RUNNING WITH PASSION

Beautiful Temples Along The AWIHM 2006 Route

Sues’day (Hello in Khmer)

Angkor Wat International Half Marathon (AWIHM) is a wonderful way to cap the 2006’s running experience. I have always wanted to run Angkor Wat International Half Marathon since I have heard of it a couple of years ago. When AirAsia was having a promotional blitz in April 2006, I managed to secure some bargain price ticket to Cambodia. My plan was to fly to capital, Phnom Penh and either take a cruise or coach up to Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located.

Since that day, I have been doing research about Cambodia during my free time. Bought a Lonely Planet guidebook, which I regretted when I saw the same book, was being peddled at USD4 in Angkor Wat. I bought mine at RM96 or USD27. Grrrr…..Anyway, Lonely Planet is a simple but good guide book for Cambodia.

I flew to Phnom Penh with Tan and CL on 13 Dec afternoon from LCCT KLIA. The journey took about 1 hr 40mins. We checked in to Dara Reang Sey Hotel right in the middle of Phnom Penh.

In Phnom Penh, we roamed the city on foot, visiting the tourist spots like Wat Phnom, The Royal Palace, The Silver Pagoda, The Independence Monument, The National Museum and Russian Market. I skipped the Genocide Museum and Killing Fields, as I was too chicken shit to see the horror of war up-close.

Anyway, after spending two nights in Phnom Penh, we traveled north to Siem Reap by bus. The travel alone took about 6 hours. The road condition – bad! Some of the local people traveling in the bus seemed to have no respect for others’ personal spaces. There was one dude who kept standing up and did yoga poses in the aisle. They yak loudly too. I was glad that I brought my Sony MP3 player along.