Siem Reap Adventure!

Time just whizzed by so quickly.. Can't believe October is almost over~ why does time pass so fast as you get older? =p

It's been almost a month since we came back from our amazing trip to Siem Reap.. Not the usual comfy vacation, but it was definitely one with many beautiful memories.. An unforgettable adventure! =)

Day 1:

Looking fresh and excited at Changi Airport

We stopped for a short transit at KL (my first time there!), before reaching Siem Reap in the early afternoon..

Yay! We've reached Siem Reap!

I must say I'm pretty impressed with Siem Reap's international airport.. It's clean, spacious and efficient too.. Though it's small I'm sure it will expand gradually, as Siem Reap opens itself to tourism..

The famous pub street!

We didn't do much on the first day, checked into our hotel, and it rained intermittently as we were exploring the streets and areas around our hotel.. Had to familiarize ourselves with the landmarks around coz our hotel would be 'home' to us for 3 nights.. Haha!

We booked our Tuk Tuk for the next 2 days (12 usd each day) of temple exploration, at the tourist centre which we randomly stumbled upon.. Haha.. Quite lucky I must say =) we got ourselves some maps too!

Dinner was at Pub street and we had their Cambodian BBQ and cheap beer that costs 0.5 usd only! It was our staple drink every night.. Haha.. Did some massage, shopping too, but there weren't much to buy~ bought some t shirts, print pants, souvenirs etc.

 

Day 2:

Road to Angkor wat!

It's a must see attraction! Angkor wat.. That's what we were there for.. Met our chubby Tuk Tuk driver at 8am and off we went.. Haha.. Just like what I saw on national geographic, Angkor wat is beautiful.. The amount of stones stacked onto each other, intricate carvings and huge land mass.. This is a man-made marvel.. Though it was hot and sunny, I'm glad the weather was kind enough and it didn't rain when we were exploring ang kor wat and the other temples we went later that day..

Entrance to angkor wat

Start of my messy hair days =p

So mysteriously beautiful

Angkor wat is so beautiful I had to take so many selfies on my phone.. Haha! Every piece of stone had a 'character' to it.. Stones were in different shades of grey, green and brown (possibly due to erosion or algae growth over the years) and they made the temple look so magnificent!

Posing with the peak of Angkor wat

Us with Angkor wat... Checked!

We proceeded to other temples after that..

Beautiful Bayon

Next stop.. Ta Phrom.. Also known as the jungle temple, more commonly known as the tomb raider temple.. Haha

Us at Ta phrom!

Battle between the nature and stones..

Dinner was back at Pub street again.. Haha.. And massage too!

 

Day 3:

We woke up early and met our chubby and friendly driver again.. Oh ya, his name is Ling.. Haha before I forget =p

Us in Tuk Tuk!

By the second day of temple visiting, we almost cannot remember the names of the temple visited.. But the temples are still beautiful, and if you observe closely, each temple has it's own 'flavour' and story to tell~

Special mention to this beautiful temple (Sadly I'm not sure of the name, but it's located at the outer circuit).. Which was submerged in water when we visited, maybe coz it rained earlier so water levels were higher.. Even the boardwalk leading to the temple was submerged.. Haha.. But that made the experience even more interesting!

Feels like walking on water =p

Lovely reflections

We visited some other temples in the afternoon, but I don't have the pictures with me now (it's in my digital camera).. But they are one of our favourites too.. They are pretty deserted maybe coz it's located at the peripherals (or outer circuit) of the temple region.. they look abit like pyramids, with lighter coloured stones, yellowish-orange.. Great place to take pictures!

There are always little children waiting outside the temples selling souvenirs like fridge magnets and postcards.. They can be pretty clingy, begging you to buy souvenirs from them.. Some are real good salesperson too.. I did buy some fridge magnets from a sweet little girl eventually (though many times I resisted).. Even though I know the magnets were overpriced, seeing her smile made my heart melt, made my 2 usd so much more meaningful.. Kids in Singapore are really fortunate, there's proper schooling, nice clothes and food to eat.. Compared to the kids in Cambodia, we should really be appreciative of life and know how fortunate we are..

Day 2 of temple visiting ended early and we headed back to our hotel for a quick shower before heading back to a Pub street again! Since it's our last night, we treated ourselves to good food.. Haha

Bustling night life

Cheers!

Day 4: Home sweet home!

We came back a shade tanner, more knowledgable, recharged and most importantly more appreciative of life and what we have =)

Till then!

 

In a year's time...

Mr. Koh and I have been searching about for the past few weeks, for a suitable venue to hold our wedding banquet..

We visited quite a few hotels (and peeped into some hotels' ballrooms too), to check out how they look and feel like.. Haha.. It was a fun process.. We emailed a few hotels to enquire and finally short-listed 3, to pay a formal visit to, and further understand their banquet packages.. They are Fairmont, Swissotel merchant court and Pan Pacific respectively..

I shall not talk about the meeting with Fairmont.. Haha.. The salesperson don't seem interested with our business =p

We met Pan Pacific first.. I was wowed by the lobby and hotel interior~ haha.. Very classy hotel, but the ballroom looks average.. Salesperson was nice too =)

And we get to drink tea at their beautiful lobby while discussing the packages that they had to offer.. Haha!

So pretty! I meant the background.. Haha

Mr. Koh with the bar behind him..

Yay! Free tea and cookie.. Haha

Next up... Swissotel Merchant court... They have a beautiful ballroom, salesperson was very helpful too..

We got to drink tea again! Haha

TWG earl grey..

 

I shan't dwell into Fairmont, but we had a hard time deciding between Swissotel merchant court and Pan Pacific.. Haha.. It was really difficult! Both have their pros and cons.. Swissotel has a beautiful ballroom, but Pan Pacific has a better overall feel.. And how we eventually came to a decision was an even tougher process.. Hahaha.. Even I found it amusing =p

We had to do up a scoring matrix to give both hotels a thorough evaluation.. Ok, it was my idea =P Haha..

And much deliberation, we finally dropped by the chosen hotel to sign the contract... Guess which it is~

So it was decided that Pan Pacific will be the hotel where we will hold our wedding! =)

Save the date everyone! 12 Oct 2014, it will be... Haha!

We signed and paid the deposit (ouch!), and the salesperson even treated us to a free buffet dinner at The Edge! Haha.. That's a nice gesture from her.. It felt like a mini celebration for us, that we finally settled on the venue to hold our wedding.. Haha! Free buffet, I like! Hohoho.... Eat eat and eat! Fat-die-us...

Slurps!

More crabs!

So pretty!

Their desserts are wonderful!

 

Wedding banquet venue checked! I'm glad we settled the venue..

Next up.. The bridal company~~

 

Our trip to River Safari

Balloted for the River Safari corporate pass and Mr. Koh and I headed over on a bright weekday morning, awaiting our meet-ups with the lovely animals there! Haha.. It was my second time there, and it was his first!

Been there with my family few months ago, and sadly the river ride was not ready yet.. This time round when we went, it was still not open to public! =( the zoo attendant told us it will be ready by this month..

The River Safari houses more aquatic animals as compared to the zoo and the night safari.. And of course the highlight of the trip was the 2 lovely pandas kaikai and jiajia, and the huge flooded amazon forest aquarium..

Shall let the pictures tell the story~

Mandarin ducks swimming around

My favourite Saugu!

With his favourite animal - crocodile!

Next we passed by the monkeys' den and saw a bunch of monkeys playing about and to my amazement, they actually swim! So well that I'm ashamed of myself.. Haha.. But honestly, I didn't know monkeys can swim!! My teachers in school/textbooks didn't tell me that.. haha.. So shocking that we spent quite some time there observing them.. They don't need goggles in water! =p and the fishes didn't bite them.. Haha

Splashing good times!

So cool!!!!

*peep*

Big, huge and powerful!

Big black and beautiful fishes

We then headed over to the panda conservatory to say hello to kaikai and jiajia!

We very much welcomed the cool temperature within.. Haha.. Aren't the pandas fortunate? 24/7 in air con =p

That's kaikai eating his bamboo

Us with the fake panda.. Haha

Sleeping after eating.. So lazy..

Outside the conservatory, is this panda themed cafe.. We stopped for a break and had our early lunch there..

Had to try their famous panda bun.. Haha

So cute, but we still ate it.. Haha

Final stop of the river safari was this huge aquarium - flooded amazon forest!

I like this place too, coz its air-conditioned! Haha..

Deadly piranhas!

Stare all you want Mr. Piranhas, you can't eat me.. *neh neh ni boo boo* =p

There, we were treated to a beautiful sight! A huge aquarium that mimics the flooded amazon forest.. With tree trunks submerged, beautiful water creatures thrive within....

Awestruck

Clumsy yet graceful Manatees

We came to the end of the river safari trail, and not willing to leave this place, we toured the river safari again.. Haha waving goodbyes to all the lovely animals.. And said hello to the red panda (at the panda conservatory), coz it was taking a nap when we came to visit earlier.. Haha!

Good afternoon, Red panda!

We'll be back again, most probably next year when the river ride opens! =)