Siem reap is a beautiful city in Cambodia where UNESCO heritage site Angkor Wat is located. 

I haven't been to many Southeast Asian countries despite coming from one and I've never been on a relaxing getaway (boot camp all the way!) so I thought, why not? 

Scored a great deal on Malaysia Airlines and three weeks later – here we are!

Some things to take note of before your trip: 

- Singaporeans enjoy visa-free entry to Cambodia for 30 days.

- The official currency is the Riel, but USD is accepted and reflected on menus and bills everywhere, so carry USD with you if possible. As they do not have coins in the currency system, you will receive change in Riels (100, 500, 1000 bills) if the total change is below a dollar.

- At the time of travel, exchage rate is approximately US$1 : S$1.32 and US$1 : 4100Khr.

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Day 1 - Arrival + Check-in at Navutu Dreams + Pub Street

We arrived around 12pm in the afternoon after a short connection at KLIA. At first, we were really annoyed by the system where we had to queue to get an immigration form to be filled up, queue again for a declaration form before finally getting out of the airport. Then we realise it's because neither of us did our homework so...

Obtain the immigration/customs declaration forms from the cabin crew before disembarking the flight and get it filled up before hitting the queues to save some time. If the forms are not available onboard, proceed to the assistance desk on your left upon entering arrival hall to request for one. You should receive both forms. We wasted about 30mins figuring this out at the airport upon arrival, so I hope this will help you in some ways or another! 

Our friendly driver was patiently waiting for us and warmly welcomed us even when our flight was delayed for about 15 minutes (plus all that fuss). We managed to get our SIM cards while he went to drive the car over. You can get your SIM cards at the airport - just head to the SMART telco booth located on the right after exiting the arrival hall. You can choose from various plans that give you a whole lotta data for just US$6 or opt for short term plans that come with talk time to call your loved ones back home. 

I remember it was a random afternoon after lunch that I chanced upon this Groupon for a short getaway to Cambodia, with a 2-nights stay at Navutu Dreams. Situated about 10mins tuk-tuk ride away from 'town', Navutu Dreams is designed as an escape from city life for urbanites. One can expect total relaxation with an unwinding Khmer-style massage, connecting with your senses via yoga throughout the day or simply taking a dip in the pools.

Here's what our room (Explorer room) looked like from the outside...

The saltwater pools and restaurant...

From the sun beds...

 
And where we chilled most of the time. Hahaha.

No points for guessing who's smart enough to forget to take a pic of the inside of our villa. Well, at least I can tell you it's exactly how it's pictured on the site! We parked ourselves at the pool for the rest of the afternoon and camwhored away with V's float (waiting for her pics stilllllll). Hahahaha only remembered to get out when she was dying from hunger.

Off to Pub Street! As Navutu Dreams was not within walking distance to the 'city', we got a tuk-tuk and one way costs us US$3. 

* We've read many posts online that tuk-tuk rides typically cost US$1-2, but I assume these trips originate and end within the city or along the river, so US$3 to a location that is a little further out (plus you can't possibly pick anyone else along the way after that) isn't considered steep at all...???

Had no idea where to eat at so we went on the wonderful internet again and found this Khmer Kitchen restaurant that's highly raved.

(champion forgot to take a pic, ha-ha-ha but got pic below)

No surprises! Food's pretty good! Most dishes cost US$5 and we ordered Stir-fry Chicken with Basil, Khmer Curry and Fried Fish with Sweet Chili Sauce. Rice refills are unlimited - you start off with a scoop of rice and raise your hand if you want it to be refilled. Good idea for those with small appetites - say no to unnecessary food wastage!

Khmer Kitchen is located at Mondul I, Sangkat Svay Dangkum, Siem Reap. 

We went to the 2nd branch, look out for all 3 branches here.

Look out for their red checkered table cloth, I don't see any other eateries with that iconic cloth hahaha.

Didn't do much except buying some groceries at the nearby supermarket (more mini-mart than supermarket lah) because we were super drained from the early flight and probably just floating in the pool. So back to the resort and zzz it is!

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Day 2 - Angkor Wat & Bayon Temple

Complimentary buffet breakfast at Niam Niam, restaurant at Navutu. I love the chicken fried rice so much! Chocolate croissant roll thing tooooo oh my. Not a fan of pancakes though, probably won't ever be. 😂

After breakfast, it's time to set off for a day of temple visit. Complimentary half day tuk-tuk charter service that came with our Groupon so we didn't need to hire a driver to bring us around. Rack rates are US$17 per 12hr block. Our driver (quite young I think younger than us) sent us to the official site to purchase entrance tickets first before heading to Angkor Wat.

It costs US$20 for a 1-day pass, US$40 for a 3-day pass and US$60 for a 7-day pass (consecutive upon application). A photo will be taken and printed on your ticket so it is strictly non-transferrable. Visiting hours are from 5.00am to 6.00pm, see below or click here on which temples you are allowed to enter using this pass. Do plan your visit in advance cos the place is huuuuge!

No pics of what my pass looked like cos my face like cock. Totally unprepared for the shot. 

Really huge.

Pokemon Go advisory for visitors heading to the heritage site. Seriously why is this even necessary... There is no connection up at the higher levels of the temple. Which is also why my 5km egg didn't hatch despite the crazy walking. What a pity! :(

 And we're there!



This place is so huge - I've been to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and Gyeongbok-gung in Seoul and both seems like a shorter walk within the palaces than this temple.


 #squadgoals lol


Giant-ass selfie of myself #justbecause lol


expectation vs reality

 We were sweating literally BUCKETS after walking for just 30 minutes. It would be good to wear dri-fit clothing so you don't get wet patches here and there... That shows up in photos... Oh God that embarrassment.

Anyway after chilling here for a bit... We decided to step up to the challenge and conquer Bakan - the principle sanctuary of Angkor Wat.

 Those little steps covered in moss or something - how did people use to climb up those steps?!?!

Can you see how steep the steps were... I was quite afraid of tripping over my own pants and falling to my death from descending down this flight of stairs. Not for the faint hearted!

Okay, beautiful view is worth all that almost-cadiac arrest from climbing up and down the steep stairs. It was almost sunset (yeah at only 4+pm) so the backlight was a killer... Hence not many photos. :(

 Another selfie of us after coming down from Bakan. Total tourists.

 Can you see the little people in the distance?

 Little boy who was playing with his cat along the stretch of shops that line the entrance/exit towards Angkor Wat. Be prepared to nicely reject vendors selling elephant print pants (but I caved in and got 2 pieces cos only US$2 each), fruit juices, stir-fry and more.

 And off to Bayon we go.
 Arrived at Bayon just a bit before 5pm and it was already almost empty and super dark inside.

If 'solitude' was a picture this is probably how it would look like.

And oh! We went for a foot massage at Pura Vida Spa. No photos because it's rude (lol).

Pura Vida has many outlets on and around Pub Street (here)- prices are standardised across all outlets. Spot the storefront with greyish interior and a black gondola with a menu clearly indicating prices.

If I recall correctly, here's the price list for basic services, excluding tipping (discretionary).

Foot massage - US$4 (30mins) / US$6 (60mins)

Khmer body massage - $8 (60mins) / $11 (90mins)

Masseurs were quite young - probably younger than us but they were pretty skillful. Just what we needed after a loooooooong day of walking!

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Day 3 - Lucky Mall + Flight back home!

When your flight is at 2pm and you have about 5 hours in between, what do you do? Make a dash for the local grocer, of course!

I took to google and found Lucky Mall - located about 15 mins (stroll) or a 3 mins tuk-tuk ride from Pub Street. There's an international supermarket (gasp!) and stocks nibbles, essentials and some souvenirs so we made a quick stop there after breakfast.

Turns out that there isn't much to buy (boohoo, I must be delusional when I thought it was like Big C of Bangkok HAHA) and we were done within 30 minutes. Walked back to Pub Street (lol we never really left that street it seems) and did a full body massage at Pura Vida.

Back to Navutu and off to the airport! This trip was so short it went by in the blink of an eye... One thing for sure, it changed my perspective on R&R vacations. I never liked beach vacations or 'holiday'-style getaways because I like to keep going and explore as much as I can on a trip. Lazying away at the hotel seemed... Ridiculous to me. Not anymore... I guess. Striking a balance is more important than anything, really.

Anyway, Navutu Dreams provides a one-way airport transfer per vehicle for just US$10, takes about 20 minutes.

Walking over to board the plane. Bye Cambodia!

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Extra: My Pokemon Go diary in Siem Reap

During my short 48 hour stay in Siem Reap, I managed to catch (mainly) Eevees and Venonats! It baffles me how most of the gyms there are 6 or 7 levels with the king Pokemon being Snorlax - as if that wasn't bad enough, they had really high CP (1,500 and up)! These people should have endless coins to collect cos seriously, which capable person out there is able to conquer that gym really.

How am I going to defeat so many Snorlaxes with one measly Dragonite... Sigh. Also, Team Mystic would be proud of themselves because it is really a sea of blue - almost no Team Valor or Team Instinct gyms in sight.

Just for laughs:

#TeamValor