To Siam Reap on Cebu Pacific

Travel destinations become more fascinating when they are easily accessible.  Cebu Pacific Air’s maiden flight from Manila to Siem Reap, Cambodia, proved exactly that.

On board the momentous flight was Cambodia Ambassador Hos Serynthonh joined by Cebu Pacific top executives Alex Reyes, CEB GM for long haul division, hands-on and efficient JG Summit corporate communications manager Viveca Singson and Michelle de Guzman, CEB corporate communications assistant manager. Charles Lim, PR consultant for Selrahco Management Services, was also on hand to assist the group. 

We flew in to Siem Reap after a two-and-a-half hour flight, which was hardly felt because of the quality of the airline’s in-flight service.  

The first two nights we spent at the luxurious Sofitel Angkor Golf and Resort Spa. It is incredibly beautiful with five-star amenities and excellent service. Good looking GM Fabrice Ducry and amiable director of sales and marketing Gregory Tugendhat were on hand to warmly greet us.

Siem Reap is the capital of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia and is considered the greatest civilization in Southeast Asia, reaching from the coast of Vietnam to Myanmar, from southern Laos down to the Malay Peninsula.

At the center of this majestic kingdom ruled by god-kings rose the magnificent towers of Angkor Wat and the nearby capital city of Angkor Thom.

Angkor Wat, built in the early part of the 12th century by the Angkor ruler Suryavarman II, is a Hindu temple. It was constructed as a royal tomb, and its central sanctuary housed an image of Shiva, the god with whom the king was said to be one. There are towers at each of the four corners of the innermost gallery and the taller central sanctuary rises in their center, the peak of Mount Meru, the very center of the world. It was here that the secret ceremony uniting the king and the god was conducted. The temple is surrounded by a moat that is 570-feet wide and about four miles long. Unlike other world-class monuments, the ruins of Angkor are as yet unspoiled by progress and development.

Within the proximity to Angkor are the ruins of Ta Prohm, an example of a temple that was discovered in the midst of the jungle, untouched since it was abandoned. Massive tree roots mainly the banyan, crawl over its roof and walls, a living testimony to the amazing life force of the jungle.

Another well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple is the Bayon, which was built in the late 12th century and early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Javavarman VII.

The Bayon’s most unique and distinctive feature is the huge number of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers, which protrude from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.

Cambodia is not just about temples and ruins. It has interesting floating villages, night markets, sidewalk massage stalls, balloon rides, bicycle trips, museums, and a lot more. There are still so many ruins in the tropical forests that are slumbering peacefully, waiting to be discovered.