http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Cambodia , North , Angkor en-us Wed, 09 Dec 09 08:50:32 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 09 08:50:32 +0000 Well having spent an eventful and unpleasant time in Vietnam I was really looking forward to a change of venue.I was still fighting a fever but it seemed to be somewhat under control after 5 days so I decided to fly to Siem Reap the little town that services Angkor Wat. It was an afternoon flight and as flight time approached I certainly wasn't feeling any better. When we finally departed I was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-457155.html 450am the alarm went off since Sak was picking us up at 5am so we could see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Very early morning with a long day ahead of us.1st Temple Sunrise at Angkor Wat built in 1113 and finished in 1150 with later additions. Angkor Wat is the World's Largest Religious monument. As we arrived at the temple is was still dark out and LOTS of people walking with us to enter the temple http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-452862.html We started our day at 8am again and this was going to be a long day. We decided to go to 2 of the more remote temples that were 49km30.5 miles and 37 kmalmost 23 miles from Siem Reap where we stayed. We got to see lots of countryside and many homesshacks along the way. I took a video of the route for about 2 minutes but it is too large to post to the blogsorry. 1st temple Pre Rup built in 9 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-452857.html part 2 already i cant keep up with this holidayWOW so much to tell you guys Well we spent 3 days at Angkor Wat. Its definitely THE place to hold an Indiana Jones party loads of places to explore and despite the myriads of people at some of the bigger temples some were like you were discovering them for the first time crawling over stones and through windows to get to hidden rooms i did loos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-451916.html Sorry for the late blog but finally finishing up the Cambodian temple descriptions and pics. By the way Prasat is Cambodian for temple ...go figure.Prasat Ta Som Temple is also in a fantastic ruined condition. It is still unrestored. At both the entrance and waaay at the back are those great King Jay gates with his face at the top. The one in the back on the outside face has a magnificent http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-449620.html REVISED 11109 TO INCLUDE PRE RUP TEMPLE AND RELABEL PHOTOS heh all these temples start to look the same after a while.Prasat Kraven Temple also called the Cardamom Sanctuary is an unusual temple for this area. Itrsquos simple in design and it uses small red brick and sandstone which gives it a strange orangey color. Itrsquos a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi. S http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-449488.html Ta Keo temple. This temple is very imposing. Massive blocks of unadorned stone. This might be one of the highest in Angkor. The steps are at about a 70 to 75 degree angle and only 46 inches wide. What a mother to climb but so worth it. You are about 70 feet up at the summit and can see over the Cambodian jungle. The temple was never finished and was intentionally undecorated. The climb wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-449144.html Angkor Thom was a fortified capitol city at end of 12th century and is part of the Angkor Wat park. There are temples and a ruined Royal Palace inside the walls of the city. Some of the sites we visited were Bayon Baphuon Phimeanakas Terrace of the Elephants Terrace of the Leper King and Prasat Suor Prat. Most of the original structures back in the days of yore were wooden so all that is lef http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-449045.html Went to some of the various temples at Ankhor today including the famous Ankhor Wat. Very impressive considering that it's around 1000 years old and the site of the Wat itself not including the other temples etc in the area is 800x1000m and fully walled. I have hundredes of pictures not sure if I can be bothered to sort through them for the few good ones at the minute http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-447778.html Fourth day it hasn't stopped raining all day so we have decided not to visit temples today. Instead we went to an Artisans factory where people from the villages learn traditional carving silk screen painting etc. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-443399.html Ok so first of all I have to apologise for the lack of writing this last week but due to limited internet connection in the most recent places we have visited I have been unable to update my blog. So let me tell you about the adventures of the past few days.We left Phnom Penh with an extremely good impression of the city and eagerly awaited what Siem Reap would have in store us. While our journey http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-442848.html Cambodia II Angkor WatPart two of my Cambodia blog will cover our visit to the temples at Angkor Wat in the northwest of Cambodia as well as the rest of our stay in the country. Itrsquos a bit strange as Irsquom writing this on the boat to Koh Tao in Thailand and the contrast with Ankor could hardly be any bigger.From Phnom Penh itrsquos an easy six hour bus ride up to Siem Reap which is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-437300.html We moeten 's nachts vroeg ons bed uit want om zeven uur vertrekt ons vliegtuig naar Cambodja. Dit keer zorgen we dat we ruim op tijd vertrekken om de stress van onze laatste aankomstvijfminutenvoorvertrek vlucht te vermijden. De lowcost terminal van Kuala Lumpur blijkt een chaos. We staan drie keer in de verkeerde rij en als we eindelijk ingechecked en al bij de terminal staan wordt het wac http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-436327.html JourneyFrom my journal on September 9Going home in nine days. Actually I'm leaving Bangkok in eight. I'm on the six hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh growing steadily angrier at the bus driver's liberal use of the horn. On either side Cambodian rice paddies farms and villages stream by. Most of the wooden houses sit on stilts raised maybe 3 to 6 feet off the ground. The reason whi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-435679.html First thing we had to get into Cambodia and travel down and up again to Siem Reap the closest town to the Angkor Temples. Having walked over the LaosCambodian border we went through quarantine which was a gazebo and then to the visa officehut to purchase our Cambodian visas. They charge 1 for quarantine and a passport stamp but this is actually not supposed to be the case and you can fi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-435671.html HiIch sitze hier gerade in meiner Tauchschule. Ich hatte gerade meinen 2ten Tauchgang obwohl ich heute morgen verdammte BAuchschmerzen und Durchfall hatte das laesst sich in diesen gefilden leider nich vermeiden. Ich schaetze es war wohl ein Fischbaellchen Spiess Wir sind fuer die Tauchfahrt kurz zu einem nahen Strand gefahren wo man 5 meter tief tauchen konnte. Die sich war bloed gerade ma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-434542.html This 3 days cycling tour brings travelers to explore Siem Reap in Cambodia not only its highlighted Angkor Complex but also small local villages markets pagodas to have an opportunity to interact with local passersby and immerse in Cambodian cultures.Upon arrival in Siem Reap travelers transfer to hotel in Siem Riep for checkin. The rest of the day is free to explore Siem Reap the gatewa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-433415.html Hola a todos desde siam reap Mas bien deberia decir desde las vegas que es donde tengo la impresion de estar. Un lugar donde todo se paga en dolares las calles tienen sitios super occidentales y todo esta lleno de megahoteles y senyales luminosas. Es decir esto no es asia. Por no ser asia no estamos ni en un hotel de mochileros como en los que venimos pernoctando. Es un hotel de pseudolujo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-433246.html You have many ways to select one for your traveling in Siem Reap city in Cambodia to see the temples.Motorbike to Angkor Wat costs 7 USD Per dayTukTuk to Angkor Wat costs 12 USD Per day 4 people for 1 tuktukCar to Angkor Wat costs 23 USD Per dayVan to Angkor Wat cost 30 USD Per day 12 or 15 seats for vanNeed transportationsplease book before two or three days before comin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-429882.html Despite costing millions extra tourism aids economy govt saysTourism officials last week announced the loss of more US14 million in revenue generated by tourists from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since January 2008 when the government adopted a visaexemption agreement with five memberstates.According to a report by the Ministry of Tourism Cambodia honoured 278842 visa exempti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-429673.html