Angkor Wat, I lurve you!

WARNING: Sibeh the long-air post ahead. Read at your own risk.

I met the first Cambodian in my life when I was 15. At A.G.G.S. Chanthan, Sopath and Moy were the only Aseans in my class. I was instantly drawn to them because they are Aseans. I feel belonged.

Since then, everything Cambodia & Cambodian have intrigued me. From the country to its people and their culture. And last Friday, thanks to our very own homegrown Air Asia's 'Now Everyone Can Fly' super cheap air-tickets promotion, I get to visit this lost Jewel in Asia which had long fascinated me.

This is the Siem Reap International Airport in Cambodia. It was built and funded by the French.

This is our room at the Preah Khan Hotel in Siem Reap. This is the first hotel (in my life) which has the habit of turning off the air-cond in the lobby when there are no guests in the area. It makes the place so stuffy that the carpet smells like salted fish at times. Damn La-Cheapo can die.

Cambodia is a beautiful country surrounded with lotsa magnificent temples. So tell me class, what do beautiful people (ahem) do in a beautiful country with lotsa beautiful temples around them?

Camwhore lah of course. 99 summore.

The entrance fee to the Angkor Wat is USD 20. According to our tour guide, 99% of the earnings go to the officials in the country. Maybe 1% of it really goes to the conservation effort to protect the heritage. Another word, the rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer in Cambodia. Very sad but C'est La Vie.

This is the famous 75 degrees staircase that can bring you closer to God. Well, if heaven exists, then today is my lucky day.

As you can see in the pic below, I was so scared like chicken shit and undecided whether to climb or not to climb the staircase as it is really sibeh the steep can die.

But of course I did climb it in the end. Because if I don't break a leg or two to meet God while I was there, I'm sooo gonna regret it for the rest of my life.

Nice view from the top.

The design of the towers in Angkor Wat resembles a lotus bud.

La LA LAA!!! Here is God. Say Hi. Be nice.

This place is seriously good for shooting eerie ghosts movies.

You see my dear friend, climbing up the staircase is a piece of cake if you don't turn around and look at the cheering crowd below.

Abuthen, getting down from the top is a challenge. It's definitely NOT for the faint-hearted.

If you are an adventurous person who likes mountain climbing, then you should give this a try. No amount of money can buy you the treacherous 75 degrees climbing experience anywhere else in this world. But Angkor Wat.

My legs were shaking like jello aitelyu!!!

And I still had to poise for the camera's sake. See, I sacrificed myself, my life, my legs & my bum liddat for you. How are you going to calculate the bill sin?

This is the well-known Bayon temple with the massive stone faces carved on the many towers across the site.

It's also known as "the serenity of the stone faces".

But, after a while, every smile looks the same, every angle looks the same, every tower looks the same, and every friggin' temple also looks the same.

Ta Prohm is my favorite temple site amongst all the other temples in Angkor Wat. Why?

(The Titoki's clan)

1) The Tomb Raider movie starred by Angelina Jolie was filmed here.

2) It is believed that this place was used by the King to watch the fairies (a.k.a. the Apsaras in Khmer) dance many many many years ago. The Apsaras or fairies are a bunch of sexy yet mysterious supernatural beings.

Now the 6 million dollar Q is:

Why on earth would a King be bothered to build such a grand sanctuary hidden in a jungle just to watch the fairies dance?

I mean, do you really believe in the existence of fairies and that they dance for the King because he's a King?

Come on lah girls and guys, exercise your brain a bit-bit lah. Even a smart three-year-old can tell that the King and 'the fairies' were up to no good. ;) Enuff said.

Ed note: More pictures and stories are to come soon. Stay tuned.