13 June 2011
Flight was at 2.35pm, I reached the airport at 1.30pm, checked in my luggage and decided to grab a bite after the immigration counter. Grabbed a subway sandwich as I was simply famished, but only finished 3" of the 6" sub and I had to board the flight, went through the security gantry only to realized that the machine beeped as I had too much metal in me... The lady officer checked my belt so openly that I felt a lil embarrassed. Had curry chicken rice for the in-flight meal and plane failed to land on time. It circled in the air for about an hour before coming to land coz of the strong tail wind and in a moment, it was so close to landing and it flew up again! It was rather scary then! Landed an hour later but friend's flight was delayed as well. Hotel staff picked me up at airport and we waited a while since it was quite some time before friend's arrival! Felt tired and asked hotel staff to send me to hotel before coming back to pick my friend again. Was impressed by the classy-ness of the bamboo room and how spacious it was!
The phone in the room rang after a while, on the other end was the hotel staff, my friend had arrived! Was extremely delighted to see my friend's arrival! We went to have dinner at AHA, a fusion restaurant located besides the hotel lobby. Food was quite exquisite and special! Went shopping at night market after dinner, to explore the vicinity. Planned the next day itinerary and called a local travel agency at midnight, they really picked up my call!!! 
14 June 2011
We got our hotel to ferry us around for the first day, superb transport service but guide not very informative!
First stop at Banteay Srei, aka, lady temple. It is considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art. A hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, it is cut from stone of pinkish hue and has some of the finest carvings seen anywhere in Angkor. OMG, I was so impressed!!!!
Pre Rup: a temple built by Rajadravarman 2. Consists of a pyramid-shaped temple mountain with the uppermost of the three tiers supporting five lotus towers. Pre Rup means "turning the body", and refers to a traditional method of cremation. The guide told us that when the corpse is burnt when facing the sky, the body will sit up! Woww, that really scares me off! Therefore the corpse had to be burnt facing downwards....
Lunch at a nearby Khmer restaurant, and it rained cats and dogs because it's rainy season! Wanted to visit Ta Som but the rain didn't stop, therefore we told guide to sent us to another attraction which is indoor, Silk Farm.
We were greeted by a guide from the farm and was introduced the life cycle of a silkworm.... How silkworm were breed, what they eat, how it became cocoon, how silk was spun....Bought some souvenirs from the shop which wasn't that cheap though, Cambodia silk, they call it!
Dinner was at our alley, Cambodian BBQ! Recommended in Lonely Planet guidebook. A traditional phnom pleung(hill of fire) is a DIY tabletop barbeque of meat and seafood. We weren't that adventurous, replaced the snake and crocodile meat with chicken and beef. Free flow of noodles, rice and vegetables, but not meat. Total bill: US$20
Hopped over to NYDC for dessert, I had half mug of Irish cafe, forgotten I was allergic to coffee...
Body smell of BBQ, headed back to hotel to shower, friend chatted with hubby over skype. watched CNA on TV, no other drama or documentary on air.. Coffee was too strong, didn't managed to catch a wink.....
15 June 2011
Finally, the long awaited trip is here, Angkor Wat, here I come!!!! Been classified as a UNESCO heritage site, and I wanted to see how impressive it was. Guide made me sit under the tree with lots of ants to explain about the site, after which we made our entrance from the West side.
Angkor Wat: Everything is epic in scale. The temple is surrounded by a 190m wide moat, which forms a giant rectangle measuring 1500m by 1300m. Angkor Wat is the best preserved temple at Angkor. It was probably built as a funerary temple for Suryavarnam 2 to honour Vishnu, the hindu deity. We saw carvings of army of Suryavarman 2, Heaven and Hell and churning of the ocean of milk. We ascended the 3rd level of Angkor Wat and gosh!!! it was just spectacular and magnificent!
Lunch was inclusive in our day tour and we were served sweet and sour prawns, stir fry pork with ginger and fish amok! I guess I was hungry after all the climb, had a hearty lunch!
Ta Prohm: It's the tomb raider scene, filmed by Angelina Jolie. Guidebooks called it the Tomb Raider tree!!!! Ta Prohm is well known for it's nature beauty, a temple of towers, enclosed courtyards, clogged with jumbled piles of delicately carved stone blocks dislodged by roots of long-decayed trees.
Ta Keo: An undecorated temple that was built by Jayavarnam (968-1001), it was dedicated to Shiva and was the first Angkorian monument to be built entirely of sandstones. The summit of the central tower, which is surrounded by 4 lower towers, is almost 50m high. Friend didn't climb, I ascended alone with 2 cameras...
Thommanon: Incomplete temple, it has a typical layout of a single towered temple of the period.
Chao Say Tevoda: A minor temple located across the road opposite Thommanon. Wasn't big to ventured in there, guide only asked us to capture a few shots.
Phnom Bakheng: Ascended and descended by elephant ride, of coz, it isn't free. US$35 for both way, spectacular view for sunset, many were there as well, considered overcrowding, hmmm, it's really WoWWWWW!
Concluded the day with a heavy downpour. Went back for shower before a full body massage. Dinner was considered to be supper at 9pm.....
16 June 2011
Angkor Thom City Gate
A row of gigantic gods and demons! That's why it's special
Bayon: This temple is complex in structure and meaning, having passed through different religious phases Hindu worship and buddhism. Spent about half the morning there to explore the stone carving!
Elephant Terrace: Nothing special here, just a pathway leading to other temples in Angkor Thom city!
Phimeanakas and Royal Palace: Guide introduced the concubines' pool and the king's pool here!
We had lunch at a Khmer open air restaurant again. Coconut juice to go along.... The food wasn't too local due to visitors' influence, it's all stir fried, a little chinese, indian and thai....
East Mebon: This temple used to be a island temple eons ago, as introduced by the guide. Famous for it's elephants sculptures! My partner and I told photos with the elephants, we flashed the happiest smile ever!
Ta Som: a miniature simplified version of Ta Prohm, owes its charm to a combination of remoteness, semi-ruined state and face towers.
Neak Pean: A unique island temple again! It has a circular island with 4 different gods facing the cardinal position. Was believed to be famous for its miraculous healing properties.
Preah Khan: temple dedicated to King's father, met "Jacques Ooi" again! Also the last stop of the 3-day temple tour!
We went to a local restaurant for Cambodian Cultural Show and dinner as well. As the restaurant was meant for tourist, it offered all kinds of cuisine, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, a little of almost everything. The cultural show was similar to that of Thailand. After the show, we went on a night city tour on a tuk-tuk....