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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Phnom Penh - Monuments, Palace, Wat, River & Lake


Since breakfast wasn’t included, we have spared bread and tuna. We ate and got ready for today’s trip.

No particular plan for that morning, so we just walked out from the hotel and revisited the Independence Monument again. I wasn’t excited at all…seemed like no chemistry with Phnom Penh…maybe because I heart Siem Reap more, and got what I wanted there.
We again snapped few funny pictures at the monument but the sky wasn’t good enough to give a nicer picture. There was a big board of Cambodian King sitting on his royal chair, opposite the monument. Since we don’t read Khmer, we just ignored it. Hahaha!
Aligned with the monument, there was a park, in 150meters walking distance. We walked towards it and saw a group of locals having a picket in front of one embassy. Again, since we don’t read Khmer, we had no idea what those flip cards said.
Before we got into trouble, we quickly walked towards the open park. Many tuk-tuk drivers offered their service to us but we turned them down.

“Halo, halo? Tuk-tuk?” “No thanks…”

Another offer came, “Halo Sir, Maam, tuk-tuk? Cheap, cheap?”

“No thanks!” Ramai la pulak!

We then saw one Nagas statue (again, not dragon ya, multi-head snakes) and one lotus flower sculpture located at the middle of the park. Kids who I assumed, skipping school, played football at one corner. Meanwhile, there were homeless sat nearby the temple, in front of the park.
From this park, you can see many buildings like the Independence Monument, Vietnam-Cambo Monument, King Palace and Silver Pagoda. There was also a golden garuda statue, but we were unlucky enough to take a full picture of it, as someone was sitting underneath it…homeless kot. Buttttttt, surprisingly, I managed to give a kinky pose that I called “golden garuda kissing”.
Someone was approaching, again…

“Haaaaa…tuk-tuk? Remember me?”

Not another offer from tuk-tuk driiii “EH! DAROOS!” we laughed!

We had a chat with him and asked him how much will he charged us if we wanted for a city tour (beware Daroos, we always ask for more.) During the negotiation, we noticed that all previous tuk-tuk drivers that we've turned down, were looking at us. They must be wondering how Daroos can deal with us, like what was wrong with their offer, and what was the difference. It was just becauseeeee, we knew him yesterday! Hahaha!

We were laughing as loud as we can to show how familiar we were with negotiation. I, of course, demanded for more than 5 places with USD20 and guess what, we got it! Win-win situation. He asked for a raise, while I asked for more places. We both shake our hands, agreed with the MOU…in the middle of the park, besides the golden garuda. Chewah!

First stop would be the King’s Palace. It was huge and prosperous. Nice, with detailed traditional carving on the buildings. You can actually access this palace to see the King’s complex. Anyhow, we just snapped few pictures from the Tonle Sap riverside, also known as Sisowath Quay. Comparing the poor boathouses, poor people who tried to make a living at the river, with the King’s Palace on the other side, shows how poverty is trying its best to blend with luxury. The rich is richer and the poor is poorer.
Daroos, the tuk-tuk driver later drove us to Wat Phnom, the most popular pagoda in Phnom Penh. It was named after a widow, whose shrine was located in front of the stupa. The stairways again, were guarded by Nagas at both sides. Many locals were in the midst of praying when we came, so we just took our own sweet time to encircled the outer part of the temple.This temple was built on the small hill, and it was surrounded by trees and green grass. There was one big manmade clock at one side, and elephant ride at another side. It was also a popular gathering place for locals, who were seen loitering around the hills, selling souvenirs, dating, hang out with friends and families.We then went back to our tuk-tuk and asked Daroos to bring us to Boeng Kak Lake. We got info from our friend that this place was popular with low-cost backpackers lodge (as cheap as USD5), located around the lake. Happening place and a must place to go. Landmarks? One big mosque, and of course a lake. He also told us that we can easily get halal foods here. Great, time for lunch!
Approaching one narrow road that full with backpackers lodge and seeing a couple of backpackers on their way out, gave a sign that we have reached the lake area. But,

“Where’s the lake?” we asked Daroos.

“You walk there…” pointing at one lakeside lodge and restaurant.

“Pe kes kena jalan naik restaurant tu?” I whispered to myself.

We walked towards the floating lodge and saw 4 cheap rooms, exactly represented backpackers' suites. Underneath it, dried and muddy. Not a place to stay, I must said. In front of us, a couple of tourist sat on the couch, having their lunch. We remained silent, startled, and lost.
“HUH? MANA LAKE NYER???” I screamed.
“Laaaaa habis dah diorang timbus ngan pasirrrrrr…dasyatnyer…” hubby replied.

The lake was partially covered with sand. No more beautiful lake and lotuses like what have been described before. There was only one fisherman in his sampan, trying his luck to catch himself a dinner. I believed, the government or private company who bought the land is in the midst of developing something, some sort of up-to-date version of accommodation.
We walked back to the tuk-tuk and asked Daroos, What happen to the lake?”

“They building hotels…better hotels…” he said.

True enough. There goes another wonderful place…swallowed by the greedy development.

“We go to Killing Field now?” he continued.

“Ok. How far?” I asked.

“About one hour…”

On the way to Killing Field, we experienced many astonished things. Underage girl rode small scooter, women steadily carried a basket full of fruits on their heads, three adults rode one bike and got no tickets by doing so, one rich lady in her LV steering cover, overload vehicles, umbrella on high building (huh?), and many more outstanding weird things.
But these cannot be weirder than the Olympic Stadium. It was initially built for Asian Games, but it never happened! The track was unfinished and abandoned, and finally sold to a Taiwanese. The money? Only Khmer know...let's move on...

More pictures here!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Phnom Penh - When Karaoke Wasn't OK


It was the day where we had to leave Siem Reap for Phnom Penh. We went down and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, and there was one Cambodian karaoke channel played on tv. I took the remote control and changed to one Malay channel, which was RTM1. Hahaha! Believe it or not, their cable got RTM1 and 2!
To kill time while waiting for the van to pick us up, we had a very wonderful moment in the hotel area, where we indulged ourselves with fish spa. There were two round waterwells that full with Dr. Fish, kept on nibbling our dead skin and tickling us a lot. It was hell of fun (before the jealousy attacked), when I saw more and more fish started to divert to hubby’s feet. Why??? He must have a very delicious skin! Cannot be! Not in this life! Well, fine…free fish spa, who cares. (I did…)With 2 free internet terminals, I managed to update my FB status. We went back to the room and suddenly Mr.Mao, the hotel reception came and knocked our door to inform that the van has came. We paid for the hotel as well as the van fee, and got into the 12-seater van and sat at the last row. None of the seats were emptied, as one by one passenger was picked up along the way to the bus station.
Almost half and hour, we reached the bus station that looked just like a row of wooden stores, where buses parked in front of them. It was known as Chong Kov Sou Bus Station. By the dusty roadside, we then play guessing-game on which bus was ours. Knowing the color of the bus from the pamphlet (orange and white) made us guessed it right. It was a regular 32-seater bus with AC, TV, on-board toilet, hot towel and drink as complimentary.
Generally speaking, it is better to buy the bus ticket from the hotel or agency, since they offer flat rate than to get it at the physical bus station itself. Besides, you can get an option to view the bus first (on photo) and identify the services they offered. Mekong Express was the most noted one, but having the same offer with a new-comer, Sorya Express, we chose the cheaper one.

The bus started its journey on time and we were blissful on board, affectionately looking at the TV screen…waiting eagerly to see what movie they were going to play.

“HUH??? KARAOKE CAMBODIA LAGI???” hubby shouted.

“Kalo kat M’sia ni, pasang Terminator dah ni…” “HAHAHAHA” we laugh...miserably.

I looked out the window…dried paddy fields, poor “nipah” rooftops and wooden houses, tattered plastic that to be contained with rain for fresh water, jobless family members and naked small kids playing in shoeless, skinny cows and horses, with blue sky and white clouds, made me pondered…how bad it could be, living in Cambodia, without money. But it is far better to live like this, than living in Pol Pot regime era, right?
“Chang en vauuuu li an teeeee nyun nyun chen lai krapun om ni rewe eiiii” we heard someone singing…

I looked straight to hubby’s eyes and he did the same to me…and whispered slowly,

“Ya Allah, mamat sebelah ni enjoyyyyyy…dia mesti local ni…”

I had an open-mouthed! Ternganga. Speechless. SEBAB ADA ORANG ENJOY LAGU KARAOKE TU! Dah la lagu Cambodia sume macam lagu bangsawan, slow, balada, videoclip macam mati bini, sedih leleh-leleh…adeh…

Suddenly, the screen blank. God has answered to my wish!

“Yeayyyyyy! Tak payah dengar lagu karaoke lagiiiiiii!” I giggled.

Not more than 10 seconds later,

“Au yiunnn kruk er kruk er haprap tong unnn man hai men eiiii”

The bus conductor CHANGED THE CD! My gosh…I told hubby, yes, I LOVE KARAOKE, but I am going to die just by listening to this type of song! But hubby said no, I am not going to die, but I will sing along with the guy next to him. Hahahaha! (You can click Here to know how Khmer song sounds like.)

Yes, the guy continued singing. But only when the latest songs in list were played lah, or else, he remained silent if those were oldies/evergreen. Buduh lawak hahahaha!

And yes, the CD kept on changing after one and another.

“Takde genre rock ke diorang ni? Kot la nak rancak skit ke, laju skit ke…ini tak, semua tangkap leleh…” I critic.

We stopped half the journey at one place where we hopped down the bus to have lunch. Looking at all the non-halal restaurant and stalls, I just bought myself a pack of Oreo. There were hawkers selling fruits and,
“INSECTS??? EEEIIIII!” I curi-curi amik gambar.
Variety of bugs and insects sold by the roadside. Brownish black, simply fried with onions, chilies, salt and pepper. Looked delicious but NO THANKS, I was sensible enough for not trying at that time. We just bought a pack of mango and pamelo. Yummy!

We went back to the bus and continued munching. We were obviously longing and hoping the bus conductor to play other than karaoke songs, but…

I saw one legged man with a crutch, in a sad face on green paddy field, been dumped by his girlfriend I believe,
“Tung errrrr hop les naaaa erm parkkkk ung lei ennnnn”

“ARGHHHHHHH! BRAPA JAUH LAGI PHNOM PENH NIIIII???”
I yelled.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” hubby laughed.

I repeated the same behavior. Looked out the window, more and more dried paddy fields, skinny cows, skinny goats, skinny horses, skinny people (wow)…
“Hujan???”

“Kawasan ni hujan plak…Siem Reap tak hujan langsung…” hubby interrupted.

“Eh…dia tukar CD la!”

Blue screen.

Screenplay By…

Casting By…

Title…IDON’TREADKHMERSOIDON’TUNDERSTANDWHATWASTHETITLE

“HA! MOVIE NI!” hubby shouted.

True enough, it was a movie…an ancient pedang setiawan parang kuasa sakti kill kill die die story…hamikkkk!

Kitorang layan.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuntil we crossed Tonle Sap River and passed by one big roundabout that had one big replica of gun that was twisted at its pointer (represent the cessation of artillery I guess).“HAAA DAH SAMPAI DAH NIIIII…”

“Kita kena tau nak turun mana ni…nanti nak cari hotel tu lagi…” hubby notified me.

On the bus, we saw one KFC with Halal sign and decided to get it once the bus stopped. We need meat! Hahaha! The bus stop at one packed area where all motodups, a.k.a tuk-tuk drivers, waited at the bus door. No, they were not welcoming the tourist, they were waiting to get you and rip you off…hahahaha! Not all of them I must said. There was a company that controlled the tuk-tuk’s fee and it almost the same as the fee out there.

We showed the address to one guy who approached us, who worked with that tuk-tuk company. Both parties agreed with USD5 and off we went to the said hotel. We passed by few city streets that full with tourist on our right, and the famous Tonle Sap River on our left, the King Palace and Independent Monument at our front. The community was almost having the same healthy living style like Vietnamese and Thais, where they had this “senamrobik” by the park.
The good thing about searching this Golden Boutique Guesthouse that we stayed was, this hotel located right in front of the famous Khmer Surin Hotel and Restaurant. Just tell the name, all tuk-tuk drivers familiar of it.
“This hotel?” “Yes, yes.” We answered.

“Owh, this hotel is good…good…” with one thumb up.

I figured out, what he meant was, “expensive”. USD20 without breakfast?! Huh!

He passed us his call card and there was his name on it. He offered us for a city tour but we were too lazy to think about it yet.

“It’s ok Daroos, if anything, we’ll call you, ok?” yet we didn’t know how to use Cambodia payphone.

It was 20 minutes past 7, we walked in the hotel. A skinny and trendy young woman came and asked for details. No smile, no greeting, no nothing. Cipet tul! Dah la penat-penat, ko tak senyum pun, camni ke orang BANDAR Phnom Penh? Better lagi orang kampung kat Siem Reap! SOOOO impolite la minah ni!

She did offer us the hotel city tour with expensive charges. Dengan muka ko yang bongkak camtu, ko ingat aku nak amik ngan ko?

“It’s ok, we still cannot decide whether we wanna take a tour trip or not…” we walked to the room.

She threw us her sour acid face!

Just because we were Asian, she thought we have no money la? Yes, I travel cheap, so what?!

Hubby took his bath, followed by me. But when I used the toilet, the water didn’t stop coming in after I flushed! Whatever!

We went out for dinner and looked for one Bangladesh restaurant that supposed to be located at the end of the road. And yet we found another Bangladesh restaurant, New Maharaja Restaurant. We ordered one bowl of curry and two plates of rice. The waiter was Bangladeshi while the waitress was a Khmer. The food? Blergh…masakan India la, apa lagi. Terpaksa, dah itu je yang halal.
Memandangkan malam masih muda, kitorang pun jalan la ke arah Independence Monument. It was like 15 minutes from our hotel. First impression? Indescribable feeling. Cantik di waktu malam. And tak rugi pun berjalan skit, memang cantik!
We tested our luck and snapped few pictures, though we know that our cameras were not built for night shot, but it worth a try when both of us managed to capture the monument in different modes and angles.
But, it’s a promise; we have to come back tomorrow to check it out during day time!

More pictures here!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Siem Reap - The Imaginarium Of Banteay Srey, Neak Pean, Preah Khan, & Night Market


We had to cross the road and walked another 100 meters to find our tuk-tuk driver. We went behind a row of stalls that sell food and drinks for lunch.

“Mana dia nih?” “Dia mesti tido kat mana-mana ni…” hubby claimed. “There…there…” a man, who was a tuk-tuk driver, directed us.

We walked behind the stalls and found few drivers were sleeping under the trees. From afar we recognized our tuk-tuk that was in blue and orange color and saw Mr. Saly was sleeping in his hammock that has been hung from end to end of the tuk-tuk.

“Mak aih, camtu pun bleh ke?”

We approached him, speechless. Didn’t know whether we should wake him up or not. I sat on the platform nearby. Hubby later said,

“Tak leh jadi ni…kang lambat…” “Salyyyyyy, Salyyyyyy…bangun…” he continued.

Mr. Saly quickly woke up and smiled. He dissembled the hammock and invited us onto the tuk-tuk.

“Semalam saya chit chat dengan ustaz…sampai pukul 6 pagi…” “Tak balik rumah?” “Tak…”

No wonder this morning we saw him slept in the hammock, in front of the hotel. He must have been afraid of getting up late.

“Ok…brapa temple lagi?” “Ada 5 temple lagi…”

He drove us to the East baray of Angkor and we stopped at one reddish stone temple, Pre Rup, that usually heightened during early morning and late afternoon under the sunlight. It has 4 pyramids that encircled the main pyramid, where each tower represented Hindu god. Anyhow, almost all the passageways, towers and the walls were partially collapsed.
We didn’t go deeper into this multi-tier temple. We just stopped at the first tier and snapped few funny pictures at the door frames and temple ruins, in Hindi style. Hahaha! We were too scared of heat, and that was it, off we walked out from the temple. Tak pasal-pasal je kang mati katak kena runtuhan.

We walked back to the tuk-tuk and continued our journey. On the way, we had a very interesting experience, where refill in air into tyres, is chargeable! See, how bad Cambodian need money for their living. It was a kid who refill it in, with both of us on the wheels! We felt so bad but Mr. Saly said we were not needed on the ground. Hmm…as you wish.
Along the way to Banteay Srei, we saw another familiar vista where their village was similar to ours. Houses and stairs were made of wood, half bricks at the ground floor, with zinc or “nipah” rooftop, just exactly like our “rumah kampung”. Villagers’ handicrafts were sold along the road, with their famous palm sugars are cooked at the front.

However, they were so poor till 80% of the houses were built using “daun nipah” and only “daun nipah”…sorry to say, just like a chicken barn. Doors and windows were covered by a piece of curtain, with not a single room in it. And yet, they have many kids. Few donated water wells from other countries and companies were seen in front of these houses, ready to be shared. Or else, they will dig a pond or spread out plastic bag and waited for rain to fill it in. No clean water in Cambodia and that is why, NEVER, EVER drink pipe water!
Buttttttttt…people with car, ARE truly rich in Cambodia. They have big and beautiful house, more rooms, and enough food for the family. Lucky huh?
Since it was still at the end of dry season, the surface of soil was still dried and the canals were still waterless. After almost an hour, we reached Banteay Srei temple in 38km from Siem Reap. It was known as the citadel of women and was built in 10th century, a century after Borobudur, Indonesia. It was popular with beautiful carvings, that best watched during afternoon, where the reddish stones lightened by the sunlight.
Looking at the map, we had to walk another 200meters L-shaped dirt road to reach the main temple. The entrance here was much far better than others, as it has ATM, info counter, toilets, expo, shops, café and restaurant.
While ignoring the sellers who kept on calling us to buy things, we saw a group of men busy cutting a very big tree into pieces. There was also a man cutting grass around the fast grown “sen pidor rice”, that yield crop only in 110days. Many tourists walked in a group with their tour guide, especially Japanese and Koreans, who were not well versed in English. We once in a while, threw a chance to hear what has been explained about the temple. Hehe!
We reached the main gate of Banteay Srei and saw many people loitering in front of it, waiting to get in. We snapped a picture at the Angkor Patrimoine Mondial monument while waiting. We later went in and adored the walls that covered with beautiful pink sandstone carvings, that gave it a fairytale ambiance. There were 3 possible visits, left, right and front. We went to the right and snapped few pictures by the wall. We saw a pond behind it.
Since too many people in front of the temple, we walked towards the outer right part of the temple. There was an observation platform for tourist to view the temple without any obstacle from the 6feet-height wall. The view was serene since only two of us on the view deck and no one else. We decided to walk around the outside of the temple to enter from the back side of it. The path was cleared from grass, so we had to make sure we were on the right track, to avoid landmines. (Eiii takut! Ada lagi ke?)
There was a group of landmine victims who played instrumental Cambodian song at the back entrance. The same method, they will play a song when someone is approaching. We passed by and enter the temple area. From here, we can see wall carvings that be carved exactly like wood, that tell visitors of Hindu myths and epics. The central tower was seen being guarded with figures of monkey-faced statues and guess what, this was the only temple that wasn’t built by the monarch, where else, it was credited to the counselor, who served the king. Haaaa…glamer kan? Again, with RM3 umbrella, we gave a shot lah.
We noticed that we were walking in the opposite direction when everyone started to walk towards us to the back side of the temple, where we first came. We thought of getting out via the front door was a brilliant idea, but, we actually had to put extra effort by squeezing ourselves in between groups of Korean and Japanese and English and Germans and you name it, just to get ourselves out from there! Hahaha! Anyway, we managed to get ourselves out…yeay!
On the way out of the temple, we stopped at one of the shops and bought a piece of t-shirt for me, and walked out to find our tuk-tuk driver.

“Mesti tido lagi ni…mana dia?” “Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Jauh gile!” I pointed to one tuk-tuk that located 20 meters away.

“Dia bleh tido kat situ pakai hammock je…” “Adeh…asik kena jalan jauh je…kena bagitau dia ni pasni…nasib baik la dia baik…” I said.

We approached him and woke him up. We later continued our true Cambodia style journey, both, via the dirt and tar roads, village and federal roads, to reach Ta Som temple. Short cut la ni. This small, classic, haunted look, miniature version of Ta Prohm, had almost collapsed but restoration works were currently being done by Apsara. We just snapped few pictures of the front view and at the front gate, since we had enough of the same design and built, again and again.
Noticed that funny SATELLITE-shaped of his umbrella? That's what you get when you buy RM3 umbrella at MyMydin. Hahaha!The next temple would be Neak Pean, a small island temple that was also known as coiled serpents, taken from the coiled nagas (again, not dragon ye, ular kepala banyak) that encircled the temple. Before the eight pools surrounded the lotus-shaped tower, there was a statue of a horse, saving the drowning sailors. Thus, the water here were thought to have healing properties. Since we came on dry season, there was no water in the pond. Anyhow, it was the best time for us to see animal and human headwaters, spouted at the outside center of each and every pool.
Walking back from the temple took another 100-150 meters. At the end of the road, there were locals selling fruits and souvenirs. (I tell you, asam dia sedapppp sangat.)

“Kita pegi temple lagi satu…the last one…” Mr. Saly informed us. He must be weird and tired, having us on his tuk-tuk, and never stopped asking what’s next on the list. Bila tah nak abis.

The final stop of Angkor trip was ended by visiting Preah Khan, which was 2km from Neak Pean. It was a huge complex that was named as sacred sword which served as Buddhist monastery and school for 1000 monks, which was also a residence of the king in a short period of time. Similar to the architectural of Ta Prohm, that was built for the king’s mummy, this Preah Khan was built for the king’s daddy. Fair lah kan, sorang satu.
Anyhow, opposed the Hindu god that built to enter a temple from the west, this temple was built in the name of Buddha, that entered from the east. Sebab tu banyak yang kena vandalized, sebab pengikut lain-lain. We took our chance to snap few pictures in the middle of the temple ruins, by the side of one big garuda statue carved on the wall. Takut je ada ular keluar ke hape…eiiii!
This Prasat Preah Khan had its own gallery where the staff sedap je tido dalam hammock masa kitorang masuk. Hahahaha! Tak kuasa dia nak melayan kot. Tido lagi baik. We entered the gallery and read those info boards. Next to the side table, there was a guest book.
“Ha kita tulis nak? Ramai gak orang M’sia ni…” I suggested.

“Ramai cina…” hubby browsed the M’sian visitors name wrote in the book.

“Kita tulis kita dari Papua la…” we laughed. “HAHAHAHA ok dah!”
We went back to the tuk-tuk and headed back to where we came from. It was good to know that we had to bypass the memorable Victory Gate and the great Angkor Wat again. Leaving behind the rural area and approaching the town, caused a mix feeling. We saw mothers carried babies in line, must be a free-treat by government to the hospital. Few kilometers from the hospital, there was an Angkor National Museum that was having statues exhibition.
We asked Mr. Saly, where we can get a halal food in town. He told us he loved to eat “amok”, a famous local fish curry, but it was kinda expensive for him. He showed us one shop but there wasn't any halal sign, and all nice restos served pork. We ended up eating at one Western resto that served seafood.
While waiting, we heard one noisy sound came from the outside of the restaurant, macam bunyi loud speaker orang ajak tengok boxing tau. Satu round, hilang bunyi tu. Then datang lagi satu round. I asked the waitress,

“What is he doing?” pointed at one topless petite guy with six packs tummy.

“Errr…I don’t know how to say…errr…like doing magic…” she hardly explained.

“You mean, he does tricks in front of people?” I even asked harder.

“Aaa…like that…” she confused.

I enthusiastically looked at that guy and waited for him to do something amazing. He was pushing one cart that contained single-sized mattress, cleaver, circle-shaped steel ring with spikes around it. He later took out the mattress and laid it down on the road, preparing the steel ring, ready to jump in and landed on the mattress (I guessed). Great! It's a mini Circus! He then aware that I was looking and waiting for him to do the circus act, but…
HE PACKED HIS THINGS AND PUT THEM BACK IN THE CART! Cipet tul…I was frightened when he looked straight to my eyes! I moved nearer to hubby...asking for perlindungan la konon, but hubby dah gerak dulu! Haha!

I think, I might need to pay that circus guy some amount of money kot before I can see him doing some act…takkan free je kan. Hahahaha!

We went back to the hotel and rest for few hours. We then went to the Angkor Night Market that was located 5 minutes from the hotel. Another tuk-tuk driver was provided by the hotel and this trip was a complimentary. How bout coming back to the hotel? We need to get a chargeable tuk-tuk lah.
This market was an awesome place where local products and souvenirs sell in low-priced. I managed to get fridge magnets, t-shirts, and souvenirs for loved ones. In short, whoever wants to try variety of tea and coffee, you can get them here, but not the famous Kampot pepper of Angkor. And not to forget, the beautiful traditional Krama shawls. (Weird enough, hubby bought one...)
We thought of going back on our own but we were lucky enough to meet the same tuk-tuk driver, who just parked his tuk-tuk right in front of us. Without any further question and a smile on his face, he ignited the starter and invited us, and drove us back to the hotel, for free! What an excellent customer service he had provided us. Bravo Palm Garden Lodge!

More pictures here!

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