or rowing their sampans, just laughing and playing and having a grand old time. I’m talking young like 3-year-old young with no parental supervision. I guess you don’t worry about kidnappers if you live in the lake.

The boat ride is long and once we reach Tonle Sap, we’re amazed at how vast it is. It’s like being out at sea. By now, the pungent rotting smell has disappeared.

Back in the boat, we start to head back to shore. Upon disembarking on the river bank, little kids clamber up to us holding plates with our pics stuck on each one of them.

“Five dollar one,” they tell me. I’m impressed. I hadn’t even noticed anyone taking my pic. Apparently, they do it when you’re boarding the boat. It’s so tacky and touristy. Obviously, I have to buy it!

We go for lunch at this pretty little restaurant called Tany Family Khmer Kitchen.

We order some recommended dishes and get our first taste of Khmer cuisine. Quite similar to Thai (which I love) and Vietnamese (which I also love!) though less spicy. Some of us aren’t too crazy about the herbs and spices used in the soup though.

After lunch, we head over to Artisans D’Angkor village.

It’s an arts and crafts workshop where they take in the deaf and mute, as well as those living on the streets, and equip them with skills like painting, weaving silk and carving to help them make a living.

Of course, then there’s a really fancy souvenir shop where everything’s over-priced.

I can’t help but buy some tea and rice brandy … I’m a total sucker for pretty packaging! I later find that there’s another Artisans D’Angkor outlet at the airport. But really, you can get pretty much the same souvenirs at the markets outside for a much cheaper price (if you’re not a stickler for quality, that is).

Ah, cheap shopping time. We stop off at the popular Old Market – a network of stalls that sell everything from …

… makan stuff …

… to clothing …

… to shoes …

… there’s even a salon in there. Haircut, anyone? It’s a lot like the humongous Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok though smaller in size. Being girls, we naturally go a little nuts in there buying stuff, particularly shawls. They’re absolutely gorgeous and at only USD2 per shawl, we grab as many as our wallets permit.

Okay. I’m being a dork but I can’t resist taking this shot. I love the ‘select colour’ function on my camera. And wearing a bright red tank top, how can I possibly pass this up??

Since we plan on going to Angkor Wat tomorrow, we go buy our tickets today. It’s USD20 for one-day pass (it costs USD40 for 3 days and USD60 for a week). Lonely Planet recommends that we spend at least two days there; one day is bordering on sacrilegious. Despite the advice, we stick to one day. Two or more days of temple-trekking? Um, not for me, I don’t think. Last I checked, there’s no Indiana Jones blood in me.

We get to the ticketing booth and wow, it’s crowded! You have to go there personally to have your pic taken and it’s immediately printed on the ticket. Cute huh?

After purchasing our tickets, we head to our first temple ruin at Angkor Wat to catch the sunset. the moment we open the car door, the dusty smog chokes us. There are small children everywhere, with dirty little faces and tattered clothing, begging you to buy all kinds of things – from guidebooks to snacks to trinkets. “Lady, guidebook? One dollar?” they call out. Sometimes they tug at your sleeve if they’re close enough. These street children (along with beggars) are everywhere here in Cambodia. It’s heartbreaking. Until today, I still can’t get the sight of this woman I saw in Phnom Penh sitting cross-legged on the pavement, her mouth hung open, a dazed expression on her face, hair all knotted up in filth, surrounded by four small children and cradling a baby in her arms …

… but I digress. Okay, back to Angkor Wat and the sunset. It’s a short 15-minute walk up to the temple ruins.

As you can see, tourist cru-u-u-ush!

We get up to the temple grounds and omg, there are hordes of people up there already: tripods all set up, butts warming the most strategic sunset-watching spots, all waiting patiently for the sun to go down.

We climb up, or should I say, crawl up the incredibly narrow steps. The steps are so narrow you have to climb up sideways and hold onto the wall of rocks for dear life. The view of the steps from way up there can be pretty daunting – gulp, how to get back down??

We stay for a few fruitless minutes, trying to find a good spot. Failing that, we decide to head back down. Good also to get down earlier. If you do it right after the sunset, can you imagine climbing down with all these people and their giant tripods? Yikes.

We walk down to the entrance using the elephant trail. I wanted to ride the elephant but they were all booked up. USD15 is the fee (USD20 if you want the elephant ride up in the first place) – not cheap huh?

I’m wearing my shawl as a face mask the whole time. It doesn’t actually protect you from the dust la, but after a while, there’s a strange sense of comfort in being “invisible”.

Hmm, or maybe I just like looking like a bank robber.

Later that evening, Savoun brings us to this stretch of road that’s apparently a very popular picnic spot for families and couples who are pak-toh-ing. Picnicking is very happening here. Everybody does it.

I know this is a lame pic and way too dark to make out anything … but notice the little dots of light you see off in the distance? They’re actually tea candles, lit and placed on mats. The fringe of the road is lined with mats. Families pay USD1 to ‘rent’ the spot for a picnic for the night. Alfresco dining at its most basic. It makes me feel strangely sad to see this. I mean, sure, in Malaysia, we’re also crazy enough to eat next to traffic-congested streets and longkangs and all that, but not while sitting cross-legged on the uneven ground, dust floating everywhere … hmm, or is it just me?

Food’s easy enough to get here since there are vendors lining the street. We don’t try any of the food though. Paranoid to kena food poisoning again. Once is enough – eek. Before coming here, I did some research on food safety in Cambodia and it’s made me totally paranoid. I decided to only eat food that’s thoroughly cooked (salads can be risky), fruit with skin intact (even cut fruits are risky) and to drink only boiled or bottled water – no ice cubes for me. For extra measure, I also packed tons of diarrhea and nausea meds, paracetamols, fung-yao, tiger balm, you name it. Just. In. Case.

There’s a fun fair on the left – more like a barren expanse of dust and stones, with the occasional dilapidated ride or game. This makes me a little sad too, but also grateful for all the good things we have back home. Farther down this street is a row of several happening nightspots (which we’ll be visiting tomorrow night for dinner and a spot of karaoke – another very popular activity around here).

We go to Amazon Angkor for dinner. This place has Tourist written all over it in bright neon lights. It’s a buffet dinner and a cultural dance performance.

I don’t eat much cos honestly, the food kinda sucks. Oh well. You know la our Malaysian food philosophy: the best food’s always those that come from the vendors squatting beside the longkang. Dirt is authentic!

The dance performances are interesting. I can understand why they require years of training from an early age. I don’t know how they can bend their hands backwards like that and the dancers’ backs were arched so much, I got a backache just looking. Movements are laboriously slow, each dance is pretty long (or maybe it just felt long), and it’s all accompanied by a lady singing in a high-pitched, almost whiny voice. Reminds me of Chinese opera, which I don’t appreciate either (mainly cos I don’t understand what they’re singing).

The costumes are immensely beautiful though. Very ornate and heavily embroidered, with plenty of sequins and I read, sometimes, even semi-precious gems! Apparently, some of the costumes require such a tight fit that they have to be sewn right onto the dancers so that they fit right!

We head back to the guesthouse later that night, all pretty tired and ready to zonk out. Need to get some sleep … tomorrow is the highlight of our trip: Angkor Wat! And I can tell you, temple-trekking is no easy feat with the sun beating down on you and dust scratching out your eyeballs.

Continued in Cambodia: Angkor Wat (2/4)