Cek baru balik dari Kemboja @ Land of Khmer. Two thumbs up ! Best and puas. The best part is cek pergi berdua sahaja tanpa tour guide. Ok, I know this is nothing but this is something for me. Pencapaian peribadi. I was survived in Cambodia ! Yehoo !
Ok , here are some tips according to my itinerary.
First day (14/3/2011) :
Sampai Phnom Penh airport dalam pukul 8a.m waktu sana (around 9 a.m waktu Malaysia). Kami terus ambil tuk-tuk untuk bawa kami ronda the whole Phnom Penh town. Supposedly bayaran yang kami perlu bayar hanyalah $22 ($7 untuk bayaran airport-hotel and $15 untuk tour for one day) tapi we paid $30(for tour) + $5 (airport-hotel) ! Duh ! Eventhough dah survey harga sebelum pergi, tapi still kena ‘sembelih’ . Mungkin agak blur sikit masa baru sampai tu. Plus masa dia cakap $30, kita orang rasa macam RM30. But it is actually RM90.60 ! Tapi, itulah kali pertama and kali terakhir kena sembelih di Cambodia. Lepas tu , kami memang bargain sampai dapat harga yang kami nak. Tipsnya adalah, bargain to death! Whoa =p
These are the places that we went to on the first day:
-Cheoung Ek genocidal center = $2 (A must !)
-Killing field = $2 (A must !)
-Wat Phnom = $1 (tak payah masuk pun tak pe)
-Royal palace = $8 (tak masuk. Sebab rasa macam tak berbaloi)
-National museum = $ 3 (pun tak masuk juga)
- Russian market (banyak jual kain. Tapi, I’m not into it. Kain di Masjid Jamek lagi menggoda ;p)
-Central market (banyak jual kain,batu permata,bag backpack etc. Much cheaper compared to Russian market)
We had our lunch + dinner at Malaysia restaurant, Malaysian owner obviously. Kebetulan owner restoran itu ialah pakcik sedara kepada my travelling partner, si Win. Lepas makan, balik guest house (Europe guest house. Most recommended by Trip Advisor. Well, for budget traveler like me, it is a good choice for your pocket ;p)
p/s : US Dollar is widely accepted in Cambodia because their currency (real) is not stable. Tapi, kalau kita bayar in dollar and if diaorang tak ada change, dia akan bagi baki duit in real. $1 = 4000 real.
Second day(15/3/2011) :
Around 7. 30 a.m waktu sana, kami bertolak ke Siem Reap by Sok Sokha Express bus . $9 per person. Lebih kurang pukul 1.30 p.m , kami sampai di Siem Reap. Kami stay di Golden Temple Villa. It was such a lovely guest house and layanan 5 star. Its slogan tells everything. 4 star accommodation at 2 star rate. $14 per room. Sepatutnya harga bilik yang kami book tu $ 15 tapi diberi diskaun $ 1. Hip hip horray =p
This guest house is highly Recommended by Lonely Planet and strongly suggested by ME !! Ada welcome drink, free internet (ada dalam 7-8 komputer di lobi, wifi, bilik berair-cond, friendly staff, free massage for 20 minutes, nice view, nice decoration, free banana).Lepas rehat sekejap, kami memulakan pengembaraan ke kota Purba Angkor City. Untuk hari pertama , kami pergi ke Rolus group( Lolei, Preah Ko, Bakong). A good start though. We paid $59 for the tuk-tuk for 3 days tour including the boat ticket @ Tonle Sap. So, seorang lebih kurang $29.50. We had our lunch + dinner at Cambodian Muslim Restaurant, a Muslim Cambodian owner. Kami makan once a day sebab susah nak dapatkan makanan halal. Bukan tak ada tapi susah nak berulang alik dari tempat makan yang halal ke kawasan Angkor. Macam pasir Gudang ke JB. Leceh nak berulang alik. Maka, cek yang kuat makan ni menghadapi masalah perut masuk angin la dengan situasi seperti itu. So, alternative yang diambil, makan pisang ! Just take it from the café of Golden Temple Villa for free ! Yes, you heard me right darling . FREE ! =)
Third day (16/3/2011) :
Hari ini adalah trip to small circle of Angkor .Kami gagah bangun seawal 4 a.m untuk tengok sunrise di Angkor Wat . Bila dah habis sunrise di Angkor Wat, kami meneruskan pengembaraan di Kota Purba ini ke Bayon @ Angkor Thom (there are few temples located in this Angkor Thom; The Royal palace, Terrace of Elephants etc). After that, we headed to Ta Keo, Ta Prom, Banteay Kdei, Sras Srang, Prasat Kravan. Dah puas mengembara di kota purba Angkor , kami ke Family Muslim Retaurant milik Haji Musa,Imam besar di Siem Reap. Walla.. Makanan dia memang best. Kena dengan tekak. Tom Yam dia memang superb. Pencuci mulutnya buah mangga Kemboja yang memang best dan manis. Kebetulan masa kami makan , ada sekumpulan pakcik dari Sabah. And pakcik tu berbaik hati nak belanja kami. Alhamdulillah, selamat poket =p
Lepas makan, kami balik rehat. Petang tu dalam pukul 3.30 p.m , kami ke Tonle Sap. Kami menaiki bot menyusuri sungai menuju ke Tasik Tonle Sap. Ada kampung di atas tasik dan dianggarkan hamper 600 orang penghuni kampong tersebut yang terdiri daripada orang Kemboja , Melayu Champa dan Vietnam. Sangat insaf melihat kehidupan daif mereka di sana. Semoga pengalaman di sana menjadikan cek lebih bersyukur dan menghargai Nikmat Allah.... Tiket bot $ 10/person.
Malamnya, kami berurut ! Lega rasanya otot-otot selepas seharian berjalan meneroka kota purba...
Fourth day (17/3/2011) :
Kami memulakan pengembaraan ke big circle of Angkor. Whoa ~ Sangat besar okay. Inilah tempat yang kami jelajah sepanjang satu hari ini; Pre Rup, East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean, and Preah Khan.Petangnya kami meronda Old market, central market and night market dengan berjalan kaki. Semuanya adalah walking distance cuma jalannya bersimpang siur, so pandai-pandailah cari jalan pulang. This is totallylike get lost in Cambodia =)
Sesat jalan, tanya orang. Pi mai pi mai tang tu jugak. Tapi, finally kami jejak semula in our guest house. To be honest, it was such an exciting experience, walking among the locals and the Mat Salleh. Wah, terasa betul-betul macam backpacker. Sebelum balik, kami sempat buat foot massage. Sepatutnya $1 for 10 minutes tapi kami bargain sampai dapat $1 for 30 minutes. Our first day thought me to be 'cruel'. weeee~~~
Fifth day (18/3/2011) :
Memulakan perjalanan pulang ke Phnom Penh by Mekong express. Pengalaman naik bas yang paling mengujakan. Sebab? For the first time in my life, i've seen bus attendant. Macam naik flight gitu. Once departed, we were given wet tissue (Air Asia pun tak bagi okay) ,a bottle of mineral water and bread (two in a packet). Kami tak makan roti tu kerana diragui status halalnya. Tapi kami ambil juga dan beri pada tuk-tuk yang bawa kami dari bus station di PP to our guest house. Harga tiket only $ 10/person. Beza $1 dengan Sok Sokha Express. But that one dollar made a huge difference. Lepas rehat and solat, kami terus cari makan. We decided to have our lunch in Puncak Hotel, own by Puncak Niaga Group, Malaysian company if i'm not mistaken. Lepas lunch , terus ke Central market for our last minute shopping. Tapi tak membeli sangat sebab bag dah penuh and poket dah kosong. Hehe... Lepas tu, kami menikmati sunset di tebing Mekong River and had our dinner in Malaysia Restaurant again. Si Win pulangkan simcard yang dipinjam daripada makciknya. Oh ye, sebelum terlupa, pengguna Celcom tak perlu risau sebab boleh roaming di Cambodia tapi macam mahal je. They charged me RM1 for one sms. Duh! Lepas makan, terus balik and packed our bag.
Sixth day (19/3/2011) :
Fly back to our lovely Malaysia =)
Airport tax di Phnom Penh adalah sebanyak $25. For me agak mahal kalau nak dibandingkan airportnya yang tak seberapa..
p/s : If you are interested to be a volunteer to teach English to our Muslim friends in Cambodia, please do so by contacting Haji Musa at musasoleh@yahoo.com.
