“live this moment”

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Cambodia, Siem Reap - 28th July - 30th July

Day one...
I was up super early....the sky was still dark when i board the plane and it was on the plane that i came to realise that my first adventure is about to begin.... with me.. i only have my Mr Gentleman (teddy bear) and he will be the "one" i can turn to should anything goes wrong....

AND IT DID WENT WRONG... THE VERY MOMENT I STEPPED OUT OF THE AIRPORT!!

My adventure goes like this..... i came out of the airport and i thought the safest thing to do was to hire a cab from the airport to my hotel.......and since the hotel is 10 minutes from the airport, nothing too bad can happen.... GOD.... I WAS SO WRONG...

I presented my hotel voucher to the taxi concierge and was told that i should opt for a motorcycle cuz i only have a small bag and it will save me more money that way.... so...i ended up with a motorcyclist... walking to the motorcycle.... he introduced himself...*i forgotten his name.... and told me that he earns very little as a driver....next he asked if i had any plans made to visit angkor wat......and when i said no... he suggested taking me out in the evening to watch the sunset at angkor wat and will be my tour guide for the day.... all these were said and suggested while we stood beside his motorcycle....... i was kinda helpless.....but gather enuff courage to tell him we can discuss this on the way to the hotel.....and so he finally started the engine...... as what i expected, he kept pushing me his service throughout the journey ....the 10 mins journey became 20 mins and i was getting nervous about it..... i reckon he was making circles and till i said yes... he will not take me to the hotel..... so i made the second mistake and agreed to take up his service to see the sunset at angkor wat.....and within 2 mins, i reached my hotel... he greeted me good bye and told me to meet him at 4pm at the hotel lobby... i started to regret......
Checking in to my hotel was a breeze, the staffs were nice and the room i had was huge....... i even had my own balcony.....after taking a rest, i flipped through the hotel brochure and saw that they offer trips to angkor wat as well... it comes with a van and a translator..... i thought it sounds better and safer than me going out on a motor, with a desperate guy that cant speak good english.... so i decided to book the hotel trip instead and have the receptionist to inform the guy when he comes pick me up at 4pm that i am sorry and cant take his service.... THIRD MISTAKE!!!
i was feeling happy about my decision, i felt so much safer and at ease.....and so i went walking around to explore the old market and central market..... after lunch, i took a pink tuk tuk back to the hotel... the driver was polite and soft spoken and when he ask if i like to visit the floating market, i said yes almost immediately..... ANOTHER MISTAKE...... in order to not clash with the motorcyclist... i told the tuk tuk driver that we could meet at 5pm..... i thought that will be safer and by then the motorcyclist would have left.... FIFTH MISTAKE.....
i showered, called the reception and reminded them to cancel the motorcyclist if he comes looking for me..... i will be willing to pay him USD2 (I promised him 4 originally for the service) as an apology..... at 5pm, when i went to the hotel lobby..... i know i was in deep shit.... on my left was the motorcyclist....on my right was the tuk tuk... the motorcyclist was so mad that he came up to him and hurled some really vulgar words at me... i tried to explain that i felt that the tuk tuk was safer for me...and i am sincerely apologetic for canceling him.... i was ready to give him the USD2 compensation for the one hour wait, at the same time i also made it clear to him that i will not use his service no matter what... He went crazy and keep shouting and saying that i went back on my words...(c'mon... you force me to take up your service....) and at one point he got so agitated that he grabbed my arms..... i felt that i was at a disadvantage.... so i suggested to settle this in the hotel lobby with the help of the hotel staff.
The hotel staff tried to calm the guy and explain to him that i already gave them instructions to cancel him in the morning and they cant reach him cuz he was a new registered driver....and so they dun have his contact details..... as if he dun get a single word..... he continue ranting and hurling vulgarities... and became aggressive... i offered to pay him 4USD to settle this issue but... this guy refused and demanded 5! i was angry and refused.....in the end the hotel forked out the additional 1usd and chase him out.....
I was feeling lost after the whole episode and was wondering if it is still safe for me to travel to the floating village..... the hotel staff assured me and gave instructions to the tuk tuk driver to take good care of me....and so i went... SIXTH MISTAKE!
the moment i got out of the hotel gate....this motorcyclist followed...he drive alongside and came so close to me...with his broken english... he said f**k you, cheap tourist! you made me unhappy. i will make you unhappy, i know when you check out, you be careful!
I asked the tuk tuk to turn back to the hotel and demanded that the hotel call the police..... this guy is simply mad! the hotel was nice and sent their CFO, Mr Phear to assure me... he spoke to the police, took me to see if i can have an earlier flight back etc... he also arranged for a guard, a van, a translator and a driver for me for my next day sightseeing.... No additional charge on top of what i have paid.... for the rest of day one, i can only stay in my room with door locked, swiss army knife by my bed.... good thing i have mr gentleman with me.....eugene soon was totally freaked.... i gotta report to him every two hour to let him know i'm ok....mummy was kept from this....this really sounds like an adventure...


Day 2...

Went for cooking class in the morning in the van, with my "entourage" i was kinda scared to see him somewhere..... but the guard seemed to be more uptight about that..... he is sensitive to me doing two things....one, when i stare at a spot for too long... he will get nervous and asked the translator if i spotted the man..... two.. when i take out my camera, he will stay far from me....cuz he cant be in pictures when he is in uniform... so he will hide and hide.... took motorbike to the old market with my pastry chef to the old market to get the ingredients...... he was amused by my entourage and kept making fun of me being a "princess" out in the market..... i felt sorry cuz those illegal hawker ran the moment they saw my guard...no earnings for them for the day.... sorry..... back to the school, the chefs kept telling me that cambodians are nice people....the one i met was just one of the black sheep among the whites....they offered to beat him up if he appear.... nice one!
I enjoyed the cooking but not the eating..... prefer thai food over khmer food...its like the milder version of thai food....less spicy....gave the food to my "entourage"...nothing much i can offer them.....
Then it was off to angkor wat..... I dun know if i can do a good job at describing the place....but it was a beauty and definitely a place to visit before one can die...haha....i sound crazy here...but i'm serious.... and you have to go with a guide to understand the structure, the history and meaning behind it....
Ankor wat is majestic...... and i guess i should stop here...the rest is for you to find out....
GO CAMBODIA...GO SIEM REAP..GO ANGKOR WAT.....

hotel i stayed in is : Day Inn Hotel, now its renamed as Royal Bay Inn Hotel, http://www.royalbayinnangkor.com/