Things to do in Siem Reap, Vietnam! (muslim friendly)
Saturday, November 26, 2016Hi guys! I just got back from my trip to Siem Reap. So let's cut to the chase....
Day 1
My mum and I took Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur and arrived Siem Reap at around 8++ a.m. Before we left, my mum already booked a tuk tuk driver to bring us around. We ended up getting Salim, who is a Muslim so it's easier for us as he knows where to go to get halal food. He is a really nice guy and helpful too! And he speaks Malay and a little bit of English. My mum found out about him through blogs and I shall leave his details below. 10/10 would recommend!
Salim Tuktuk Driver
facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lim.sa.923
telephone number - (+855) 78 99 68 40 and (+855) 97 725 6503
email - limangkor@yahoo.com, sekongangkor1@hotmail.com, angkorlim@gmail.com
I would suggest contacting him through whatsapp or Facebook.
So he immediately recognized my mum and brought the tuktuk to us. The tuk tuk is the main mode of transportation for tourists, especially in Siem Reap! They don't have taxis there and we actually took the tuk tuk from the airport.
Random Fact - Do you know they still sell petrol by the road side in bottles? You will see lots of that from the airport!
Above is a picture of tuk tuks at the side of the road. So once he picked us up, we couldn't check in yet so he brought us to the silk farm! We got a tour guide who can speak English an brought us around the farm. The silks are all hand made and fun fact: the Cambodian silk's original colour is gold and the life cycle of the butterfly is only around 40++ days.
A tip - If you wanna tip the tour guides or anyone for that matter, Salim says $2 or $3 is sufficient. Keep in mind that they use USD there. But of course, that is entirely up to you! :)
Next, we went to the War Museum. I never knew this but Cambodia was still at war up until 1999! I was already six at that time! It's crazy to think how some of us young people (and even old) take things for granted. We are so lucky to be in Malaysia where we basically have everything we could possibly need.
After that, we went to the place where they make soap and fragrances. We just wanted to buy time cause we were still too early to check in! It's a good place if you wanna buy souvenirs :)
By the time we were done with touring the soap factory, it was lunch time. So Salim brought us to a halal restaurant called The Siem Reap Backpacker Restaurant & Bakery. I highly recommend going here if you want Halal food. I am not sure if it's just famous amongst the Muslim community in Siep Reap or if it's generally a famous dish there, but apparently lembu naik bukit is a must try dish! In Malay, it literally means a cow going up the hill! I don't know about everyone else but I am personally not a huge fan of Cambodian food. I meant the lembu naik bukit was alright but maybe it's just not something I'm used to.
Hotel
We finally went to the hotel and managed to rest for a bit. We stayed at Angkor Orchid Central Hotel, which is literally just beside the night market! And also, they serve halal food there! It was a surprise for us cause we did not expect that. It is also owned by a Malaysian!
Also 10/10 would recommend! Free halal breakfast, free wifi, halal room service and they also provide a massage service in your hotel room if you want!
After resting, we went to the Cultural Village. We get to see the different cultures they've had in Cambodia and they have shows as well. It starts at around 2 or 2.30 so that's why we went there quite late.
My mum and I got tired after this so we headed back to the show.
Another tip - they will take candid pictures of you when you enter and print in on like a cement tile thing. You can bargain if you want according to Salim. $5 is the maximum you should pay for a picture.
Day 2
We were up bright and early on day 2 to go to Angkor Wat. We got there in like 20 minutes to half an hour. We went around 7.30 cause my mum wasn't interested in seeing the sunrise. If you want to see the sunrise you have to be there by 5.30 if I'm not mistaken. Surprisingly, we were done by 11.30 cause my mum was too tired to walk to all the temples. They have so many! Not just Angkor Wat. But our tuk tuk driver drove us around to the famous places for us to take pictures.
Tip - If you want to get a tourguide at Angkor Wat, make sure you get an official tour guide. Someone who wears a uniform and ask him to show his tour guide ID. It shouldn't cost more than $15 USD. $10 is ideal.
After a whole morning of walking, we decided to head back to the city. Also, please wear something comfortable! And no sleeveless shirts. I think it just applies to the ladies but i'm not sure. At least get some scarf to cover up cause they have a dress code.
Then we went to KFC to grab lunch. The KFC there is halal!
We headed back to the hotel to rest then we decided to go out and check the night scene! Aka the night market. They do have a renowned pub street but I wasn't gonna go there with my mum! LOL.
Honestly, there's nothing much to shop there. And also, you have to BARGAIN!
Tip- You know those Aladdin pants? I'll show a picture of it soon. But it should only cost $2! No more than $3. Some of those sellers will mark up the price like crazy when they see tourists so always bargain. It's rather easy. You can just walk away and they will go from $7 to $3.
All shops sell pretty much the same thing. My mum says Vietnam has more things to buy. But I guess you can be the judge.
Day 3
We headed to Tonle-sap! It's a floating village along the Mekong River. Honestly the river is so huge you'd think it's an ocean!
This is a floating school!
Apparently this is their version of alcohol! There's snakes and cobras inside!
Btw that's the Aladdin pants I was talking about! LOL
Then we headed back to the city. We dropped by Hard Rock Cafe just to take a look.
Then the tuk tuk driver dropped us off at the hotel so we could rest. After that, we just walked around town. We walked to the halal restaurant quite near by (for me, not for my mum) called Wau. Near by that restaurant is also another halal restaurant called Muslim Family Kitchen. It's near a mosque. This restaurant also serves Malaysian food.
After lunch, my mum and I headed back to somewhere near our hotel. We took a tuktuk and it should only cost you $1! So always bargain.
That is Pub Street during the day!
So after walking around under the blazing sun, we headed back to the hotel and ordered room service for our dinner. That pretty much sums up our trip! We left the following day at 6.30 am. Do let me know if you have any queries cause knowing me, I did miss out on a few things. But I guess that's it. Til then!
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