Fasting in Phnom Penh (Part III)

.... this is the continuation of my previous posting on Phnom Penh.

8. The check-in process took less than 10 minutes and before you knew it, we were already settled in out room. I had the time for a power nap. Just a tad close to 8 minutes of closing my eyes to regain energy. Yup, you need to take power nap to re-charge especially important when travelling. Well, you can have it while in the taxi, tuk-tuk or whatever.

9. Since it’s Ramadhan, and the Iftar in Phnom Penh was quite early at about 6.30 pm. Hurriedly, I dashed downstairs (oh, I stayed at the 7^th floor with town view and pagoda right in front of my window).

10. Our host for the night took us to the Indian Delight. An indian muslim restaurant at the famous Ton-le Sap river. I didn’t say much and with huge expectation of a sumptuous indian with a twist of Cambodian touch. So I ordered a mutton biryani and mango lassi. It was delicious. Maybe because I was hungry. Maybe because it’s the first meal in Phnom Penh. Maybe because the ambience of the restaurant. I don’t know but it was satisfactory for Iftar. The dinner cost me USD6.

WARNING: PLEASE DON’T CONVERT.

I don’t really mind cos my mind psychologically said that it’s RM6. Well, that help with the burning guilt feeling of the need to convert on everything. I don’t quite believe that you need to convert to RM when you travel cos you’ll end up not buying anything. Worst, you’ll die of starvation too. ***and oh, since this is the first night in Phnom Penh, I figured it’s ok to splurge myself. Well, why not kan?

11. One more thing, whenever travel, I will make it a point not to eat at the same place. It’s more adventurous that why and you’ll get to taste new thing. Well, it’s more of a trial and error. Sometimes it suck, sometimes it expensive, and sometimes it’s both suck and expensive. Well, at least we learn something and not to repeat it again.

12. For Iftar on the second day, I went to Asmak Restaurant – this is upon recommendation of the locals here and of course from online reading. Many praised for its delicious, affordable, halal and authentic Khmer food.

13. Asmak is located in the middle of the city and tuck in among shops very near to a shopping complex (forgot the name). Just ask your tuk-tuk driver and they know where to take you. The ride from my place cost me USD2. PLEASE BARGAIN. Don’t just agree to whatever fare they charge you.

14. The food at Asmak was good. Feeling adventurous, I ordered for local dish; KHMER SOUP WITH DUCK BREAST. For drink it’s soda with lemon to quench my thirst after one full day at work, meeting, presentations and of course, fasting. The meal cost me USD4 and the drink is USD1. Ok la, still under USD10.

15. My host also informed that he could take me to the nearest mosque in town to experience how the Muslim here observed the Holy Ramadhan. I forgot the name of that place but definitely not Kampung Cham. I was told it's about 20 minutes drive from the city*.

*The plan did not materialise as I was caught up in networking meeting and it ended at 9 pm the following day. Well, I will surely make it a point to go there. I was told the freshwater fish there was delicious (not that I eat fish. Just saying).

Phnom Penh Part Deux

The Travelling Beruang

Well,  hello again.

Look, I've told you that I'm such a sloth when it comes to update the blog. But, I will surely get it done. As promised, this is the second part of my so-called adventure in the land of Tomb Raider.

Where was I... I've covered the arrival and the airport and how to stay connected. Now, let's move to accommodation and others.

1. Always, always (repetition here meant it is significant) do some background check and research on the place you are heading to. With internet, there is practically no excuse at all not doing so. Worst case scenario, there's twitter, FB and other social media accounts with whom you can interact and get some information. Imagine what it's like back in the 80s or 90s where the internet was still unreliable and inaccessible. I had that experience and trust me, it takes double or triple the effort to look for information. What more the latest ones.

The Tuk Tuk

2. Ok, enough ranting. I've booked the accommodation through Agoda.com (you may also want to try trivago.com or booking.com - both are reasonable good). Since the payment and confirmation has been made in advance, the check-in process went very smoothly. I stayed at New York Hotel for good 7 days and 6 nights. The good thing about NY Hotel is that it is situated at the heart of Phnom Penh. So, you won't face any problem going in and out. Plenty of tuk tuk around for short excursion and the receptionists are exceptionally friendly. More importantly, they can understand and speak English.

3. IMPORTANT: I forgot to mention this. From the airport to the capital; on a normal, hassle free day it's going to take you 30 minutes. Since we arrived during peak hour (about 5 pm), the traffic was bad (well, not as bad as Bangkok). It took us 1 hour to reach the hotel.

NOTE: Leave early to the airport especially during peak hour. Trust me, you don't want to miss your flight.That is just bad.

4. Did I tell you about what happened to our taxi driver on our way to the hotel? He made a daring move by making an illegal U-turn in the middle of the main road. Perhaps, he didn't realize that there were few Traffic Police by the road side. As you guessed it, our taxi was stopped just when he made the turn. To our surprise, everything was settle in less than a minute. He gave the traffice USD1 and called it a day. Efficient deal but ethically wrong. Hmmm.

The helmet free motorists.

5. For motorist, helmet is a requirement but not a necessity. I would say, more than 80% motorists that I saw were without helmet. And the police seem to care less about it. So, why bother?

6. Here in Phnom Penh, there is no such a thing as one way or two way road. Anything and any way works. Motorists, again, happily ride in every direction. The best thing about this whole experience is, there was no cursing, no middle finger, no angry face and not even a honk. It's more like a mutual understanding and everyone give way to one another. Well, so long you don't hit anyone. hehehe.

7. Like Vietnam, it's a challenge to cross the road. The motors are never ending and waiting to cross  is like an eternity. Just be brave and use the power of hand to stop and stall and slow the traffic. Trust me, they'll happily oblige. You will be safe.

To be continued.... again.

apekTravels

Pergh at Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA (Part 1: The Arrival)

Standing tall at Wat Phnom

This is the third or fourth trip overseas that I made during fasting month. It started off as work assignment and later was extended to kinda sorta backpacking adventure on my own. Considering this is the first time I stepped foot at the worldly famous Angkor Wat (I didn't get to go to Siem Riep though), the excitement almost blew my mind.

My initial plan was of course to go to Siem Riep and stroll along the famous Angkor Wat. But fate has it, my boss seemed to sniff my plan and assigned me to another meeting that kind of screw the whole road trip. Well, what to do. When you travel on assignment, these things are almost expected to happen (and it did).

1. I boarded MH762 (Yerp, Malaysia Airlines). Well, when you travel with company, why not use the perks right? And the flight departed from KLIA at 1520 hours. Since I fast, the air crew kindly 'tapau' for me.

MAS over Phnom Penh

2. Despite all the bad lucks with MAS, the service and inflight entertainment were updated with selection of new movies and good songs.

3. I arrived at about 1630 hours, Phnom Penh time. Smooth immigration process and entry. Prolly because of ASEAN country and heck , there's even ASEAN lane. That cut off queuing time because there were few more flight arriving at the same time and it caused a bit of congestion with few immigration officers resulted in shouting and giving instructions to unruly white tourists. The funny thing is, they shouted in Khmer. Well, that kinda beat the purpose and obviously none of the foreigners understood what they were shouting about. Hmmm.

Phnom Penh International Airport

4. For an international airport and the main entrance to Cambodia, the Phnom Penh International Airport is surprisingly small. I was thinking if not big, it should be as spacious as Yangon Airport and I was wrong. The walk from the flight to the immigration gate was around 5-7 minutes or so. And to the exit, it was just a dash of another 5 minutes. Yup, that is all.

5. Oh, while you are fresh from Malaysia, don't forget to get local simcard. The aisle of telco and internet provider readily awaits for you as you exit. And yes, you can get the simcard for FREE here. Use SMART. With free simcard, all you need to do is to just top up USD5 which will allow you for call, sms and most importantly, 1.5gb worth of internet. It is more than ok for me.

The rate for SMART Simcard

You know what, I didn't even ran out of data on for the whole 6 days in Phnom Penh. Power tak? Power tak? :P

Keeping A Journal

#kodakMOMENT

Well, hello there.

It's been  a while since I last write here. Been quite busy with work, life and yes! TRAVEL. I have just returned from Cambodia. It's a work + bp trip. Went for 2 days meeting and further extended my stay to explore the city of Phnom Penh. 

And no, I didn't get to go to Siem Riep and explore Angkor Wat. As much as I'd love to, it just didn't fit in with my schedule cos it's either Phnom Penh or Siem Riep. And I chose Phnom Penh. I had a jolly good time there. 

Ok, I'm digressing. Lari dari tajuk posting. hahaha.

Anyway, coming back to the topic. For avid traveller, season backpacker, constant flashpacker or whatever it is you wanna call yourself, I have this to say to you: KEEP A TRAVEL LOG. 

This. My mini travel journal. Small and easy to carry around.

Well, a travel log can be in any form that suits you. Never ever imitate or try to follow what others are doing. Just because what they did was awesome, it may not necessarily be good or fit in with your style. In the end, you'll end up NOT DOING IT. 

The best possible way is to just write it within your schedule. If you ask me, when travel I will always write a snippets and point form just to recall it during the writing process. 

If I'm on the and it's difficult to event write, then I'll resort to voice note in the phone. Later when I'm free or during coffee or in proper sitting position then only the writing process begins. Even so, I like to write in numerical order. Not some lengthy paragraph that will definitely bore me to death. 

To give you idea, just go to Tun Mahathir's blog (http://chedet.cc/). It's clear, cohesive, concise, straight to the point and very crisp. 

Senang je kan. 

One more thing that I love to do is that I doodle in my travel journal. That keep it interesting and excite me to write more. Well, if not more the doodle help me to reminiscent the event that happened. For my euro trip, I didn't write a lot, but I doodle in it and the doodle reminded me of the interesting stories behind.  

Below. My travel - doodle from recent trip to CAMBODIA:

I hope the above gives you an insight how to start writing. Remember, so much our memories kick-ass, one day it'll fail us that we will find it hard to remember the time you had when travelling. This will be your personal treasure. And you may share with your kids or grandkids. Better, publish it and share to the world! 

Ok, that's all for the time being. I'm yet to blog on Phnom Penh. Gimme time.  

See you later, alligator. Hehek.

Things to do in Pangkor

the beach at Teluk Nipah

 

1. At Teluk Nipah (where I stayed), you gotta try the banana pancake (lempeng pisang ye kawan2). Well, may not be as grand as Krabi Pancake, but at least we've got one also. And the taste is not bad. Eat it while it hot . It'll cost you RM1.50 per piece and open daily around 4 pm onwards. During weekend, you'll see a long queue and that's when you know you are at the right stall. 

Travel essentials

 

2. Compared to 5-10 years ago, night life in Pangkor and Teluk Nipah in particular could be dead boring. But all is not lost. Albeit the lines of street vendors and dim light, there is this Raggae Bar for shisha and coffee enthusiast (no liquor though). You will not miss it cos it's just by the road side facing the beach, right in front fo Lorong 2. Open daily until wee hours.... So, burung2 pungguk sekalian, korang boleh la lepak situ. Brader yang meniaga pun very friendly and quite a chatter box.  And, there's music too. If you are lucky, buskers will play there. Otherwise, layan je lagu from its jukebox.
3. HORNBILLS SPOTTING. Yup. Don't forget to look up when in Pangkor. You could spot hornbills flying and lepaking around almost an instant. In fact, there's this one chalet famous for its activities of feeding these wild Hornbills. If you wanna catch it, be sure to be in front of that chalet about 4-5 pm daily. Oh yeah, I forgot the name of that chalet. But it's located at Teluk Nipah. Be friendly and ask around. The people there knows. :) 

4. Pangkor also famous for its seafood by-product. Err... that's processed food, yes? I visited and shopped handsomely at Chop Ha LI at Pangkor town. It's located slightly inward from the jetty. Cheap and you can bargain if you buy more. Well, most shops sell at affordable price.  

the road to Chop Ha Li

The variance is around 10-50 cents I think. But it makes all the differences if you buy a lot kan. 5 posen diskaun boleh jadik 10 inggit kalo beli banyak... Well, not that I'm a cheapskate. You do the maths hehehe.

5. ACCOMMODATION. There are plenty of budget chalet hostel around. Pangkor is a good destination for backpacker, students or those who travel on a budget. Teluk Nipah have a number of alleys (lorong) that offer chalet and hostel at affordable rate. The rate starts at RM20 per nite. Most accommodation that I've seen are cosy and comfortable enough for your stay. After all, when you are on vaccay, you will not or should not stay in your room. Go explore. The room is for your good nite sleep only. Kan? Or am I wrong? Heh.

6. RENT A BIKE - MOTORCYCLE OR BICYCLE. Mark my word. Do not rent a car. It's a waste and Pangkor is not huge to begin with. It's merely half of Langkawi and its accessibility would only require two-wheelers. It is in fact, the best way to explore the island because again, Pangkor is relatively small. The good thing is, most resort / chalet / hostel offer bike rental. And yes, you gotta go and scout first. Boleh dapat harga murah. Normally, the rental cost is RM30 per day for motorcycle. 

7.INSIDER'S SECRET: At beach, apart from water sports (canoe, banana boat ride, speed boat, island hoppings, etc.) and swimming, you should have a stroll along the beach line. There, if you are lucky, you will spot local villagers donning an activity called "yatyat harvesting". Yatyat is a snail-like creatures and there are abundant of 'em hiding in between the wet sands. The locals like to deep fried the yatyat and serve with rice. Below are the yatyat:

8. GOOD FOR MONEY: Be on the ook out for budget beach resort because the motorcycle rent there gonna cos you RM30 per day. Others, between RM40 and RM50. Oh yea, this is the rate during peak seasons, weekends and holidays. 

9. When you have a bike, go to the Dutch Fort located about 1.5km from the jetty. Not many tourists know or even bother about this historical site especially backpackers. Well, not to blame them, the promotional part of it also lukewarm and it is not even highlighted anywhere. People will know bout it when you go on a guided tour.

  10. Wait, the excitement doesn't stop there. About 50m or so from the Dutch Fort, there's this Batu Bersurat (inscription on the stone). The Batu Bersurat marked the presence of Dutch merchants in Tanah Melayu back in the Kesultanan Melayu Melaka heydays. These inscriptions dated as early as 1743.

11. The inscription depicted:
a. Story of a Dutch baby  snatched by Malayan tiger at nite.
b. Letter VOC - a registered trademark of Dutch ship.

12. The best part is that there was no whatsoever descriptions or story behind these huge Batu Bersurat. The museum authority built a roof to cover it from ruin. That's just about it. 

Indrawati and her husband; an Indonesian. Prolly that's how she's got the name from.

My doodle on Indrawati. heh.

13. I was lucky to have met Indrawati Gunawan, a Dutch traveler who happened to be on the site. She was very friendly and warm and she was the one that shared the story behind this Batu Bersurat and the meanings of the carving on the stone. **a bit embarassed I must admit. Heh. 

14. At nite, Teluk nipah offers an array of seafood. There are plenty of 'em specializing in all-you-can-eat seafood from grill, tomyam, deep fried, tiga rasa and list go on and on. The trick however, is to find the good one and cheap. So far, I've been unlucky. The stalls I went to it's either delicious but expensive, cheap but tasteless or worse, expensive and tak sedap. Puih. Better luck next time!

15. To go from ferry to Teluk Nipah or elsewhere, use the public transport - the PINK VAN. Easily available and they roam all throughout the island. It'll cost you RM15 per trip to Teluk Nipah. That RM15 is per van, not per person. If you are alone or forever alone (haha) try to find someone and tumpang la. The van can accommodate about 6-7 people. 

Resit kena simpan!

16. The ferry ride from mainland to island cost RM10 for return trip. KEEP THE STUB cos you need it on the way back (they check!!)

17. I guess that's just bout it for Pangkor Island. 

Thanks for reading. MMuuahhhh.

apekTRAVELS