Headed out on my first overseas trip to Cambodia during the start of my summer break (: 

Joined one of those Overseas Community Service Project for the compulsory 80 hours of Community Service Hours that every SMU student had to complete before they could graduate. So gathered some random friends and decided to join one of the many groups sending out newsletters via email. Didn't really had much criteria for the trip, just heading to a country that we all haven't been before. Before the trip, we had loads of meetings and what not and I didn't see the purpose in actually going for them. Had the mindset that the group of people who were going for this trip would only be one of those many acquaintances that you usually make in SMU.

But guess I was wrong, came back w a heart filled w unimaginable friendship.

We had R&R before everything, landed in Siem Reap International Airport and headed into town. We lived in a hotel in the heart of the city though the streets were pretty dark due to the absence of street lights so we had to navigate around with torch lights on our way back. 

Siem Reap has an alarming amount of nightlife and much more developed as compared to the biggest capitol which was Phnom Pehn. Probably due to the amount of tourist patronizing the place. Night markets, 24 hour pubs, road side stalls were the norm everywhere and it's pretty fun going around slashing prices from ridiculously high ones. My friends got a bit sympathetic towards the local shop owners when they went like "no profit, very good price alr".

A word of advice: When slashing prices, there's no thinking in the owner's shoes. Cause eventually they make a living through having the shop and if they were clever enough to own a shop, they would try their best to earn as much profit as possible and it's up to you to figure what's the reasonable price for it.
We got shirts for S$3 and pants for S$5 and I got my owl bag (which is seen in the pics below) for S$7 (:

Drinks/shots are really cheap there, probably $1 each so it's super worth it and if you're looking for a nightlife in Phnom Pehn, I would suggest you enjoy your ass off at Siem Reap instead. Cause everything's more clustered together and it's easier to navigate while for Phnom Pehn, it's huge so it's difficult to find pubs and clubs and usually they have dress codes so you can't go in with flip flops and shorts.

Note: Sunday is gay night in Cambodia, haha so guys beware, my friend got hit by 9 gays continuously that night. They are not shy to buy you drinks,but always remember, drugs are still prominent in Cambodia :/

Attractions in Siem Reap are usually temples, rocks, stones, trees and more temples. We went for the temple tour which is where you buy an entire package and you get to tour probably 5 temples including one of the seven wonders of the world - Ang Kor Wat. All of the temples are made solely from the piling of rocks and huge stones for centuries. No use of cement or concrete in those days. It's pretty incredible how the structures are craved in shapes of Buddha faces with distinct features and how these structures can still stand after centuries. However there are many which have collapsed in ruins and workers are now trying to build it back the way it was before.

One interesting event that happened when we were touring the temple: we were in the middle of a sandstorm. Most horrible thing ever to get stucked in, sand blowing at your face, wind flipping your hair in a thousand places :/ The wind's so strong that we literally had to brave the storm to find a suitable hiding place to shield us from the sand. The best part was I was with Ryan, separated from the rest of the team and we had to find the bus and it was nowhere in sight. The tour guide asked us to wait by the Banyan Tree and we didn't know what a Banyan Tree looked like ._. Epic scene.

Cambodia's culture is pretty conservative so if you're patronizing temples, it's better to wear sleeved tops and pants which are below knee level, as a form of respect to the 'gods' of the temple. 

You can purchase the Cambodian pants which is similar to the one I was wearing cause the material's pretty thin, quite comfortable and it's easy to move around since you'll be climbing on stones and rocks the entire day. However it's inevitable to still sweat in those.

Weather's very dry so it's good to stay hydrated or else you'll end up with a terrible headache at the end of the day due to the heat and the burning sun :/ 

And sunblock and mosquito repellent is a must. 

Here's my roomie for the entire of this trip, she's crazy, fun and unimaginable. She can get high about almost everything and has an incredible about of energy. We tease each other about everything, it's our way of communicating I guess. Love you roomie (:

So here's Cambodia and my first few days of R&R in Siem Reap, more coming up (: