Adventure Accounting

Before this Indochina adventure, I was convinced that it was dirt cheap to backpack around the Philippines for foreigners. Cambodia proved that it can be more affordable. The accommodation, tuktuk rental and meals were relatively cheap. The expensive ones were the Angkor Wat Entrance fee and the guide. Siem Reap thrives on foreigners. I guess that explains why people are hospitable. They also speak good English. I was impressed that some of the local Angkor Wat guides can speak in Spanish and French. And here's the expenses of our Cambodia leg of the Indochina trip. Some costs are divided by two because I have a travel buddy this time. This covers Phnom Pehn and Siem Reap.

Time to head to the main destination in Cambodia : The Angkor Wat in the province of Siem Reap. We rode Sokha Komar Tep Bus going it Siem Reap. It was heavily peddled in Fancyguesthouse . The Mekong Express costs $13 going to SR while this Sokha Komar Tep Bus just costs $8. That $5 costs a quite fancy dinner already. So we got the cheaper deal. Dun sa mura syempre . Bus with BFF Sarah , the serial photobummer in the whole trip The bus provided bottled water, and there was also a bathroom on board. We stopped once during the 6-hour trip for lunch. We weren’t particularly keen on eating yet so we survived with Oreos and their grass jelly drink. It was freakin hot during the bus ride, the aircon was working, but it wasn’t enough to combat the heat. Siem Reap is welcoming us. Yeo's grass jelly drink during the stopover: $0.60 We arrived Siem Reap at 3pm. Our tuktuk driver, Ny, had been patiently waiting since 2pm. He had a sincere smile on his face when he ...

It was 6:30 when we arrived at the front entrance of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It was already closed. I resigned myself to just taking photos of the sign. But our driver said we could still get inside. He drove us to the entrance. True enough, there were some guys hanging out ( read: tumatambay ) at the front. Kinda scary scenario for tourist girls, in this old high-school-turned-prison, at night, with a bunch of guys. I didn’t feel safe at that moment, but I wanted to see the place. We were charged $3 because it was already past the museum hours. I knew the fee costs $2 so I smelled that this was not exactly legal – ala colorum na tour itoh teh . We bought the tix anyway. Our driver went with us inside. He kept on apologizing that he didn’t speak a lot of English because he didn’t go to school. We smiled and said that was okay – he was so helpful. He toured us around the deserted prison. The ten commandments, the prisoner's version He said he was a sma...

After a getting a quick dose of cool air from our aircon, we were ready to conquer Phnom Pehn. We started our tour around 3:30pm. The forums advised to haggle, so I did. I haggled the guide fee from $20 to $15. This includes the pick-up fee from the bus station. Tuktuk A palace. Now that I've crossed countries, I noted some distinct features in Khmer buildings. There are some pointed thingies in the roof It was a dusty ride going to the Killing Fields. I think it is around 50 minutes away from the city center, passing through some rough roads which sprayed dust from time to time. The locals covered their nose and mouth when they pass these dusty areas. Our driver was considerate - he bought us masks. Some vanity shot with the mask It costs $5 to enter the Killing Fields. The tour comes with the audio guide, just like the ones in Europe. We were all set to explore the place. I lacked research about Cambodian history before going to this tri...

It was another early morning in another land. Time to cross over to another land. Country #2: Cambodia. The main destination in Cambodia is the Angkor Wat, which is in Siem Reap. The bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap is 15 hours. Too long. I chose to spend one night in Phnom Pehn to break the long bus ride. After all, Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia. After that 5-hour bus ride going to Mui Ne , I can handle this 7-hour bus ride to Pnohm Pehn. Our busmates We booked Mekong Express bus tickets through our ever reliable hotel Bich Duyen Hotel. Price of the HCMC to PP tix is $14. We got the 8:30am trip. They have a 7:00am trip but that is a tad early and we’d like to take our time enjoying our last moments in Vietnam (Chos! Nakakatamad gumising ng maaga! :P).  At 08:15 am, the bus attendants started picking up passengers from hotels in our street. The bus is parked in the forever tourist-laden street of Pham Ngu Lao. At the start of the trip, the bus...