There were only a few travel agencies that we spotted in Siem Reap. After trying to find a good deal for a tour to Tonle Sap, we found none. The cheapest was US$70 per person for a day trip. We look for deals in the streets instead.
A group of young men attended to us but couldn’t exactly understand where we wanted to go and see. After a few minutes and more people attended to our queries, it is understood that our destination was Kampong Phluk. We got three motorbikes to bring us there and back for US$5 per bike.
We agreed for the 3 bikes to pick us up infront of our hostel the next morning. After 1/2 hour on the main road, we pass through small villages. The road was getting smaller and smaller untill we reached a stretch of what seems to be paradise for dirt bikes. The honda wave we were on, were just screaming for mercy, but our gung-ho riders/guides just kept on. Well, as gung-ho as they are, i certainly think that there is a slight regret in them to charge us a mere US$5 for the transport. The ride through the uneven earth wasn’t easy. My guide had to stop a few times for rest and stretching his arms for abit and I saw Nizam had to get down his bike a couple of times as the bike had to be pushed across a certain terrain. We later found out that it was their first time to Tonle Sap as well.
After what seems like a never ending bumpy ride, we reached the “terminal”. We were charged US$40 per boat to cruise along Tonle Sap.
The great Tonle Sap lake is an enormous freshwater sea. Fishing families live in temporary huts that can be dismantle and move forward as the water recedes. When the fishing season is over, fishing families return to their village.
Click here to view photos of Tonle Sap.
It was a long 6 hours bus ride from Ho Chinh Minh to Phnom Penh. After lunch and couple of hours waiting at the dusty street, it’s time we continue our journey to Siem Reap - another 6 hours on the bus.
By the time we reached Siem Reap, it was past 9pm. Getting off the bus was abit of a challenge. Throngs of tuk-tuk drivers swamped at you. Most tuk-tuk rides are free if we go to any of the hotels they recommended.
We ended up in a hostel that boast to have the best sunset view in Siem Reap. For US$8 per night for a room that can bunk in the 3 of us, we didn’t care much what view they had to offer. The day after, we realised why it was so cheap. There would be no one to come in and clean our rooms - no change in bed sheets and towels. For $8, we didn’t complained. And so, the room, uncleaned, was where we stay for the next 4 nights.
The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland near Siem Reap, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Angkor Wat is also known to be the world’s largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture.
Click here to view photos of Angkor temples.
We didn’t stay long in Ho Chin Minh. Our objective here was to visit the Cu Chi tunnnels.
After a short video about the history and the immense network of the underground Cu Chi tunnels, we were allowed to crawl through a 50m passage. After scrambling through the tunnels for a claustrophobic, 10 sweaty minutes, you’ll wonder how anybody could last a day in the tunnels.
Click here to view photos of Ho Chin Minh.
