Blogs from Angkor, North, Cambodia, Asia

Whenever I see these lists, I think most of them are just the website trying to get people to travel. According to Expedia: According to the report, “More than half of travelers say they’ve researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok, and podcasts.” With that in mind, they reveal that the top 10 travel destinations of 2024 are as follows: Thailand - Featured in White Lotus, Season 3... read more

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I found myself with extra time on my hands in Singapore because I didn't have to begin working on certain family logistics. I therefore decided to cut short my time there to spend a few days exploring a site I've always wanted to visit. As an added bonus, I figured Angkor would be without the pre-Covid tourist hordes, which made this an even more attractive time to visit. I arrived in a rainy Siem Reap late morning on Wednesday. As soon as I checked in to my accommodation, I headed out the door to explore Siem Reap. My first impression was that there were lots of Prius (Prii?) on the road. Siem Reap felt like your typical Southeast Asian tourist boomtown; you see lots of motorcycles, a mix of ... read more

Welcome to Yvonne this week...a new volunteer who works as a tour guide in Belgium and has traveled all over Europe and made a living sharing the history of places. If you sense some envy in my text, you are CORRECT! We asked Yvonne to join us to our day out at West Baray and spent the 30 minute Tuk Tuk ride hearing her incredible stories of volunteering with the Mercy Ships (boat hospitals) which have brought her to the Congo, Madagascar and also her volunteer time in India (again yes a little envy...but only a little maybe). West Baray is a reservoir outside of Angkor Thom and was built around the 11th century and is the world’s largest handcut reservoir measuring 2.1 km by 7.8 km. There is a small island which you can boat ... read more

Despite my earplugs our room last night was rather noisy with the terrible karaoke from next door. Hearing the same songs for the 3rd night in a row is driving me slightly crazy and I struggled to sleep. This was a particular problem as our alarm went off around 5am and we were at Angkor Wat, in position for the sunrise by 550am. In order to get a prime spot to get good photos (by the pond on the left) you need to be there as the gates open at 5am. Since neither of us have particularly good cameras or photographic ability we decided we only needed to be able to see it. We expected it to be busy. What I had forgotten was that if you’re not on the front row your beautiful, romantic view, ... read more

Angkor was the capital of Khmer and a huge city which thrived from the 9th to 15th centuries. What remains are the religious buildings as other structures were made of wood. The earlier temples are Hindu and later ones Buddhist. The temples were designed to look like Mt Meru, the Hindu Mt Olympus, and successive kings used them to consolidate their power. Angkor Wat is the worlds largest religious building. The city was thought to have been abandoned as the water supplies were silting up and due to successive wars. Trying to escape the heat today we woke up early and headed out after a quick breakfast. Our hotel is supposed to provide free bikes, but apparently they’re taken today (our room is ‘deluxe with balcony & bicycles’ - only there’s no balcony or bikes). This ... read more