Blogs from North, Cambodia, Asia - page 3

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

Siem Reap - Day 2

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

Angkor Wat sunrise

Trabern

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

Siem Reap - Day 1

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 23rd 2022

Ta Keo

Trabern

Oh, dear, yesterday I started out with a bit of a headache, popped a couple of Aspros and managed to make it through the day OK. Last night, at bed time, I started to feel a bit congested and this morning I seem to have developed a proper head cold. Damn it! Our tuk tuk driver from yesterday afternoon, Cholna (sounds more like Jonah), ran us down to Pub Street last night and made arrangements to pick us up at 9.30am this morning to start visiting temples. First on our list today was Ta Keo. Ta Keo was the first sandstone temple mountain to be built by the Khmers. Its lack of carving makes it unlike other temples in the area and suggests that the construction was never finished. It is comprised of two terraces, a ... read more

From the Mekong River to Siem Reap

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap October 22nd 2022

Rain, rain, rain!

Trabern

During the night I woke to what I thought was the sound of rain. It was hard to tell with the air conditioner running, but I thought it sounded different from the sound of a/c alone. Sure enough, this morning we were greeted with wet decks when we ventured out of our stateroom. There has been the threat of rain quite a few times during the week, but we have been so lucky that we have had no rain when we have been taken out on our excursions. Considering it is the end of the wet season, we have been blessed with beautiful, fine weather. The R.V. Bassac Pandaw finished docking at Kampong Cham while we enjoyed breakfast in the dining room for the last time. Our early breakfast finished we raced back up to our ... read more

Rubber trees at the back, dragonfruit cacti in the middle and kasava plants i the foreground

Lara Croft-ing in Angkor

Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor October 1st 2022

Siem Reap

Siewch

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

Cambodia - Day 5, Angkor Wat and other temples!

Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor March 3rd 2022

Angkor Wat

lexispence10

Our last cycling day was to be a bit easier. We were to spend the day riding through the extensive ruins of Angkor, the former capital of the Khmer Empire, visiting three main temple complexes. However, the day did not start off great when half of us were ill. Everyone says food poisoning, but I don't think so. I think we were all different. For me, I am pretty sure it was the dinner I ate the night before - a sauce just did not agree with me. I was not in ideal condition, but I was mainly ok. However, the one guy of our group was very sick; we knew this because he was unusually quiet, resting more than site-seeing, and not taking any photos of this remarkable area! He must have been ill! First ... read more

Cambodia - Days 3-4, Cycling, Waterfalls, more sugar

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap March 2nd 2022

Phnom Kulen National Park

lexispence10

For the next two days, we cycled the back country roads outside of Cambodia, to see the local life and experience more food stops! When we left the floating village, thankfully we did not have to cycle along the long long levee, and instead got a ride in the support van. We stopped at the village near the entrance to the park and visited the local market, where there were many vendors selling fruit, raw fish, meat, and pretty much anything else you could think of. It was interesting, but we did not buy anything here. We continued on the country roads, getting covered in more red dust, and getting some more shade this time. There no real stops on the way except for some refreshments. It was fun to see so many school children on ... read more

Cambodia - Day 2, Ride to Kampong Phluk (Floating Village)

Asia » Cambodia » North » Tonlé Sap February 28th 2022

Floating village

lexispence10

After having a short couple of hours in our very nice hotel, New Riverside Hotel, a quick shower and nap, we got ready to start our adventure. First we got lunch in the town center, "western" food, which was not all that great... but the fresh papaya juice more than made up for it! It was so good and the best one of the trip. Back at the hotel, our bikes were assigned to us (we had previously sent in our heights) and we put our day supplies in the pouches. We also gave our overnight bags to the van support crew as we were not coming back to the hotel until the next afternoon. Yes, 3 nights of poor sleep - hello Trekkup! Once we got our bikes and supplies for the day sorted, off ... read more

How to Travel Solo

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap September 21st 2021

Visiting the Arctic Circle, Alaska

golfkat

Most of you who know me, know that I travel with my good buddy, Mr. Mike, or I travel solo. Mike is the BEST travel buddy ever. We are not joined at the hip when we travel, though we have similar interests. And we never, I repeat, never, talk about money!! But perhaps you would like a different perspective on solo travel, other than mine. I had the benefit of traveling solo on business throughout the late Seventies, and most of the Eighties. And I was able to start traveling for pleasure at a fairly young age (to Europe), essentially, on my own.The Point Guy has a great website, and email. I strongly suggest that you subscribe, not only for travel, but their advice on best use of award points and airline miles ... read more

Boarder Crossing, Siem Raep & Temples, New Years

Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap December 31st 2019

Blueveincustardthrower

I'm gunna combine three days into one (30th - 1st) as the first day consisted of 11hrs Travel, the third was just -just relaxing - so generating an entry on its own to say "The wheels on the van go round and round" isn't exactly the most riveting. Not that i'm suggesting for a second these blogs are, but YOLO. 6am Start. we break off into two mini vans (why they didn't arrange a 13 seater is beyond me but hey). Our first free Intrepid meal - is just from the hotel we're staying at and consists of a Sandwhich with something I can't eat, two childrens juices (which, incidentally were delicious) and a dogshit coleslaw. Yeah - was going to to be a long hungry drive. Thankfully, I had a suspicion there'd be nothing to ... read more

Brief history of Cambodia

Most Cambodians consider themselves to be Khmers, whose Angkor Empire extended over much of Southeast Asia and reached its zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries. Subsequently, attacks by the Thai and Cham (from present-day Vietnam) weakened the ...more history

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