Blogs from Angkor, North, Cambodia, Asia
April 16th 2012
From the train station at Aranya Prathet a tuk-tuk (80 Baht) whisked me away to the border where I was dropped off at what I thought was a legit visa issuing office. This particular border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia is famous for its scams. With salaries being so low workers look for ways to supplement their earnings basically by ripping off tourists. When the tuk-tuk stopped and before I'd even put a foot on the floor there came a man to shepherd me and a handful of others into a nondescript office all the while saying "visa, this way". Alarm bells started to ring when I was quoted 1200 Baht ($40) for a visa. I'd read beforehand that it was $25. Maybe it was the fact that I'd just got off a 6-hour train journey ... read more
Angkor - Die versunkene Stadt im Dschungel
Published: March 18th 2012Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor
March 18th 2012
Montag, 12. März 2012 (Fortsetzung) In Siem Reap angekommen passierten wir auf dem kleinen, aber brandneuen und straff organisierten Flugplatz ohne Probleme die Einreise nach Kambodscha und wurden in ein Taxi verfrachtet. Der Fahrer, ein sympathischer, gesprächiger Typ, gab sich sehr interessiert und fragte uns nach unserer Herkunft, unseren Reiseplänen und bot uns schliesslich (wie erwartet...) an, uns am Abend für den Sonnenuntergang zum Haupttempel Angkor Wat zu fahren. Wir nahmen dieses Angebot gerne an. Im Hotel angekommen bestaunten wir zuerst einmal die üppig bewachsene Hotelanlage und bezogen das tolle Zimmer. Die Anlage ist einem Mini-Dschungel ähnlich, die Zimmer sind in zweistöckigen Häusern im Kolonialstil mit je vier Zimmern angelegt. Wir bezogen ein Zimmer im ersten Stock mit Balkon und Blick auf den Swimming Pool. Dieser ist mit 200m Länge (kein Witz!... read more
March 9th 2012
We arrived in a very hot and dusty Siem Riep after a 6hr bus journey, in which again, we had locals crammed up the middle of the aisle on a piece of wood, sat right next to Darren! It really is beginning to annoy us now, but Darren managed to keep his cool as we’ve not many trips left now. We arrived at the bus station, waiting for our tuk tuk driver to pick us up from the guesthouse, to no avail. We ended up paying for one to get to our guesthouse - Happy Guesthouse, and the owner was so apologetic, explaining that the tuk tuk driver was at the other bus terminal waiting, doh! We checked in, and went to explore the city. Siem Reap is a really lovely place, it has a great ... read more
February 29th 2012
Hey Everyone! So Angkor Wat, where to even begin besides confirming that this UNESCO World Heritage Site certainly deserves the recognition! We decided to split our time at the site into two days, both with a guide. We’re really glad we had our guide, Tokla, to teach us and show us everything we could ever want to know about the temples. Our first day was spent going to the outer, less famous, and somewhat smaller temples. We decided to do it this way so as to avoid what I’ve dubbed ‘Grand Palace Syndrome’. We saw the Grand Palace Wat inBangkokwhen we first arrived and every other wat after just failed to compare. Our day started a t8am and it was already hot and it would only get hotter. We both melted all day. I don’t remember ... read more
February 10th 2012
hi everyone, We are starting our journey to Bali , but before we continue, let me tell you about Siem Reap where we spent 5 days and 4 nights. Although we only spent 1.5 days touring the temples and ruins of Angkor Wat theres numerous things to do it Siem Reap. We visited a silk farm , we both were fascinated by the process. The farm actually grows mulberry trees so the worms have leaves to eat. Once the cocoon is produces, they boil it to extract the silk. We did our usual walking. We rented bikes for the day and decide to ride the 10 klm bike to Angkor Wat to see the sunset, it was a great idea, obviously the pics don't do it justice, but hope you will enjoy them. We decided to ... read more
January 17th 2012
Bonjout tout le monde!!!!!!!!! On vous a manqué?!!!!Si oui, eh bien manifestez-le car on ne l'a pas vraiment senti!!!Hihihihi! Au fait, pour être francs, nous étions malades pendants quelques jours. Nous avons dû prolonger notre séjour à Siem Reap avant de pouvoir reprendre la route en autobus et se rendre à Phnom Penh (environ 6 heures/300kms). Mais avant tout, récapitulons les derniers jours avant notre congé de maladie! Nous avons visité les fameux temples à Angkor dont plusieurs dataient de l'an 800. La visite des temples a duré 2 jours. Nous avions engagé un chaffeur de tuk-tuk (moto tirant une remorque avec des bancs) qui a presque rien coûté, 15$/jour. Voici la liste des temples: Bankong Preah Ko Lolei Angkor wat Phnom Bakheng Angkor Thom Bayon Bap... read more
November 7th 2011
It was a very early start for us again to make sure we could get to Angkor before the tour groups so up at 6am for breakfast and then out with Rener for a whole day around the amazing sights of Angkor. Nothing can prepare you for the vastness of the temples especially Angkor itself. With its huge moat around the edge and its three storey temple I wondered how it could possibly be built so long ago. Walking along the paths through to the main temple of Angkor you feel at peace, it's very hard to describe but it just feels right. Small temples sit either side and you start to imagine what life must have been like living in such a place. When we got to the main temple we were amazed by the ... read more
November 4th 2011
Chasing monks has become a worrying obsession of mine. I have spent much of time scrambling over the temple ruins in order to capture that photo of a monk. I love the stark contrast of their saffron clad bodies to the greying backdrops of Bayon or Ta Prohm. I am fascinated by faith, religion, acts of worship and temples piled high made out of back breaking love and their mysterious ways only feeds by habit. Aside from the monks there is much to see in Siem Reap. Having been in Phnom Penh for the last three months and living by Russian Market I have acclimatized to a lack of western civilization and grown to love the cultural ways of PP life. The rush of the hectic traffic, the smiles, the quiet, and the lack of western ... read more
October 2nd 2011
It certainly has been a week of reeking, the weather is hot, humid and moist. Just as we manage to dry off we seem to come face to face with either giant puddles or get caught in a sheet rain shower. Squelchy shoes and damp clothing is all too regular but conditions aside the place is so good it's worth braving the elements. Exploring the further afield Roluos group of temples and Banteay Srei has been incredible. The Roluos temples are some of the oldest Khmer monuments, all of which are centred around Hinduism and built with thousands of little bricks. It was during this final crusade of these lost temples we stumbled across a polite young man and the polite young mans grandad who plied their carving and sculpture trade at the roadside. The old ... read more
From nagging students to nagging vendors...Life traveling around S.E. Asia.
Published: September 30th 2011Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor
September 30th 2011
Ok, on to the good stuff: Other than taking a mini trip to Kanchanaburi to see the famous River Kwai Bridge, I was fortunate to take a week-long vacation with my sister and two cousins. This included a floating market, Kho Chang Island, and zip-lining through the jungle. As with any family vacation, we had a few let downs and moments when we all wanted to kill each other. The first was our initial trip to the floating market. The vans were cramped and we all had to pay for extra seats for our luggage. We had to take two vans and a pick-up truck to get where we were going. After arriving and realizing that finding a place to stay wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought, we finally got put in a ... read more
