April 5, 2014: I arrived at Kuala Lumpur around 7:00AM and went to the usual immigration check, getting out of the airport before 8AM. A quick coffee and bagel breakfast outside the airport didn't really help in keeping me ready for the first stop of my trip but I have to continue and took the KL transit all the way to Batu Caves.
The caves are famous for its Hindu temples honoring Lord Murugan. It was a bit cloudy when I arrived and went on to takes some pictures before I take on the tremendous task of climbing the 272-step staircase which is quite steep.
The climb was not as terrible than what I initially thought. I saw a lady who got robbed of her bag of goodies by a pair of monkeys. Apparently, monkeys are protected in the shrine and they seems to be the bullies of this place, snatching foods away from tourists. Here is a snapshot of one of these hardened criminals.
I was kind of disappointed upon reaching the top since the shrine seems to be not properly taken cared of. But I do notice some really awesome statues around the shrine.
There was a slight drizzle when I left Batu Caves on my way back to Kuala Lumpur, where I had a lunch of lamb mandi at an Iranian restaurant in Bukit Bintang, bought a Hard Rock Cafe guitar pin, then went off to the airport to catch a late afternoon flight to Bangkok.
At the airport, I realized I never tried an authentic Malaysian dish so I found a nice restaurant and ordered a spicy Nyonya soup before I boarded my Malaysian Air flight to Bangkok.
I arrived Bangkok by nightfall, went to immigration gates, took the Bangkok transit to Phraya Thai station (the end of the line for the red line transit) and from there took a tuk tuk ride (for 200 bahts) to my hotel near Chao Phraya road (the backpackers district of Bangkok). After checking in my hotel, I was so tired I went straight to bed.
April 6, 2014: Waking up around 8AM, I took a quick shower and I was on my way to a day of visiting temples around Bangkok. First stop is the Wat Phrakaew (the temple of the emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace. After paying my fee (500 bahts), I found out they don't allow shorts in the temple grounds so I have to use a pair of pants they were lending to tourists for free. The temple grounds is huge and adored by gold fixtures and statues.
The Grand Palace was just beside the temple ground and is included in the entrance fee.
As soon as I got out of the Wat Phrakaew complex, it was almost noon so I decided to have a nice Thai lunch and what better way to celebrate my first visit to Bangkok than with a plate of phad thai
After lunch, I took a 10 minute walk through numerous sidewalk vendors selling almost everything from shrine souvenirs to old coins and banknotes. After a couple of stops to check out some rare FDC and old mails they were selling, I finally arrived at my next temple: Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha. The entrance fee to the temple complex is cheaper at 100 baht. This time they allowed shorts but shoes are not allowed. You are given a bag to store your shoes and you are expected to explore the main temple barefoot.
A short walk again from the complex will lead you to a restaurant where the ferry boat to Wat Arun picks up its passengers for a nominal fee of 3 bahts. The Chao Phraya river reminds me of Manila's very own Pasig river.
At the other side of the river is Wat Arun, the temple of Dawn which is way older than the other two temples. After paying the 50 baht entrance fee, I am ready to explore the temple grounds.
I decided not to climb all the way to the top of the main temple because of the very steep stairs and because my knees might end up hurting. I decided to go back to the hotel after visiting Wat Arun after a quick snack of Thai pancakes.
After another quick shower, I decided to relax and take a nap after that walking through temples. I woke up just before nightfall and took another tuk tuk ride this time to Siam Center to visit the local Hard Rock cafe, have dinner (chicken and salmon hot plate), and watch a nice movie (Dallas Buyers Club).
After the movie, its time for me to go back to the hotel and after a walk along its crowded streets, it was time for me to go to bed for an early morning trip to the countryside.
April 7, 2014: I woke up around 4:30 AM, took a quick shower and then I am off to Hualumphong (Bangkok's central train station) to catch the 5:50 AM train to Aranyapratet, the city across the Thai-Cambodia border.
After a quick breakfast of a cup of coffee and a croisant, I boarded the train only to realized that I left my phone back in the hotel. I decided not to let this setback ruined a nice trip to the Thailand countryside and just plan to call the hotel as soon as I check in my hotel room in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was a third class coach since the train does not have a first class or second class section and even though it stops a lot (almost every village along the tracks), it was nice trip and I even get to sleep for two hours in that train. Below is one of those village stops.
I reached Aranyapratet around 12:30 PM and took a tuk tuk ride to the border post. I took me an hour to be cleared by the immigration post at Aranyapratet and another hour at the Poipet (Cambodia) immigration post and I am already exhausted after the passport stamping is done.
I don't want to wait for a bus to get filled with passengers so I decided to take a taxi ride all the way to Siem Reap for 48 dollars. It was a two hour drive through a relatively nice road although there was a section which it was unpaved and there were some huge holes on other parts. This part of Cambodia is mountain free so its mostly plains and ricefields along the way. I arrived in Siem Reap around 5PM, checked in the hotel and then another quick shower. By nightfall, I went for a small exploration around Siem Reap before settling to a nice restaurant for dinner. After dinner was a nice massage in a local massage parlor along Pub Street (Siem Reap's backpacker district) then back to my hotel and I am off to sleep.
April 8, 2014: After a nice breakfast buffet (see below), its time for another shower and then I am off to the Angkor Wat complex.
I hired a motorcycle for 3 dollars for the 8km ride to Angkor Wat, and as soon as we are out of Siem Reap, the road just suddenly goes inside a jungle area. As we reached Angkor Wat, we were asked to turn around since apparently, the ticket office is way back from where we entered the area. After paying 20 dollars for the day fee, we went back to the main Angkor Wat complex. The driver asked me if he can just wait outside so that i can hire him on my way back to the city so I said yes. Entering the main temple complex was a dream come true for me. I used to see pictures of Angkor Wat back when I was still a student and I always told myself that someday I will visit those temple ruins.
After Angkor Wat, I still have time to visit another temple in the complex: the Bayon temple. with its structure of four faces (all four directions).
After a morning of visiting temples, it was about time to return to Siem Reap to have lunch. For lunch, I chose A Mok, a traditional Khmer curry dish.
After a great lunch, it was time to check out and the hotel and take another motorcycle ride to Siem Reap International Airport for my flight to Vietnam. The airport was a little bit empty when I came in so checking in was a breeze. Instead of the original 2:30 PM Vietnam Airlines flight to Ho Chi Minh City, I got moved instead to an earlier 1:30 PM flight via Cambodia Angkor Air.
After an hour long flight, I finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. After going through immigration, I hurriedly got out of the airport and took a taxi cab to Pham Ngu Lao (Saigon's backpacker district) where my hotel is located. After a nice shower, I am off to Ben Than night market to meet my officemate Arnold Magalong and his cousin Julian. We had dinner at Pho 2000, a restaurant in Saigon famous for their Pho dishes. I ordered Pho Bo (beef) with a 333 Beer, and was surprised at the size of the bowl the Pho came in with.
After checking out the night market with Arnold and Julian, we went our separate ways and I decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe to buy a guitar pin for my collection. Then it was time to go back to the hotel and get some precious sleep.
April 9, 2014: After a nice shower and a complementary breakfast of scrambled eggs, french bread, fruits and coffee, I am ready to continue my exploration of Ho Chi Minh City. I took a taxi cab to the Reunification Palace where Arnold was already waiting for me. After paying for the 30,000 dong entrance fee, we went inside the palace known as the headquarters of the short-lived South Vietnam government. Outside the palace is the North Vietnamese Army tank that crashed into the palace gate during the Fall of Saigon and the F5E fighter plane that was stolen by a north vietnamese spy from a US air base and was used to bomb the palace.
After visiting the Reunification palace, Arnold and I looked for a Jollibee outlet near the area. Outside the Philippines, Vietnam is the next country with the most Jollibee outlets. Three blocks away from the palace, we found what we were looking for.
It was nice that I finally can try chickenjoy but was disappointed that what comes along with their chickenjoy was not the signature gravy that Jollibee is famous for. Instead, there was this sweet and spicy sauce that goes along with the chicken. After a quick meal at Jollibee, it was time for me and Arnold to part ways and I went alone to the Saigon Central Post office to buy an FDC for my collection and to check out the historic structure located at the very heart of Saigon. Beside it is the Notre Dame Church, where I came in to pray and thank God for the safe travel He provided me as my spring break trip is coming to an end.
After the church visit, I took a taxi cab back to hotel to prepare checking out. It was this time that I noticed the remaining half a million dong in my wallet is gone. I was suppose to use that to pay my hotel hence I decided to use my credit card. Ho Chi Minh City will have a special place in my heart now..it is the place I got pickpocketed the first time in my life. Luckily, the thief who took my cash decided to place my wallet back in my pocket will all my debit and credit cards intact. After checking out the hotel, I am off to Bitexco Financial Tower to watch "Noah" screening at the cinema there. There was only a 3-D version of the film playing during that time so I paid double the price from the usual 80,000 dongs to 160,000 dongs for the ticket. I have to watch it this time knowing that the movie was banned from cinemas around the UAE.
After the movie, it was time to travel to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for my flight back to Bangkok where I will stay for one more night before I go back to Abu Dhabi. At the airport, I bumped into Arnold again, he was also checking in for his flight back to Abu Dhabi via Doha. We went to a nice restaurant in the airport and I ordered another Pho since this might be the last time I will be trying authentic Pho.
I arrived in Bangkok the second time in this trip around nightfall again, and after the usual immigration procedure, I took the airport transit again to downtown Bangkok, took another tuk-tuk ride to my hotel (with a crazy driver this time around; I was lucky I survived that drive), and checked in the same hotel I stayed in three days ago. I am so happy to finally be reunited with my samsung galaxy phone (thank you for the cleaning lady who returned the phone to the front desk as soon as she found it in my room). After a quick shower, I went out along Chao Phraya road to try pad thai this time sidewalk eatery style. It was a little bit greasy but I love the flavors of this dish and the crunch that the peanuts and bean sprouts provide with every bite. The place was crowded for me so I took it back to the hotel with me along with a cold bottle of Chang beer. After a nice dinner, it was off to bed for me.
April 10, 2014: After my morning shower, I had a nice burger and coffee at a local Burger King joint near the hotel then proceeded to check out. The travel back home to Abu Dhabi was a little bit uneventful. I was just trying to get some sleep coz my friend Dery Alim will be picking me up in the airport, tour around Dubai for a bit, and the back to the airport to wait for his wife to arrive from a red-eye flight from London. While waiting at the airport, we played a couple of rounds of chess and to my amazement, it seems like this trip brought me some new found chess techniques since Dery ended up losing all games that night.
After Rouhy (Dery's wife) arrived, it was an hour and half drive back home to Abu Dhabi with Dery on the wheel and myself at the back sleeping, dreaming of the places that I finally been to with this trip.
1 comment:
Truly touching and you showed the amazing side if Asia
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