half of the day ~ Thailand

Ok.. couple of hours stuck in traffic! Quite a busy city.

We asked to be drop off the Gems Gallery. Just wow! and I unintentionally bought some ring.. Actually, I bought a pair, mine and for Aya. ^_^ It is a black star sapphire ( http://www.gemhut.com/blksph.htm ) and I like it. ♥

We spent a couple of hours in the Gallery, while waiting for Ralei's ring bring resized, a blue sapphire. This was our last stop before heading back to the hotel for some rest a to freshen up a bit for the night. As if we're needed some place tonight! No.. We just planned to check out more of the nearby shops, do some sight-seeing and again, search for food. XP

We ate quite a lot. Noodles and crepes this time. Thanks to Ate Heidi for the noodles and Ralei for the fruit juice! ♥

I have lovely friends and more often than not we do share. :)
And after filling ourselves, we went around the mall and neighboring markets before making the long walks to the more distant shopping centers. And traffic was better than when it was earlier.

We walked our way to the shopping malls... I like city lights.. and I know I am contradicting!

While we are doing some strolling we saw crowding people.. and just for the sake of experience, we tried to do some "fan-girling" thing for 3 seconds! What's ironic was we don't even know the star and look at the poor photo. yikes! We failed! XD

Just then, this makes me realize how majestic Buddha is.

More trinket shops around! This part are all souvenirs, while on the other side were clothes! *_*

Markets, Shops and Sights ~ Thailand Day tour

I love mornings with coffee.. and buffet!

Today is another "tourist-y" day. We are bound for a half day tour.
Anyway, Off is early. He is our tour guide for today. Today's agenda includes seeing the elephants, checking out the floating market, old village and wood carving crafts & shops. And before I forgot, this also includes the snake show which I preferred to skip!

Off is really funny! He knows a few Filipino words, as limited as what we know of the Thai language! very much acquainted with the word "Bakra" later we realized it's "Bakla".  He answered quite a number of questions from us about ladyboys and other things relating to Thailand.

No matter how adorable they look like.. it still doesn't feel right.. I don't know. I don't think the elephants should be chained like that. But I was able to touch the little one, Bong-klong, and have a photo with him. I do feel he was skittish which is really not right. 

Next stop is the floating market. 

Take your pick.. from dry goods, souvenirs, clothes to food, seasonings, fruits and more...

Really amazing.. the place was buzzing with a lot of tourists! People are friendly and most of the Ahjumma's don't speak English but they are all smiles just the same. 

And it wouldn't be the same without trying the milk tea. (excuse me, but I don't really like milk tea) Ralei purchased one to have a try at it while we wait for Off and the rest of the group. Well, it wasn't so bad but still not a fan. 

This is my favorite part... traversing the old Thai village.. I find it quite and feels nostalgic. I don't know. But I'd like to rent a room there when I get the chance to come back to Thailand as a traveler and less than a tourist. 

The village is part of the residential area on the other side of the floating market. The water around gives me a creeps of what creatures may be lurking down below but I still like the feel of the area. It's quiet and relaxing, except that we're there and it's quiet no more! hah!

Oh and did I mention we skipped on the Snake Show right beside this old village? lol. 

Our last stop included in the tour was the carving shop. Impeccable workmanship indeed!! 

And because I am starting to feel hungry.. Rotee baby!! ♥

This ends our half day tour.... with the other half of the day, we are on our own.. ^_^

** for more information on available Tours in Thailand you may reach out to Nim Nittaya. Really nice woman!**

Bangkok Night Market ~ day 1

Day 1? or should I say, Night 1? either way, it is our first few hours in Bangkok! We did not expect the long-wholeday drive from Siem Reap to Bangkok or maybe we didn't check out the details of it before this trip. Anyhow, the drive was less than comfortable but not completely bad. After separating ways with the Japanese girl we're with, we hailed a cab going straight to the hotel.

First things first. We settled and planned for what to do on what's left for the day. Starved and tired, we headed out to the mall with the hotel's tuktuk service. ^_^ oh fun! it was all traffic and noise but the driver was real fast. What's so sad about this was, no matter how fast he is, the malls are already closing. Yes, that early! ooops! It was us who're late. sorry. But still we chanced on what we can find. And luckily, we're just in time for the night market! Various things being sold by the sidewalks.

 The streets were alive and lots of people were around. Oh! and a live band playing along. People are rushing around, some checking out what is being sold.. others, I guess, rushing to go home. After a while, we remembered we were famished and just then we hunt for a food place.

securing a small bag for tomorrow's tour

guess every market have this! ^_^

Scanning the streets and checking out where to eat.... we saw an A&W!!! And that settles it! All three of us missed it from childhood! and it's fun seeing it again! Late night supper was consisted of this rootbeer float *swoon* and waffles for me. I'm happy and sold! ♥ This ends our night.. walking back to the hotel while feeling the place..

Looking forward to our first morning in Bangkok!

♥

crossing borders (Siem Reap to Bangkok)

There are few ways to cross-border from Cambodia to Thailand and we chose the most practical way, or I hope it is so. We opted to book for a scheduled bus or van (?) to cross border. Reserving tickets and payments, usually, are readily available in the hotel reception should you prefer to reserve one. It costs less than US$30, hmm.. maybe US$28 to be exact. Pick up is at 8 in the morning, hence, the early breakfast. Do double check for the pick up time though because it might be earlier that 8 am.

Last peek at Bou Savy while waiting for the pick up. We really liked the stay back then and would really go back for sure! And next time it wouldn't be a hurried trip. :-) 

Mr. Ny also gave us this souvenir. Really nice.

Our last picture here before leaving. Looking forward to Bangkok! And we thought the long drive will only be half of the day or til afternoon.

It took as a while to reach the so-called bus station. I think this is where all of the passengers meet to be numbered. LOL

I mean they put this stick on in each of us. It is color coded and with numbers in it. I remember that much because I had another funny and quite a bit embarrassing incident again. Haha Well, it just so happen the guy didn't know where to stick the sticker on me? My friends and some other men is looking waiting where he'll put it and I'm like a bit trying to reach for it because it's becoming really awkward! Ugh! Then finally, he stuck it on my top careful not to touch my bust!!! So embarrassing! Knowing he can stick it on my arm instead... er.. really awkward for him and my friends can't help but laugh! well, it's a bit entertaining I guess.

We drove straight to the border to Thailand. What can I say... for one it's hot and the line for exit in Cambodia is stationed outside. I think it's already the office. Then entering Thailand, their immigration office was way too different from Cambodia's. They are indeed well off than the latter.

And did I mention Ralei was fancying one of the co-passengers we are with. He looks interestingly good looking I must admit. We are guessing he's Brazilian with all the sexiness and pretty tan!

That is one of the 'stalking' picture we took during one of the stopovers. I would have done something differently but my friends stopped me. As the saying goes, no harm in trying but don't push your luck. They didn't think it's a good idea to make friends but I think otherwise but they won over me cause I was outnumbered.

Anyway, we arrived in Bangkok later than we have expected. The drop off place was in Khao san. (I wish I spelled it right) We stayed a bit with this Japanese girl (Ralei's seatmate the whole trip). She was cute and all and her friends were in the other van which is running later than our van. Heavy traffic it is! One of the things Bangkok was known for. It was only for a few minutes that the cute Japanese girl sent us in our way so as not to hassle our trip she also reassured us that she'll just go on and look for their booked hotel and just meet her friends there instead. So off we go on our separate ways. We took a cab and went straight to My Hotel. Tired, starved but still happy.

At Night in Siem Reap

Feeling filthy, all sticky and sweaty and not smelling oh so good.. We're calling it a day! As in done for the day tour only!

Done for the day we went back to Bou Savy muscle aching, feet sore and dead tired from today's exertion. We still need to move because buffet dinner awaits us in Amazon Angkor. Shower fast, quick rest then off we go to meet Mr. Ny once more.

He drove us to Amazon Angkor and said he'll be waiting for us outside. Er... we would have opted for him to join us for dinner but he opted otherwise.

Going in.. hmmm.. I think we were not informed.We were not dressed for the occasion, with shorts plus slippers we see the other guests wearing a more appropriate clothes for supper. Guess we're too casual for dining. hehe Anyway, who cares? It doesn't matter and it'll still be the same. =P

The place was nice. There were a crowd and it was really busy. We looked around for a bit while waiting for our turn to be seated. It didn't took that long and then right after securing our table we checked out the food. It was overwhelming to see the array of food on each side. There's Japanese concoctions of noodles, beside it you'll see some grilled meat, on the other side of the room you'll find the rows of Khmer food, the coffee station and rice cakes & some desserts. Nearly beside it you'll see some Korean food, and on the last set table on the back, I'm not sure if it is Thai food or something else.

Dinner was really sumptuous! For US$10, it is relatively cheap! Buffet with variety with some special cultural show, really worth the money. The reservations can be made through the hotel you're staying at or rather you can ask about it. Khmer people are really friendly and most definitely can understand and speak English well. And I heard some can really speak good French and Korean. Gahhh! I died of envy just now! haha! Anyway, we tried to taste everything our eyes can feast on but miserably fail because we can eat only so much. We're already full and beat up with the day's goings we did. We instead stayed and watch a bit more of the on-going cultural dance presentation, which is, by the way, really good!

After watching for a while we went out in search of Mr. Ny for us to be driven to the nearest KFC. 

An excuse to go out of our way,  is to buy some beers and chicken to cap the night because tomorrow we'll be heading to Bangkok early in the morning. 

with Mr. NY ^_^

 Ending the night with cold beers and chicken. hihi.. Ciao! ♥

Feet-aching Magnificence

We started out here... acquiring a one day pass. ^_^ How to get one >>> First you fall in line then pay the lady by the counter and then expect your photo to be taken! Lol

I wasn't aware that a photo was being taken at the time, glad the morning sunlight was nice and we look decent in the pictures!

Our first stop is Angkor Wat or so I think.. After that, I didn't even know which is next to which. I was lost over the sights, overwhelmed pretty much by the scene and the pooling crowd of tourists! It looked so great I would have loved to imagine how it looked like way way way back! It must have looked really majestic with all the precious stones stuck in the walls and pillars glimmering under the rays of the sun. *dreamy* I wish time travelling is possible!

And here is the magnificent entrance! The start of a day long hike! It was huge! Well, I'm not good with measurements so I can't guess how wide the path was but it can accommodate a huge crowd. And the waters on the sides of it is really enticing because of the scorching sun, we would have jumped if it was plausible, hence, forget about it. A clear sky such as this should have been lovely under a different circumstances, say by the beach with ice cold beer, instead of walking an endless path! Lol *it was really HOT* so do not forget to pack a sunblock, or a cap, or a hat or anything to protect you from the UV rays. Too much sun is soooo not healthy.

It's the work of art you were stuck with when you came in and explore Angkor Wat. You might want a tour guide but then exploring it by yourself would be more fun. I just wish I read more something about it than merely it's name and what's it popular for. Now I swear to come back with me knowing and not just looking! ^_^

Of course with the beautiful site, we need a photo ops! we shouldn't waste a good view! Thanks to Ralei's wonder tripod! =D Not everything was perfectly taken, but hey! It wouldn't be fun to look back without the funny almost candid shots we have!

just look at the space

It was so huge! My eyes can't take everything in. *figuratively speaking of course* The Architecture and the design was awesomely made to have it still there intact even after centuries, the preserving part must have been a lot of work. Really impressive! Oh the beauty of complexities! I may not love being lost but I like the challenge of finding, though I am not a fan of too much walking. We haven't rounded the whole place and I'm already tired, sweaty and smelly. *feeling yucky* 

We weren't able to see every nook of it. I do believe a day can't cover the whole of it and we need to move on so we can visit the other sites.

We left with the promise of coming back. ^_^ Maybe after a few years but not anytime soon I guess.

It is starting to feel really warm and the place doesn't give any comfort because of the crowd and the cloudless sky. The structures were picture perfect and I really can't stop wondering what it looked like in ancient times when everything is everything but ruins.

old with age but still sacred

I'm not sure for what the red strings were but I thinks it's something like a charm. We saw a couple of tourists wearing the same only theirs were braided into bracelets. While tying it in our wrists, the monk is chanting "Good health and Long life". 

Awesomely skilled with arts, only it's a bit pricey. We watched for a while and chat for a bit too. It's really cool when he knows where the tourists came from greeting the passers by and adding small talks. 

"Street-art-like"

I was curious so I tried to search about these carvings. I learned that theey are ancient carvings of apsara dancing woman. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsara )

The infamous tree from the movie "Tomb Raider". Out of all the gigantic trees around I just wonder how would one can distinguish it without the markings! Lol.

preserving, securing and fixing

Lunch time came.. Finally! we're not so much as hungry, we just need the break from walking and a shade from the scorching sun. Love the food so far. Nothing weird for our buds yet except the Limon Tea of Ate Heidz's this morning. The food were really good. Mine tasted almost like the local beefsteak back at home. It was less salty and a little bit on the creamy side though, but it sits well in my palate. Generous servings of potato fries! Together with rice on the side too, the meal was heavy enough to keep you walking the rest of the afternoon with full tummy! :) What's a bit different for me was their sauce on the side, which I assume is a Khmer condiment. It goes well with the food but when tasted alone.. well, I'm not a fan of so many sauce and condiments. =D

Back on track after lunch. More stops! I think 5 more.

Caught late. Ate Heidi doing the runway walk! haha

More of the scenes...

I think this one was near the Elephant Terrace... *I'm lost*

On our way to the Elephant Terrace we once again meet a fellow tourist who teases us with "mga layas/gala na beauties" (wandering beauties). I think she's on her late fifties and traveling alone. She humor us with her experiences on one stop and she gave us tips when traveling when we met once again. I think she thought we're still minors on a trip, we always get that impression when we are on vacation. just weird! Lol. She also fed us a little bit of trivia about the structures, saying the little holes along the walls and pillars used to have diamonds in it in ancient times. I can't just imagine how breath taking and majestic this palaces and temples were back in time. Yet I can also imagine how hard it was to roam around such a huge place with less than a shoes or slippers on. Ouch!

Our last stop! Finally.... I am enjoying yet I am already worn out. My feet were aching madly and sore from walking whole day. =( Then every time we're stopping on another site I am begging to sit it out instead and wait. But I can't help it because of my insisting friends. What can I do?? We were sun burnt and dead tired from all the walks and pictures. I enjoyed taking pictures of the structures, I just wish I can relay how I saw it in my photos but still I find the photos lacking. The beauty of it lies on how you see it, and I only have my side on it. It's still best to check it out with your own eyes and see it for yourself. Like any of the others it's a mix of science, religion, arts and beliefs. 

******More of US! *photo ops*****