Wednesday 16th October 2019, 19:40 Hrs.
“No No all alone altogether in another country, what are you even saying”
“I can manage Ma”
“It’s too dangerous dear”
“Trust me baba I can handle”
It lasted long…… really long, but by some miracle I somehow convinced my parents for my first ever international solo trip.
The D Day
Saturday 2nd November 2019, 01:40 Hrs.
“Please fasten your seat belt……”
My heart skipped a beat as my flight took off from Kolkata Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport. It was a midnight flight and I was for the first time stepping out of my country all alone!! Bunch of negative thought had started to clog my brain, some movie scene of losing my passport, detained foreign national and other crime scenes flashed through my mind, I refreshed my mind and said a short prayer in my mind for a happy and safe trip. The permission from family was also an adventure of a kind, annoyed with my messed up life I needed a break anyway without anyone’s interference and what can be better than an international vacation. After a little R and D, I found Cambodia and Vietnam to be feasible as per my budget and choice of places which includes some history, ancient heritage sites, serenity, party places and the perfect water body, the ocean. This story is only about my trip to Cambodia.
It was the 16th of October, limited days with limited money. The first thing was to book the flight tickets which were from Silchar to Kolkata and Kolkata to Phnom Penh. And gradually as per the trip plan Phnom Penh to Siem-Reap then fly to Hanoi. I booked it on MakeMyTrip app the very next Monday with my ICICI card winning a good cashback.
The Beginning
“Welcome to Phnom Penh international airport. For the Visa on arrival…. ”
Our Air Asia Flight via Bangkok landed at Phnom Penh international airport 08:15 Hrs. Cambodian time. Few days back in a Tripoto blog I had read about the fun and cost effectiveness of Hostel, so chose my first stay at Lovelyzovely villa Hostel at Phnom Penh at the bare minimum cost. Looking for pre-paid taxi or cab counters at airport, some E-Rickshaw driver came asking for my destination. They were charging me $10 to drop off at my hostel, as I checked the distance online and also the hostel had airport pickup and drop in facility with a charge of $6. I told them the same and one driver immediately came to drop me at $5. My bargaining skills were put to test and luckily I came out with flying colors, We Indians are pretty good at it. (Lesson 1: Bargain everywhere)
So reached my hostel where I had booked a female dormitory and I was informed that I would be allotted my dorm after 11:00 Hrs.
‘’Hey girl, please get in, you can keep luggage at the corridor & there is a pool side bathroom to freshen up. I am from Germany. Where are you from? India! Wow, I am heading to Sri-Lanka & next is India. Would love to get some suggestions!’’
The hostel itself was a mood boosting one like a breath of fresh air, everyone saying hello to you, someone was lying on the floor waiting for a room, and others were at the pool side, playing indoor games. I had always stayed in proper hotels so it was my first ever experience in a traveler’s hostel. I bought my breakfast and dang, there I learnt my second lesson learning drinking water is chargeable at dine in or at airport no free drinking water facility anywhere.
Day 1.
The hostel manager got me E-Rickshaw which took me to National Museum first. Having a collection of Art, Sculpture, ceramics etc. and presentation of Angkor history, the museum also conducts workshops on dance, painting etc. Though museum does not interest me much but yes it gives you a pretty good idea about the place, its history and culture.
My next stop was Wat Phnom. A big golden Buddha temple with beautiful paintings in the wall representing the life story of Buddha. The place was so calm, peaceful and less crowded, I sat there for some time and with the humming sound of Buddha Mantra it had a calming influence on me. As I ventured around, there was another temple in the premises with a lot of small statues which I initially mistook for different forms and looks of Buddha but on enquiry with the locals I got to know it is a temple of spirit, good and bad both are kept in a shape!
I headed to my next destination Royal palace which opens at 2 PM. By then I was pretty hungry, after roaming around for some time I realized there were no regular food corners or restaurants nearby except two 5 star property, apparently it was a highly restricted area having the central ministry and bureaucrats offices. So I got in the one of them and had a chicken salad there, completely different from what we eat here (horrible taste, freezing cold and at $11 it was the only item in the menu that I could afford).
‘’Palace ticket counter?’’
‘’Inside the 1st Gate but it will open at 2 PM ma’m!’’
‘’But it is 2:15!’’
I realized I am running 1.5 hrs. Ahead which is as per my wrist watch Indian timing. The palace had a beautiful open area in front so I went for a stroll, I waited there in the porch for the time rather than going back. About 15 min later tourists started gathering slowly in the area as per the timings. All of a sudden a lady approached me and told that as per palace rule I can’t get in with my sleeveless dress, I needed to buy a T-shirt from the counter to get in. Already irritated with hot and humid temperature, sleepless night I decided to go back to hostel for the day and would come back the next morning.
Going back there I was assigned my room, I freshened up took a good nap and went out to visit Independence monument, a memorial to Cambodia’s independence from France in 1953. It was not too far so I took a walk to enjoy the city with my map. The monument area was huge and completely decorated with lights of different colors and there were visual graphics in a building reflecting the pride of Cambodia and its history, an instant mood changer, Also a statue of a former king was standing just next to it. After strolling around for some time I returned, the roads were calm and empty by then, I had never expected a capital city to be empty so early. On the way back I got a few food stalls where I tried shrimp rice with some local chutney for my dinner ($4).
As I stepped in to my hostel people started cheering for me, calling me and I found all the hostel boarders were having party in the poolside bar, I joined them as well. The DJ requested all of us to write one party song of their national or local language which he will be playing, I wrote ‘Tum hi Bandhu’ from Cocktail and it was awesome to watch people from different countries dancing on the tune of bollywood. My dorm had four beds my roommates were Japanese, American, Nigerian (I don’t know the nationality of the fourth one, she was continuously on her phone with her earphones on)I bonded well with the Nigerian girl.
Day 2.
‘’Hey Nandini! Breakfast?’’
‘’Sorry. Later. Need to rush now!’’
Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda is a beautiful and well maintained property with Buddha statues and silver tiles pagoda everywhere but what attracted me the most was a long complete side wall painting depicting the story of the local Kingdom. It was a treat to the eyes though hardly people were checking it. I met a lady from Hungary at the palace who was carrying her National flag everywhere to inform the people about the state’s affairs. Once I was out of it, it started raining all of a sudden I rushed for a shelter opposite to palace, therein I saw some street kids playing at the river side and a few daily labors were sleeping in the floor nearby. Just 300 meters opposite to the glamorous Royal life I recalled the poor economic condition of the Cambodia. Once the rain stopped I got an E-Rickshaw and rode back to my hostel through a different route by the beautiful riverside and shops of Cambodian heritage in a cloudy weather. I Packed my bag, had some chicken soup rice lunch at another street side food stall (hostel food was expensive) and headed to Airport to catch my flight to Siem-Reap. Well it is to be noted that you can travel to Siem-Reap from Phnom Penh by bus which takes 5-6 hrs. & it saves you around 2000 INR which I didn’t check before.
Siem-Reap
Angkor Wat, UNESCO World heritage site, had been in my bucket list for a long time and the biggest reason to choose Cambodia. My flight landed at 8:15 PM with hardly fifteen flyers. Siem-Reap Airport is beautifully decorated with cottage pattern buildings and the place seemed a Semi-urban city. Roads were completely empty as I headed to my hotel by a E-Rickshaw and as a typical Indian girl it did scare me a little. After my stay at hostel dormitory at Phnom Penh, I choose a boutique property (a little interior from the main tourist star catagory properties), ‘The Moon Boutique Hotel’ at Siem-Reap for a nice and peaceful stay yet again from MakeMyTrip app winning a cashback offer which saved my 50% cost. Tracking the map as I reached and went inside, it made me smile pretty wide. A book corner at the reception, a pool surrounding beautiful plants, an open dining area decorated with earthen statues, lawn, zero tourist crowd and a huge beautiful cottage room for next days. I had my dinner with a delicious sea food rice and called it a day.
Day 3
Next day after my breakfast found my previous day Airport E-Rickshaw waiting already as I had asked and we started to explore Angkor. First you have to visit the tourist center to book ticket for 1 day or 3 days or 7days. I booked for 1 day for $35. The area of Angkor Wat is more like a reserve forest with the temples in it. Angkor having a pretty different and long histories as I read some of it, I chose 3 temples rather than going as per tourist guide where BAYON Temple comes 1st, Built on late 12th Century it is said to be the temple of Buddhist king but alternative sources define it to be Shiva Temple. However I am not detailing the history much here but the serene and smiling 210 gigantic stone faces were simply mesmerizing and the stories crafted in the wall were interesting to decode.
‘’May I please ask you to click a picture of mine here?’’ I requested 1 Japanese family
‘’Sure! You are travelling solo? Let us get along!’’ & clicked a lot more of mine in different part of the temple while going through.
Next was Angkor Wat, the long entrance itself would make a person tired and dehydrated, so sunglasses, scarf or hat and water is mandatory to be carried. It is the world’s largest religious monument originally constructed as temple dedicated to God Vishnu and gradually transformed to Buddha temple. Apart from the beautiful huge structure of it what attracted me more is the story of Mahabharata was crafted in it. Unlike Bayon, Angkor Wat looks more like a palace with wonderful architectures and crafting.
While going to Ta-Prohm temple from Angkor Wat, I suddenly saw a small hut with a lot of Angkor oil paintings and a young boy and a kid were making all these. Loved it so much that I bought one and they wrapped it very well making it easy for me to carry while travelling. Ta-Prohm was a monastery or education center where the roots of banyan trees growing out of the ruins were giving a different look and feel of it. Outside of the temple there were a few deaf and dumb gentlemen playing different musical instruments to raise funds for them. Done for the day at around 4 PM, with the feel of achievement to complete my bucket list and a hungry stomach I came out and got a shock of the trip I had stepped out from the opposite gate where my E-Rickshaw was waiting, I had to walk around 1.5 KM to reach him. Resting my aching foot on the opposite seat I slept off in the vehicle, later he dropped me at my hotel. Though Siem-Reap don’t have much of city life but its night market and pub street were pretty interesting. I went for a hang out in the late evening for some time and had dinner with some fish fried in egg yolk after which came back to my hotel and thus ended my day.
Day 4
Next day was meant to be spent without any rush. I woke up and went for a swim, had breakfast, checked a few books and went out to visit The Floating village.
“Tonle Sap lake’’
‘’Madam, if you don’t mind, can we take a little different route then map? There is a beautiful Pagoda on the way & you will like the village route too!’’
‘’ok”
It was worth a visit. A typical Cambodian pagoda completely different Art from what we see in Thai or Chinese structure and the route to this was through a Khmer village with all the Khmer traditional houses by the lanes. Tonle Sap Lake is one of the biggest floating villages with multicolored houses and markets. The boat ride to this place was a memorable experience but only if the dear Sun is happy enough to lower the heat. Luckily while returning I got to see a Khmer wedding function too. By the way except some exclusive tourist locations like Angkor or royal palace, people are not very comfortable in English but they were very humble and polite to treat and greet. My flight was at 19:50 hrs. and I still had 2.5 hrs. to kill so I dropped in to The Cultural village. The village in one liner is consolidation of everything you see in Cambodia. Only interesting is they have traditional dance- drama shows representing the different traditions and culture of Cambodia. I really enjoyed the show after which I headed to the Airport.
