Here’s a few disclaimer:
1. Price exclude flight, food & lodging.
2. Price exclude entrance fee. (more on that later)
3. I rented a USD$1 bicycle & basically had some awesome yet badass (literally) cycling.
It has been 14 months since my last update. Life gets in the way conquered by procrastination. So here I am, with my intended title from more than a year ago; How I travelled with just USD$1 in AngKor.
Somewhere along the second quarter of last year, I have decided to embark on an exciting self-discovery journey travelling to places that I’ve never been; despite being broke. However, in the conservative culture of Asia, it is considered dangerous for a women to travel alone, especially in less affluent countries. This is the only point I wanted to prove:
You don’t need massive amount of money to travel and experience the world.
In fact, majority of my travel budget falls below SGD$1.5k (all in) for a 7 to 8 days trip. No fancy or lavish luxury hotels, but I’ve learnt valuable travel tips, history & experiences to live like a local along the way. Cycling in Angkor wasn’t very well covered online last year during my thorough research on Angkor & Cambodia. Life is a series of calculated risks & sheer bravery. For cycling alone, worst case scenario- getting robbed or losing an arm or leg. But the best thing that can happen? I’ve got a kickass story to tell now.
My first day in Siem Reap was exhilarating. I’m that petite Asian girl who couldn’t keep my sheer excitement in my vertically challenged frame. (Yeah, I had problems trying to unload my backpack from the cabin. What’s new?) Being the overtly extroverted person that I am, I quickly made friends from the U.S., Toronto, Thailand and Israel in my hostel, then headed for the awesome & scenic rooftop pool for an afternoon dip at Onederz Hostel, Siem Reap, Cambodia. I’d definitely rate this a 5 Star Hostel.
I spent USD$62 on my 3 days AngKor pass & admired the sunset in AngKor Wat itself for free that evening. For the most updated information on ticket prices, please refer to ANGKOR-PASS: NEW PRICES FROM 1.2.2017 – FULL DETAILS
Travel Tip: Buy your tickets at 5pm on the 1st day, & you’ll have 3 days and 1 extra evening in Angkor during sunset. Sun sets between 6pm – 6.30pm in Siem Reap.
One of the perks: you’ll get to keep this cute little souvenir when you get home. Don’t lose it during your trip though, you can get fined if security catches you without it.
Onederz hostel provides curated day tours to AngKor for all travellers, I had plans to join the sunrise tour the next day, but I decided not to get constricted by a fixed schedule. With my new friends, night markets and pub street exploration commenced on the 1st night! We tried some bugs, feast on delicious Khmer cuisine for dinner, got some ridiculously cheap beer at USD$0.50 (who sells SGD$0.75 beer anyway?!) & well sort of got wasted.
Hungover. I couldn’t wake up at 4.30am for the sunrise tour. So by sheer accident, I explored the morning markets at 5.30am in search of breakfast (it was already bright & early in Siem Reap) & found a decent USD$1 bicycle for a full day rental. I decided to do my own AngKor Sunset Grand-Circuit bicycle tour instead – it was a 40km journey, or so I thought.
I had to cycle 12km on the bumpy unpaved roads in the rain, from my hostel to this entrance of AngKor. I played with a white cow, laughed at a few chickens, geese & monkeys along the way. Thankfully the rain subsided after 1 hour 40 minutes upon reaching my 1st destination of my personal Temple Run – Pre Rup Temple.
Pre Rup Temple was a magnificent temple well known for watching sunsets. However, I enjoy admiring the intricate carvings & architect in these ancient ruins instead. I’ve always wondered how did these ancient people move such huge rocks and boulders to build such structures. It was amazing. If you know me personally, I am an unconventional person. I don’t like hanging around places where most tourist do just because it is popular to do so. I decided to make this my 1st stop in the early afternoon instead, basking in the glorious scenery after the rain. Despite the glory, this temple holds a rather dark history. My homework and research taught me that Pre Rup Temple is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva back in Ancient Cambodia, & this very site mainly held funeral rituals in various cardinal directions (explains all the different towers).
Moving on to my next destination, it was a 20 minutes cycle on gravel through more greenery to reach Ta Som; a small temple built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII, who dedicated the temple to his father Dharanindravarman II; King of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160. So, I have stepped into a temple made for royalty.
Now, my bicycle was nothing like a mountain or a roadie (cyclist jargon). I did not have any decent suspension, barely basic brakes, zero gear shifts, pain-in-the-ass saddle & a “lao kok kok” (worn; vintage) basket. Believe me, after I came back from this trip, I became an amateur fervent cyclist back home. Because if you can cycle long distance under such harsh conditions alone overseas, what is 80km – 100km to you in sunny Singapore? Let me tell you, all the actual pain in the ass was so worth it!
My next destination was perhaps one of my favourite highlights: a 15 minutes bicycle ride from Ta Som temple to Neak Pean Temple on the same gravelled path. By this time, my minor saddle pain exacerbated. It was USD$1, so I have no complaints.
Prasat Neak Pean was glorious! This was the temple where ancient royalties (i.e. princesses) present offerings of wrought gold & pungent perfumes. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to smell anything there now except from the florals around you. There is actually a whole lot more to the myths & tales of this beautiful place. Scroll up to the top for my best photo of this place!
I love nature & water bodies; was reluctant to remove myself from Neak Pean. But it was getting late & I had to pedal on. The next 20 minutes of pedaling was excruciating – I thought walking would seem faster than pedaling. Battling the hot sun, humid weather & gravelled path on a basic bicycle, I kept self motivating; making up silly lullabies on the way. What really kept me going was this quote chanting in my head:
Motivation is fleeting. Discipline is unyielding.
I met a nice security guard who showed me the way around this temple before it closes at 6.30pm. It was getting dark, the cycle back from Preah Khan Temple to Siem Reap city was unnerving. It took me massive amount of energy & courage to cycle alone for 10km in the dark, on gravelled grounds, with no flashlights & weird noises from my surroundings under 1 hour 30 minutes before I met civilization. By dark, I really meant zero light– pitch black! The mere lights you could detect were from the Tuk Tuks passing by or the distant city lights.
I WAS SCARED. Really really scared. I had never thought that I would be SO afraid of the dark. I kept telling myself: “Get out of here! You are going to die!” (it seems silly now haha) I really thought I was going to die because of the unknown weird noises I heard; could be any wild animals ready to pounce on me. I made it back to the city by 7.30pm safe from death, danger & deportation thankfully!
Nevertheless, I am happy & thankful for this life changing experience. I’ve tested my limits mentally, physically & emotionally; I did what I thought was impossible.
I learnt that personal willpower have no limits.
Breaking barriers they say: I couldn’t even cycle 10km without crying back home then, but I completed a total of 62km under such harsh conditions alone overseas! It took me a total of 6 hours and 50 minutes to complete my personal Temple Run and Cycleventure. On the plus side, I saved more than USD$30 on transport that day.
Here’s the Cost Breakdown of my Cycleventure (in USD)
- Entrance Fee: $62/3 days = $20.60
- Local Khmer Breakfast: $1
- Hostel Lunch: $2
- Local Khmer Dinner: $3
- 2 cans of AngKor Beer: $1
- 1.5l of Mineral water: $1 (yeah, beer is cheaper than water here)
- Full day Bicycle Rental: $1
- Hostel stay for the night: $9.70
- Data sim-card for internet access: $6/7 days = $0.90
Total Expenditure: USD$40.20
My Facebook post on this day; and that’s how you travel when you’re broke! hahaha!
Hilary Travels 