Blogs from Siem Reap, North, Cambodia, Asia

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Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap August 3rd 2023

The proverbial "bucket list" sounds so final, like time is drawing near to leave this earth, as Jyaaack and Morgan portrayed in the famous movie. People often ask me about my own bucket list, and I prefer to call it my Water Pail list. And I have done this for many years now. It sounds less "final." Having any type of list puts undue pressure on oneself. When I started traveling, I did not have specific goals in mind. I just wanted to see and learn as much as I could. And I have, without the pressure of a list telling me where to go. Though I did visit rather touristy places, my favorites always remain Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Amazon Rainforest. I see another danger, the anxiety or depression that comes with getting ... read more
EU map
Annapolis walls

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap June 3rd 2023

The other night at a group dinner, a friend asked about the best place I have ever been. Here is my answer. The tumbled, jungle-clad ruins of Angkor Thom are intensely atmospheric and have long lured travelers. The sprawling complex of temples, gates and monuments, decorated with carvings, was built between the 9th and 14th centuries, when the Khmer civilization was at the height of its power. The largest and most famous temple of them all is the breathtaking Angkor Wat – watching the sunrise as its striking silhouette is mirrored in the still waters of the reflection pool is the ultimate experience. The beautiful Bayon Temple, evocative jungle-strangled Ta Prohm and pink-sandstone Banteay Srei are other must-sees. I have made the trek to Cambodia and Angkor Wat three times. Ta Prohm is my favorite. We ... read more
Sunset
Ta Prohm
Looks alive??

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap March 10th 2023

We arrived in Siem Reap after a thoroughly enjoyable time at Hoi An/Da Nang, Vietnam. Getting here was a bit frustrating, a long flight that took us to Bangkok with long waits at both airports. The best part of the day was arriving late at our hotel, Viroth's Villa in Siem Reap, a 4 star hotel but only $100 CAN a night! It was recommended by home exchange friends (Ed and his lovely wife) that we met online during our previous Asia trip that was cut short by Covid. The breakfasts by the pool was gourmet! You won't regret a stay at this wonderful hotel - the service from all areas was exceptional. We loved getting bug sprayed every time we left the hotel by the front desk staff! What a treat! They arranged all of ... read more
Tuk Tuk with Driver and Guide
R & D outside Anghor Wat
Scooter - the common transportation

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap January 25th 2023

Savoteur has this to say: Traveling and seeing the world is something that you will never forget. Adventures and experiences are some of the best things that money can buy. Traveling can be affordable. You can travel the world much cheaper through travel hacking and using points from travel rewards cards. As you make your travel bucket list, make sure to put things you would be interested in. May it be adventurous, or to see beaches and cities, make your list your own and enjoy the journey. These 25 travel bucket list ideas are here to help you to create the best list possible. (I will only include those that I have done) Viva Las Vegas Probably one of the easiest and closest places to visit. Vegas offers gambling, shows, shopping, golf, dining, nature, and in ... read more
Dubrovnik's famous Buza Bar
Santorini sunset
Ta Prohm, Cambodia

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 29th 2022

This morning we returned to Angkor Wat because when we were there on Monday we were not able to visit ‘Heaven’, the topmost part of the temple, due to it being a Buddhist holy day. We had Cholna drop us off at the eastern entrance so that we could do the steep climb up to ‘Heaven’ in the cool (?) of the morning and while we were feeling full of energy?? It was also interesting to see the eastern entrance which is also attractive, but not seen nearly as much as the western entrance. We were all suitably dressed for heaven this morning. I missed out on this section of Angkor Wat when we were here in 2010 because my skirt was deemed too short. My skirt was right on knee length, which I thought was ... read more
Angkor Wat East Gate
Angkor Wat East Gate
Angkor Wat East

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 28th 2022

This morning we arranged for Cholna to collect us from the hotel at 8.30am so that we could start ticking off the the last of the temples on Steve’s list of 12 Temples. First we went back to Angkor Thom to view Baphuon Temple. With it being part of the Angkor Thom complex we’re not sure how we missed it on Tuesday? It sits between Bayon and Phimeanakis, but I guess we missed it because we couldn’t see it through the jungle from either! That’s the good thing about being here for a week, we don’t have to do our temple viewing like a military operation, we can go back again and again when we discover that there is something else we want see. We didn’t see this temple when we were here in 2010 because ... read more
The causeway to Baphuon Temple
Water weeding … and collecting snails!
Baphuon Temple

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 27th 2022

It rained again during the night. Quite a lot actually! When we went out to meet our driver, Lin, there were huge puddles in the unmade road outside and we had to pick our way to the Mercedes minivan to keep our feet dry. But, before we left our room for our day trip we had made sure that we would have everything we might need in our day packs. Raincoat, tick, water, tick, toilet paper, tick and the Go Girl, tick. What’s that? people might ask. Well, a week or so before heading to Vietnam and Cambodia I was stressing about the whole squat toilet thing and decided that maybe I needed a ladies urination device so that I could pee standing up! Some research ensued and, not only are these a thing, they go ... read more
Banteay Srei Temple
Banteay Srei Temple
Banteay Srei Temple

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 26th 2022

When we ventured down to breakfast this morning it was feeling rather oppressive and the waiter told us ‘it’s going to rain today … in about half an hour’. Oh well, whatever will be, will be. We have been doing so well with the weather on this holiday we really can’t complain if we have a wet day. This morning we arranged for Cholna to collect us at 8.30am for an excursion to the Roluos temple group located about 13 kilometres east of Siem Reap. These temples are some of the earliest in the Siem Reap area dating to late in the 9th-century. First on this morning’s list was Bakong and, despite the dire prediction of our breakfast waiter, it was still fine as we pulled up at the east gate. Bakong was the first state ... read more
Bakong Temple
Bakong Temple
Bakong Temple

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 25th 2022

Today we explored the temples in the old capital of Angkor Thom. After Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom is probably the best known and most visited area amongst the temples and ruins of Siem Reap. This city, surrounded by a large wall with enormous gates and a crocodile infested moat was once home to as many as one million people. It is worth noting that this was at a time when the population of London was fewer than 100,000 people. Our first stop was at The Bayon which is a richly decorated Khmer temple dedicated to Buddhism that was built late in the 12th Century or early in the 13th Century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII. The Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman’s capital, Angkor Thom. The temple is characterized by the ... read more
Bayon Carving
Bayon Carving
Bayon

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 24th 2022

Today it was all about Angkor Wat, Siem Reap’s premier temple. Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world on a site measuring 162.6 hectares. It was originally built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12thcentury as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. Towards the end of the 12thcentury it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. It combines the two basic plans of Khmer Temple architecture: a temple mountain (representing Mount Meru) surrounded by a galleried temple. We had an alarm set for 4.30am so that we could be out the front ready to meet Cholna at 5.00am to drive to Angkor Wat in time for the sunrise. We last did this in 2010 and have always wanted to return because we were there at the end of ... read more
Angkor Wat sunrise
Angkor Wat sunrise
Angkor Wat sunrise




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