Indochina Adventure (Ayutthaya)

Bangkok was our last destination and exit point in our Indochina adventure. But before I start with my story, I would like to share my experience before crossing the border of Thailand. You know, when we reached the border, we got off the bus and proceeded to the immigration office of Cambodia (Poipet) to have our departure card stamped by the immigration officers. But it was so disappointing to know and to see how crude these officers were, while extorting money from ASEAN member passport holders, when we're supposed to be "visa free"! They were asking for $3 from each tourists and we have no choice  but to give because they won't stamp the departure card. I just don't understand why those illegal activities are being practiced! If I am not mistaken it's been going on for a long time but nobody has reported them to the proper authorities. So just a precautionary measure in case you'll travel in that part of the world, be good with your haggling skills because the price is negotiable (pathetic) or just don't haggle over a few dollars at all. We made it to Bangkok, at 6:00 PM, it was a long travel. I can't wait to get to the hotel but it's TRAFFIC! After 3 hours stuck in traffic we finally arrived in the hotel and I  was starving! Hmmp!

A bowlful of Tom Yum and a hot shower soothed my tired body and beat the stress out of my system. I slept deeply that night. The day after was the 6th day of our trip and we got up early and ready to rock and roll again!

Since the pattern of our trip is mostly temple hopping we went to the ancient city of Siam, the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Our tour wouldn't be possible without the help of Klook, as usual! They made our life easier, but the traffic going to the meet up area, doesn't seem so! My gosh, we were stuck again in traffic because of the ongoing train constructions, and our hotel was sooo far far away from the meeting place and that we were so brave to take the bus! To make our travel fast, we saw motorcycle riders on the sidewalk who transports passengers! And because we were running out of time, I thought its the best option to beat the meet up time...so we took it and flew, arriving at the meeting place 15 minutes earlier! Isn't that cool?

Moving onto the first stop in the province of Ayutthaya was the Bang Pa-in Royal Palace. It is also called Bang Pa-in Summer Park where Siamese royalty dwells during summer. The park is European  inspired which said to be a gift of the King to the Queen. The landscaped garden is accentuated with colorful flowers and the river gives off a cool atmosphere to the park.

It has a lighthouse where a 360 view of the park is seen. By the way,  the Bang Pa-in park is open from 8:30 am-4:30 pm everyday for 100 baht. Dress code is strictly observed, no short skirts or short parts, no sleeveless shirts.

After the tour we had a quick lunch of pad thai and satay in one of the authentic restaurants in downtown Ayutthaya. It was a hot day the ice cold soda cannot appease the temperature so we went on scramming into a cooler place like the air conditioned van. I wanted to sleep for a moment but we  have to get to the next destination.

The Wat Phra Sri Sanphet is in Ayutthaya's Heritage park,  it is the most important temple of Ayutthhaya and situated within the palace grounds. At present, it is being restored by UNESCO for being a World Heritage Site.

The three chedi in the park represents the three Kings who ruled Ayutthaya in the early times. The stupa were built to house the remains of the these Kings. It is also under restoration at present.

Hundreds of headless Buddhas were all over the monastery and it was a strange sight to see them all like that! And according to the tour guide, all Buddhas in the holy place were all made of gold and silver of the purest quality, they have crowns and wore jeweled bracelets. The pedestals were also made of gold and silver and adorned with diamonds!

But on the eve of Burmese invasion in 1700s Ayutthaya fell. Burmese ransacked and burned the monastery to the ground leaving the chedis. Buddhas were beheaded and was taken and burned to melt off the pure gold that encased them. Such a tragic downfall.

Another temple in Ayutthaya is Wat Mahathat, it is the center where the Buddha's relics were enshrined. A story was told by our tour guide that some Buddhas during the invasion of  Burmese were buried that some of them has not been recovered or they cannot remember where they were buried.

This bizarre site could be the answer to the buried Buddhas that remained underground and just came out embedded within the roots of century old trees. This is the most photographed area in Wat Mahathat. People taking photos with this Buddha should sit on the ground as a sign of respect, any poses higher than that Buddha like standing is strictly prohibited.

The temperature that afternoon was getting hotter! And we don't have plans of getting out of the vehicle but we got one more place to visit, the Wat Lokaya Sutha! The what? It's a temple that shouldn't be missed because of that 42 meter reclining ancient Buddha, resting on lotus flowers under the heat of the sun! It is situated within the complex of the Royal Palace. The structure is timeworn that even if its paint has already faded it still looks dignified. A beautiful Buddha that should be photographed and kept in my folder.

Well, that ends our week long adventure,  we have a lot of unforgettable memories from people we have met, places we have been, food that we ate. We learned so many things about their history, culture, and religion. We may differ from our beliefs and traditions but the common thing that could harmonize humanity is mutual respect! And I thank you!

By the way, we planned to do DIY  but again, the name of the places was really hard to pronounce and remember so we took the package, I swear it will save time.

Indochina Adventure Angkor Archeological Park (Siem Reap)

I enjoyed our bus trip to Siem Reap, I like the view of the countryside. It is a vast area of flat land and rice fields! I won't wonder if Cambodia doesn't go through rice shortages! I haven't seen any mountains and most houses are on stilts because of the flooding on rainy seasons. Six hours had passed and we finally arrived in Siem Reap, it was raining and we were cordially greeted by the hotel's "tuk tuk" driver who will take us to our accommodation. The hotel is cozy, the interior decorations obviously tells that I am in Khmer's ancient kingdom.

Sunrise!

The next day, we woke up very early for our Angkor Wat tour. We hired a private "tuk tuk" driver who will pick us at the hotel  at 4:30 AM. It was still dark but there were already a number of tourists on the road aboard a "tuk tuk" and other private vehicles going to the direction of  Angkor Wat!  Our driver took us to the ticketing center, it is open from 4:30AM until 5:30PM everyday. Our effort to wake up very early in the morning was rewarded with a glorious view of sunrise and the Angkor Wat temple!

Angkor Wat Temple

The Angkor Park is the largest archeological site that I've seen so far! Within the park are magnificent structures which dates back from the 9th to 15th century, and what's amazing is that most of these enormous structures are still undamaged even though some parts have already fallen apart! There are temples which survives to this date, they are being restored  through the funding of  UNESCO for being a World Heritage Site. One of them is the famous Angkor Wat temple, which is the largest and well maintained among the other temples. It is on the main entrance so it should not be missed! Angkor Wat is tremendous and is the perfect place to view the sunrise!

South  Gate of Angkor Thom

The walled city of Angkor Thom was the ancient capital of the Khmer empire. The South Gate is the usual and the most well preserved entrance of tourists to its perimeter. The stone figures on both sides of the gate holding a giant snake represents an ancient  Hindu story, which is quite remarkable to be depicted in an outstanding work of art.

Smiling faces of Bayon Temple

Upon entering the South Gate, a temple with towers that has smiling faces was exposed to our view. It's the Bayon  Temple. What was on my mind?  Who are they? Those four faced towers were so intriguing that I was left staring at them all the while we were there. I felt a little scared at times, as I walked closely to them thinking that they might suddenly open their eyes and yawn. Oh my God I didn't stay long in there!

Bayon Temple

The Bayon Temple is known for its composed human faces sculpted on its towers, I am not sure if they represent a God or a King, there are numerous stone faces that can be seen on any side of the temple. There are also scattered boulders on the ground which I think were some parts of the building that needs to be preserved for the restoration.

Baphuon

Within the walls of Angkor Thom are several magnificent structures which has undergone restoration which brings us back closer from what they looked during its heyday. The Baphuon is a pyramid like temple, it has an elevated walkway leading  to the entrance gate and pool on its other side, a great reclining Buddha image was constructed on the other side but it was never completed.

Preah Khan

As  we moved out of Angkor Thom we have come upon more temples, some under restoration and some are just waiting to be brought back at least on a stable condition. One of the picturesque is the Preah Khan which was built within the jungle. It is surrounded by old ancient banyan trees which roots has already overgrown. The corridors of Preah Khan is a perfect subject for photography especially when there's no people around, but I wasn't so lucky, but it's still beautiful.

Corridors of Preah  Khan

Moving on to the heart of the park , we stopped by Ta Phrom, which once became the location site of the film "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", which the Khmers has always been proud of. The famous giant banyan trees has already gained in control of the temple, as if it has a soul and is saving the temple from collapsing.

Ta Phrom

I cannot remember how many more temples we have been or passed by and for me they are all astonishing. As an ardent lover of ancient architecture, I was caught speechless, there were so many questions that lingered in my mind as we walked out of the park. How did they build massive edifices with elaborate and intricate designs on its walls, roofs, doors, posts with perfection during the ancient times? Who made them? What technology did they use? Well, I may not know but all I can say is I am truly impressed with everything that I saw and I would like to be there again.

Bantay Kdei

I would like to share some important things just in case you plan to go to Angkor Archeological Park.

The Angkor Pass can only be bought in the ticket center, tickets bought from hotels, tour companies and other parties are invalid. The entrance fee for a 1-day pass is US$37, while US$62 is for a 3-day pass, and US$72 for a-day pass. But I think a day is enough to visit most of the temples.There is a dress code in the park, since you are visiting temples which Khmer's consider it as their holy place, please refrain from wearing revealing clothes.

We hired a private tuk tuk driver who toured us around the park. The usual tour they do is the small tour and big tour but we're just so lucky that driver took us to almost all of  the beautiful temples for $20 from each of us and $5 for the tip, maybe it was the off-peak season and there were less tourists at the time so it's a goood deal. If you're interested to hire tuk tuk you can contact Mr. Sovann in WhatsApp app at telephone # 85593863051. He can speak English.

We stayed at Suon Angkor Boutique Hotel, it's a clean hotel, they  have a pool and food is delicious. By the way, breakfast is included with the accommodation and pick up at the airport and bus terminal is free.

So there,  thank you for reading!

Indochina Adventure in Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

I wanted to skip Phnom Penh and instead go directly to Siem Reap in Cambodia but the bus in Saigon leaves early in the morning and we can't manage to catch up. I have no choice but to go to Phnom Penh since we were already booked in a hostel. I thought there's not much to see there but it was fun in Phnom  Penh! Travel time from Saigon to Phnom Penh is approximately 6-7 hours, we brought packed meals so we won't buy food on stopovers. We arrived in Phnom Penh at around 8 PM, took a "tuk-tuk" and checked in the hostel. Ate dinner and slept.

KEEP THIS CARD, DON'T LOSE IT!

Our stay in Phnom Penh was just short, because we will leave for Siem Reap on that same day, so we started our walking tour early in the morning by the Tonle Sap river. Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, it is the largest and well populated city in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Royal Palace and the business districts are mostly found in the city. I have no idea where and what interesting places they have, I checked my Google maps and yes! Again, we only chose the places we like to see so as to save time.

Chasing pigeons

We planned to go to the Royal Palace  but there was a construction going on so we just left it out. Across the Royal Palace is the riverside park which was really inviting! There were hundreds of birds flying around and alighting on the ground to peck feeds, they are nice to look at especially when they fly in unison!

ZUMBA

I think the riverside park is often flocked by locals and tourists, because it is a perfect place for recreation. I really can't help but run after those birds, oh by the way, the flags of ASEAN countries are all flapping by the riverside which synchronized with the flying birds! And they're nice to look at!

YOGA

I've seen the locals busy with their activities by the riverside, some are doing Zumba,  some are practicing Yoga and Tai chi, the others were jogging, and it is a good thing to know that Cambodians are health conscious. To continue with our walking tour, we planned to eat breakfast before going to the first temple but we can't find the restaurant we saw in the map, so we visited the first temple which is the "Wat Phnom". Wat means hill and Phnom is temple, so it's a hill temple, the home of the Bronze Buddha  found in Tonle Sap River a long time ago by a wealthy widow named "Penh", and later the city was named after her, "Phnom Penh".

This is the main entrance to Wat Phnom where two "Nagas" are found. In Buddhism, "Naga" is the seven headed serpent which is mostly found in temples and their body is carved as balustrades. They are legendary creatures in the Hindu and Buddhist mythology, which is believed to be guardian statues. Naga has a significance in the mythology in most Southeast Asian cultures, in the Philippines our version of Naga is the "Bakunawa". It is interesting to learn about the Asian mythology, maybe I could read books and write about it. To continue, there is a park upstairs aside from the temple, the place is peaceful. We went around the hill temple and went down on the other side and found a giant clock! By the way, Wat Phnom is open from 7AM-6PM daily. Entrance fee is  US$1 and free for Cambodians. Ticket booth is near the giant staircase.

Can you tell me the time?

We haven't eaten breakfast and we haven't found the restaurant listed on our itinerary and then somewhere along the way, we found an eatery full of people, the smell of grilled pork hypnotized us and brought us in.

Draining and drying the pork and fish...ready for grilling!

The waiter was talking to us in Khmer because he thought we are Cambodians and by chance, the guy who shared the table with us knows English. He smiled and translated to the waiter what we wanted! So we ordered the aromatic grilled pork and that flavorful soup, the food was so delicious and cheap! I cannot forget them, too bad I wasn't able to ask about the name of the place.

YUM YUM

We continued with our city tour heading towards the Ounalom Pagoda, but...do you know that on our way we passed by the restaurant that we are looking for? And oh my....it was so full of  people! Okay the name of the restaurant is "126 The Noodle House Factory", it is a breakfast restaurant and opens at 5AM. Try their pork buns, so full of stuffing! Okay now, so much for food!

The Ounalom Pagoda is one of the oldest monasteries in Phnom Penh, it is a home to Buddhist monks and keeps several life-sized Buddhas. The pagoda is just across Tonle Sap River, it is open to public for free from 6AM-6PM. There is a dress code in all temples, wearing of short pants or short skirts and revealing tops are not allowed, so please abide.

Just a short distance from our hotel is the National Museum of Cambodia. It is open daily from 8AM to 5PM, entrance fee is US$10 and  US$5 for audio guide which is optional. We didn't hire a guide and instead took the audio guide. There are hundreds of Khmer artifacts found in the museum, mostly sculptures in bronze and ceramics. The audio guide helped us a lot in understanding each collection. If you are interested in ancient history then this is the place to be, but if you're not you'll just get  bored, by the way, photography is not allowed, so think before you pay.

So time is running out,  we have to tidy up and pack things for our trip to Siem Reap. I would like to mention that we stayed at  RS II Guesthouse which is just okay, it has a restaurant at the ground floor, and located near the tourist spots, restaurants and riverside, it has a good location. The hotel booked our trip to Siem Reap so we don't have to to the terminal and buy ticket, a service vehicle picked us up in the hotel and took us to the (Giant Ibis) bus terminal. Travel time from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is approximately 6-7 hours, it is long trip but you won't get bored because the view of the countryside is interesting. Bring food in the bus, so you'll enjoy the view.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Indochina Adventure (Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)

I know I am so late with Vietnam, and I think almost all of my relatives and friends have been there and tells that Vietnam is an exciting place to visit. As part of our Indochina trip, I inquired about the interesting places to visit and best places for food tripping and shopping! It took weeks before we came up with our final itinerary, honestly, I have a hard time pronouncing and reading street directions in Vietnam and I thank Google maps and trips for helping us understand.

When we arrived in Ho Chi Minh the first thing on my mind was to eat the authentic pho and cold spring roll...yummy!  I love noodles so much so I know I will survive especially when it goes with a serving of spring rolls... ooh that means so much! I had a good night sleep after that meal.

So goood!

Well, the day after we are ready and energized for our Mekong Delta tour, I have a lot of places to visit on my list but I don't know how to get there. So the best option is to get a tour package, and we chose Klook for our tour, they have lots of  tour packages to choose from. It saved our time plus we met new friends and learned about their history, religion and culture from our English speaking tour guide!

Light moments with some tourists.

Resting Buddha

Vinh Trang Pagoda is a Buddhist temple in My Tho, it was the first destination in the tour package. The temple is a peaceful place where multiple Buddhas are seen, the place is landscaped with beautiful potted flower plants in different colors thus making the place looks attractive and serene. It is home to a number of monks who spends a lot of time praying. The temple is a holy place for Buddhist so as a sign of respect, please remove shoes when entering a temple and avoid taking selfies with the Buddhas as background.

Laughing Buddha

After some time we moved on for the river cruise. Well,  I don't know how expansive Mekong Delta is, all I know is it is Vietnam's biological  treasure which has a great contribution to their agriculture and fishing industry. We had a cruise along the calm river as if we're in a fluvial parade which seems to be relaxing. We passed by some fishermen and big boats on the riverbank carrying tourists. The trees and vegetation along the river bank are verdant, an indication the it is well irrigated by the river.

Lunch time came, we disembarked in a place called Tortoise Islet, do not expect turtles walking around, there's nothing. It's just the name of the place. The tour package also includes lunch of rice, pork, fried egg and some vegetables. The restaurant offers more food so if you want to add more then you have to pay. Anyway, the free food is already filling so it was just okay.

We dropped by a coconut candy factory and enjoyed the free candies! They're delicious, sweet and chewy which makes it more fun to eat because the taste of the coconut stays in the mouth. We had our desserts for free!

We took a paddle boat to An Khanh in Ben Tre, the water was calm, all I can hear was the graceful paddling of boat on the maze-like river with a hedgerow of palm trees. It was so hot that day and the native hat served as an effective sun protector!

In An Khanh we enjoyed the lighter side after the hot river cruise. We had some snacks of fresh fruits and honey tea, while listening to folk songs with the accompaniment of traditional instruments.

We had a good time socializing with other tourists, it was fun meeting people from different places. We left An Khanh late in afternoon, everyone was happy and  each has its own story of their experiences in the river tour.

On our second day we did a walking tour in the city on our own. It was easy to find the interesting places, because they are just next  to each other but we only chose those we wanted to see. Google maps is a  dependable guide, you won't get lost. Ho Chi Minh has lots of  parks, we passed by a number of it, and parks are the best place to rest and to review the google map!

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon is located in downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, it was built by the French colonists during the 1800s. The front yard park of the church is the feeding ground of flocks of bird which hovers around the church. Most visitors stays here to take photos and feed the birds. I went in the church to say a short thanksgiving prayer and at the same time to see how the interiors looks like and it is elegant. The statue of the Virgin Mary was said to have shed tears which attracted thousands of people.

Post Office

Beside the church is the Post Office which is one of the oldest building in Ho Chi Minh City.

Justice Building

Another old colonial building we passed by is the 130-year old People's Court. The building is a national heritage and is under restoration.

The Vietnam Railways Building.

Oh by the way, there is a vendor selling iced coffee on the sidewalk beside the church, we tried sitting on small benches while sipping coffee on the sidewalk while watching people come and go...yeah just what the locals do. It's quite a different experience.

We took some time to visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum and we learned something about the history of Saigon, saw some artifacts and some life size figures of Vietnamese heroes.

So that ended our Saigon adventure we didn't have enough Vietnam Dong that's why we weren't able to visit other museums, we walk back to the hotel to prepare for our travel to Cambodia. I would like to recommend Luan Vu Hotel in HCMC, it is in an alley along the busy street of Pham Ngu Lao. The room we stayed in was small but it has the basic things we need and it is clean. It has no windows which is a defense from the noise of restobars. We booked our bus ride to Phnom Penh in TNK Travel which is just a short distance from the hotel, a service van picked us up from TNK then took us to the bus terminal. We took  Kumho SAMCO Bus, which is okay, we planned to take Giant Ibis Bus but it only departs once in a day.

Thank you for reading!

Freedom Twin Dayhike At Mt. Masungki/Nagpatong Rock Formation

June 12 is the commemoration of Philippine Independence and the usual thing I do during this time of the year is to join marathon run or just enjoy the holiday at home. I have been wanting for a long time to do a day hike during this time because it would be more meaningful to celebrate Independence Day on a summit  and waving the Philippine flag in its glory.

I said yes right away when someone invited me to climb Mt. Nagpatong and Mt. Masungki on the said day, I searched its location and viewed some images of the mountains in the internet, and I discovered that Mt. Nagpatong is famous for its elevated platform! Do you know what I mean?
Can you imagine that? So,we left the metro early in the morning and arrived safely at the site two hours later. By the way, Mt. Masungki and Nagpatong are both located in Barangay Cuyambao in Tanay, Rizal.

There is a small community, wherein some locals generates income by selling refreshments and stuff used for hiking, they also offer use of bathrooms and toilets for a minimum amount of money. They are farming on fruits and vegetables, so no wonder its forests is lush. There were overripe fruits left scattered along the way, and locals don't mind them all!

Anyway, the trail is established although there are parts which are blocked with boulders and bamboos. Rocks are sharp that it can cut and hurt, so gloves are essential.

Some passages have low headroom so we have to be cautious. There are elevated areas and gap which are accessible by improvised ladders and bridges made from tree trunks and vines.

The sight  of sinkholes are disturbing, even though they are barricaded, they can be a threat to those who are not familiar with the place so hiring a local guide is very important. We tried to take a look at one of the sinkholes and oh my, it is dark and bottomless...I don't want to be there!

After a few hours we reached the summit of Mt. Masungki, we made our way to the rock formation and with only a limited space we got that flag raised and we made it! Yes! After the quick lunch and nap we moved on to the next destination...Mt. Nagpatong. It would only take 15 minutes or less hike to Mt. Nagpatong via a shorter route, but our group got lost, we missed  the passage leading to Mt. Nagpatong.  Good thing that some locals found us and lead our group to Mt. Nagpatong.

As I reached the foot of the rock formation, I looked up and stared at the slender trunks of the ladder. I was supposed to take a photo or a short video, but I became silent and was deeply thinking if I would climb or not! I admit, I was scared but what about the flag? What about that freedom climb?
I have to do it! It's now or never!
So step by step, and slowly but surely, holding on to the ladder tightly like what the guide said "hold on tight and everything will  be alright", just look up, don't look down!

Later on, I didn't realize that I was already standing atop the rock formation! I made it to the top, I grabbed the flag and waved it like it was dancing with the wind. My knees were still shaking because the platform which I thought was flat, was not! It was narrow and uneven and has slopes and holes so I was very careful walking on it, we were lucky that it didn't rain or else I can't imagine how slippery  it would be. It would be so scary.

Well, I managed to descend with the help of our guide and it went well. Another summit has been conquered and I never felt so victorious! My determination overcame my fear. And it feels so good!  Before I end I just want to remind those who are planning to climb the Nagpatong rock formation to be very careful, no nets to catch you, if you're in doubt...don't! Don't fail to register at Cuyambao Barangay Hall, pay the registration fee and get a guide. It would be convenient if you'll take a private vehicle because the registration office is far from the jump off. Wear comfortable clothes, wear gloves for protection. Bring food and water. Practice LNT!
Okay that would be all!

Happy trekking!

THANK  YOU FOR READING!