GETTING READY FOR SIEM REAP!
28 February 2011 – a long awaited date and a very special day for so many of us who were looking forward to making our way to the city of Siem Reap in the Kingdom of Cambodia for our master class. It was a flurry of excitement, from buying plane tickets back when we were in Ithaca to packing for a 5-day survival trip in hot and steamy Siem Reap. More importantly, it was also a day where we would be having a reunion of sorts as a class after serving out our internships and being apart for 2 months.
The buzz was in the air, and we were all excited over who’s going to be sitting next to whom in the flight. The diligent ones in the class checked-in online early while the the rest left it to the system to assigned random seats. We were all boarding a full SilkAir flight out of Changi International Airport Terminal 2 on flight MI633, departing Singapore at 1435hrs and arriving in Siem Reap at 1545hrs. And being the hungry travellers that we were, no flight out of Changi Airport was going to be complete without us chomping away burgers at good ol’ McDonalds first!
Happy people at MacDonalds- giving new meaning to the term “Happy Meal”
Outside the boarding gates and getting ready to board!
Settling down during pre-boarding
Filling out visas and declaration forms before arrival
Two hours & five minutes, and another meal of chicken with pasta(not forgetting coffee!) later, we arrived and it’s Welcome to Siem Reap! We were, of course, given the royal treatment with an attentive immigration officer attending to our whole group. The officer collected all our passports along with our USD20 visa arrival fee, and pretty much walked us through immigration. Imagine – no queueing! After which, we were warmly welcomed by Kanya (from AboutAsia Travel), a local Cambodian who would be our guide (and nanny) for the next 5 days.
Group shot right off the tarmac
Siem Reap International with it's distinct architectural style
Welcome to Siem Reap
SETTLING IN AT THE RAFFLES GRAND HOTEL D’ ANGKOR
Less than 15 mins later, we arrived at the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor and met up with Manish, Saroj and Professor Kimes who had all arrived the weekend earlier. The VIP treatment continued, with a blisfully refreshing signature welcome mocktail and an icy cold towel, as well as check-in key packets ready for all of us. We were assigned rooms on the 2nd and 3rd levels, with handwritten welcome cards as well as tropical fruit platters welcoming us as we entered our rooms; a Rafflesian welcome indeed!
"Welcome to Raffles, class. Good to see all of you again! Yash and Tan-Chi, please behave!"
PS: They managed to get Dylan’s full name 90% correct. They had to truncate it because it's simply too long!
A tour of the Raffles was arranged and we were shown around the property by Chris, the Assistant Front Office Manager. We had the opportunity to view the Cabana Suites, Landmark Rooms, Personality Suites as well as the Uma Suite, one of the biggest suite in the hotel. The next largest suite, the Kama Suite, was unfortunately not available for viewing because it was roomed by Professor Kimes who was graciously upgraded to a larger accommodation by the hotel. Of course, we could have easily gotten our own upgrade with an additional USD 2400 per night if anyone was interested. Too bad that there were no takers…
Back view of the main wing overlooking the pool
Door plaque for the Villa Uma, the largest suite in Raffles Hotel
The Uma Suite was decorated in warm wooden furnishing with classic art-deco designs and motifs. It has two bedrooms (one with a King bed and another with Twin beds) and 2 separate attached bathrooms that were easily larger than any of the rooms that some of us were staying in back in Graduate Hall in NTU. It also goes without saying that the Villa Uma comes with a butler who is available 24 hours.
Pillow set-up in Uma Suite. Pillows, pillows and more pillows! Now, how many pillows would one need and where would one place the pillows when one doesn't need them??
The hotel tour also brought us to the Elephant Bar, a cosy bar with pool tables and smooth piped-in music. When we were there, there wasn’t too much going on but perhaps it was still too early in the evening. And we reckon no one in the group managed to sneak a try of the famed Airavata cocktail either.
Beautiful welcome centerpiece at the Elephant Bar
FIRST NIGHT OUT IN SIEM REAP
We had our first evening free as there was a slight amendment to our itinerary (we were supposed to have our welcome dinner at the Sugar Palm Restaurant), and we were all over Pub Street – the tourist hotspot that was recommended by Andy Boot (founder of AboutAsia Travel). Everyone was out and about in Pub Street having dinner and having a first feel of Siem Reap’s night life. It was then that our smaller group had a first taste of amok – a local culinary signature. The food aficionados amongst us were trying hard to define what made Khmerr cuisine distinct, given that its cuisine has regional influences from neighbouring countries like Vietnam, Thailand and even India. To be honest – after several tries of amok, coconut soup and plenty of Sdeang Srey Cocktails later, we still could not figure out the Khmer cuisine.
Dummy's guide to the local night market
We then had a go at the night market and were very surprised by the bustling sights and sounds everywhere, easily rivalling the night markets in Bangkok!
Local expertise – Dr Fish Massage
Yash covering his bits while attempting his version of the famed Zoolander Blue Steel pose
After a long day, we capped the night off with delectable desserts at the Blue Pumpkin, a local icre-cream parlour. The icre-cream treats were a reprieve given the temperature and humidity, and we were all happily sharing desserts after stuffing ourselves silly with amok earlier. Definitely a sweet way to conclude our first night in Siem Reap.
Duta’s dessert of two boules of sherbet with a chocolate stick in the middle. Interesting presentation that is so appropriate for Duta, wouldn’t you say?
~ Dylan & Duta
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