Rolous Group Tour, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bakong Temple

There are so many temples in Cambodia.

According to one of the Indian tourists that I talked to when I was going to Siem Reap, it will take three days for a person to visit all the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia alone. 

Well, I stayed in Siem Reap for three days and I was not able to visit all the temples but I had a few and one of them is the Rolous Group Tour comprising of Bakong, Preah Ko, Lolei and Prei Monti.

Entering Bakong Temple

There are three possible modes of transportation to have the temple tours in Siem Reap, namely: using bus or mini-van, using Tuk-Tuk (motorcycle) or a simple bicycle ride.

I was  in Siem Reap to enjoy these tours at a lower cost as possible. No strenuous exercises while on tour, and so the bicycle ride was out of the choices. I want to control my time and no big crowd please, and there goes the bus or mini-van. The most ideal and effective for my comfort, convenience and financial capacity is the Tuk-Tuk. And the options are over!

Using the Tuk-Tuk, one has to pay only a fee of 13 USD from my hotel (Lotus Lodge) up to Bakong and vice-versa. You control your own time at your own convenience and nobody is there to bother you.

There are four temples in the Rolous Group. But only three of the four temples will be visited since the Prei Monti is only a small temple.

One more thing, there is an entrance fee of 20 USD that you have to pay once you have your temple tours. The fee is good only for one day. If you intend to visit all the temples or visit them for three days, you can opt to buy the 40 USD which is good for three days. And in case you want to have a one week tour, they also have the 60 USD package.

Anyway, from my hotel to Bakong Temple, it took me 30 minutes to reach the first temple.

It is a lot better to visit all the temples that you can visit for one day and start early in the morning. But you must have the energy, stamina and the will to do this. But most of all, you must keep yourself hydrated for the simple reason that the temperature in Siem Reap can either burn your skin or give you a heatstroke! And wear light colored apparel and possibly, a hat.

right wall of the entrance

Once you are there, take your time to stroll around and take pictures. I mean it is not often that you get to see these ancient temples.

left wall of the entrance

But please do not forget the heat or you might end up toasted!

Main tower of the temple

The Rolous Group of Temples are some of the earliest permanent structures built by the Khmer. The group consists of three separate sites and marked the beginning of classical period of Khmer civilization dating from the 9th century (880). And that is how important these three temples are.

Interior of the tower temple

 After walking for five minutes, you will end up at the entrance of the tower of the temple and you will see what is inside the tower.

The awe does not stop there. Once you descend, you will witness the breathtaking view of the entrance of the temple on top view.

I could not help myself taking pictures left and right. I mean Siem Reap is the photographer's dream!

Next stop was the Preah Ko, it will take you only five minutes using Tuk-Tuk torreach the next spot.

And once again, you will definitely marvel at this ancient structure. A masterpiece, a work of architecture indeed!

There are three towers fronting the temple and at the back there are also three temples.

These temples are huge and made up of brick.

And the last stop for the day, is the Lolei Temple. It is the smallest of the three temples. Another five minute ride from Preah Ko.

Normally, it takes four hours to finish the tour. But I was able to finish it less than 3 hours. I simply could not bear the heat. Good thing the temples are fascinating!

Enjoy Siem Reap!

Two Days in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Dinner River Cruise in Ho Chi Minh

It was a 13-day tour and I was just on the 7th day of my tour. From Yangon, Myanmar, I boarded a plane and landed in Ho Chi Minh City. From the Ho Chi Min International Airport, I took  a cab, went to my hotel and paid 200,000 VND for the ride. The taxi was not that expensive. Exchange rate is 100,000 VND equals 250 Philippine Peso. The ride to the hotel was good for 25 minutes.

A bit exhausted and without much sleep (I had a connecting flight from Yangon-Singapore / Singapore-Ho Chi Minh and the waiting time at the Changi Airport was 8 hours), I arrived at the M&M Hotel and immediately went to the front desk. I needed to take a respite.

The staff of the hotel was very accommodating and courteous. In fact, I even had a souvenir photo with one of their staff named "Thanh." I think she was the prettiest face I saw in Ho Chi Min City. She was one of the reasons (or probably, the best reason) why I enjoyed my stay in Ho Chi Minh.  

Honestly, I was not able to sleep. I just rested my back for an hour and decided to do a little bit of souvenir shopping. Having browsed google, I knew were to go. And the cheapest mode of transportation in Vietnam is by having a motorcycle ride (I learned later on that I was 15 minutes away from my destination). Fare using the TukTuk is between 20,000-30,000 VND. Later that evening, I decided to walk instead going back to the hotel.

While onboard my ride in the city, I noticed that Ho Chi Minh is the motorcycle capital in the world. I mean almost everybody was using motorcycle as a mode of their transportation. They were like ants running around the city!

 Finally, I reached my destination for that day - Le Lai Street. The site is between New World Hotel and Ben Tanh Market. It is the place where you can buy signature bags such as Northface, Kipiling, Samsonite and a whole lot more. But the idea that day was to buy as many Northface bags and accessories as possible. If you intend to buy watches, you can go to Binh Tay Market at Cho Lan. For jewelry, in Saigon Tax Center and for handbags and wallet, in Saigon Square or Binh Tay Market. You can also buy these things at the Ben Tanh Market near Le Lai Street. The price of Nortface usually starts from 150,000-200,000 VND. The first price mentioned by the saleslady is not the correct price and you can ask for a much lower price or a 30-50% discount.

And first day in Vietnam, I spent 2.4 Million VND just for Northface and Kipling bags! And it felt great and I loved it!

  
While you are in Ho Chi Minh, you will encounter small stalls where they sell cold and hot beverages for a cheap price. It's quite hot in Vietnam and you need to hydrate! Cold drinks is priced from 10,000 VND - 20,000 VND.

And in case you want to eat, eating rice is not that popular in Vietnam. Instead, they have "Pho Bo" or ramens in beef, chicken or pork. The price varies from 25,000 - 35,000 VND  and they usually serve the cold tea for free. Later that day, I went to a travel agency and booked my land trip to Siem Reap (462,000 VND), my Dinner River Cruise (38 USD) and Mekong Delta River Tour (it comes in two sets, Set A and Set B, I chose B [420,000 VND]).

Later that evening, I decided to have the River Dinner Cruise. I paid 38 USD for this.  And it was worth it. The cruise is beside the Riverside Hotel. You can ask the cab driver to take you there for 30,000 VND. During day time, they also have boat rentals which are chartered from 400,000 VND - 1,500,000 VND depending on the size of the boat per hour. There is an extra fee for the succeeding hours. On the other hand, the Dinner River Cruise starts around 7 pm and ends 9:30 pm.

You will be served a variety of dishes while you are onboard or you can even ask for seafood dishes. After the river cruise, I went back to the hotel and had my massage.

DAY 2 - Mekong Delta River Tour

The following morning, the travel agency picked me up from the hotel 7:45 am sharp. And we boarded the mini-bus and went to Mekong Delta River. After almost 2 hours, we reached the Mekong Rest Stop.  

Some of my co-passengers took their meal on this stop. The place is wonderful!

After 30 minutes, we drove-off to our destination and reached the port.

The boat can accommodate up to 30 passengers  but we were only less than 20 passengers that day.

There are so many tours available in Vietnam and they vary. You have to choose for your own. But the river cruise and boats are my favorite and I love to shoot pictures of them. And the agency provided an English speaking guide while you are onboard the boat.

First stop of the tour was the candy factory. The workers in the factory will show the tourists how they make coconut candy and a variety of candies. By the way, they have the snake attraction here where you can pose with the big snake.

Second stop was the Honey factory and they will serve you honey tea and light snacks.

It was already past 12 pm when we finished going to the two factories and were brought to our lunch stop. After lunch, you can go biking in the village or listen to the cultural show that is provided by the establishment.

I opted to have the biking and went around the village for one hour. Some of the tourists also opted to roam around and take pictures of the scenic spots.

Life in the village is simple. I missed Philippines when I was at the village, it reminded me of my country.

Last part of the tour was the small boat tour which lasted for 30 minutes. It is a cruise in the small river going back to the big river.

And after the small boat tour, we boarded the bus and went back to Ho Chi Minh. It took us almost 3 hours before we reached the city. But the fun and adventure did not stop there, I decided to go to the Night Market. 

I suggest you do your shopping at the night market. It is a lot lower and cheaper. By the way, the night market is also situated in Le Lai Street. You can choose from a variety of sizes and designs of Kipling and Northface bags.

Two days in Ho Chi Minh and I spent 5 Million VND and it was really worth it! I have to go back to Vietnam in 2015! And my mind is already made up! Hello back Vietnam!! =)

George Town, Penang, Malaysia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Last November 2013, I was able to tour in Melaka, Malaysia and marveled at its heritage structures. 
Melaka is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

But my cousin Ryan told me that I have to see another heritage site in Malaysia - George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

So last March 2014, from Kuala Lumpur, I took a ride on my cousin Ryan's car and went to Penang, Malaysia. We reached Ipoh, Malaysia and spent the night in Ipoh. The following morning we continued our journey to Penang. After 3 hours, we reached our destination.

Our first stop that morning was the Town Hall of George Town.

It was Sunday that morning and we had to go to church and pray a bit. Our second stop - Our Lady of Assumption Church. It was a walking tour and it was fun.

Third stop for the day was the Penang Museum and the entrance fee was only 2 RM. I looked around the museum and saw the historical artifacts and structures of Penang.

Fourth stop was the Mansion which is tagged as one of the 10 best mansions in the world. We were not able to enter the mansion since it was  already lunchtime and the next schedule of the tour was 1:30 pm. Entrance fee is 12 RM. We decided not to join the tour.

Fifth stop and a couple of meters only from the Mansion was the Chocolate Museum.

From George Town, we had to drive again to our last destination for that day - Kek Lok Si Temple or the Chinese Temple of the Supreme Bliss. It took us only 15 minutes and we reached the spot.

The ascending trek to the temple was good for 15 minutes but we had to pay 2 RM for the reclining lift towards the temple. It was a sight to behold! One of the biggest Buddha structures that I have seen. It was so hot that day that we decided to descend immediately.

While in Penang, I was delighted to see their own traditional mode of transportation - the Trishaw. It is one of the most important mode of transportation for short distance only of 5 kilometers.

Penang, Malaysia is truly Asia!

Genting and Ipoh, Malaysia

Malaysia is known for its tagline - "Truly Asia!" 

For indeed, Malaysia offers a diversity of tourist spots ranging from beaches, heritage sites, architectures, eco-tourism spots and a whole lot more.

My cousin Ryan's condominium in Ipoh, Malaysia

March, 2014

Ipoh, Malaysia

I stayed overnight in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the following morning, my cousin and I drove-off towards Genting. But before reaching Genting, we dropped by at the Batu Caves for a couple of hours for a little bit of sight-seeing and then moved closer to Genting.

From Kuala Lumpur, it took us more than 2 hours before reaching Genting.

We parked the car at the Genting Cable Car station and we were lifted towards Resorts World. The fee for the cable car is only 12 RM per person. The cable car was longer than Hong Kong and Singapore. But the longest in Malaysia is in Lengkawi.

The cable car ride was good for 15 minutes.

And we alighted near Resorts World and took souvenir pictures and then went inside the indoor theme park. One of the best indoor theme parks that I have seen in my journeys.

We roamed around without minding of time and even ate at this fabulous Chinese restaurant.

After staying for more than 2 hours, we decided to go to our last and main stop for that day. And it was already past 5 pm when we reached, Ipoh after driving for nearly 6 hours from Kuala Lumpur.

Upon arrival in Ipoh, my cousin told me that there is a hot spring resort within the vicinity and we decided to go to the spot - The Lost World of Hot Springs and Spa.

Entrance fee is only 12 RM per person and it is open only from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

The next morning we went to Penang, Malaysia.

I enjoyed my stay in Kuala Lumpur, Genting, Ipoh and Penang. 

Thanks to my cousin Ryan Ramilo. Till next time cousin!