Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
11 September 2016
Exploring Cambodia's Banteay Kdei Temple - A Citadel of Chambers
10 May 2016
Exploring Ta Prohm | The "Tomb Raider" Temple In Cambodia
Ta Prohm is and should be on the list of every visitor to Cambodia's Siem Reap. Nicknamed The Tomb Raider Temple as it was used a location for the filming of Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It's also unfortunate that it's one of the temples that is least well preserved among the popular Angkor temples . Although, there is now a restriction on climbing some of the towers, walking around the site will still leave your in awe are you take in Ta Prohm's atmospheric ruins. It's almost as if the jungle wants to swallow up and reclaim the jungle as its own again.
Ta Prohm was built in 1186 and was originally know as Rajavihara or Monastery of the King and it's also said to be the only one with inscriptions providing details about the temples dependents and inhabitants. Around 80, 000 people would have been required to maintain or attend the temple. Though, looking at the state of it now, you wonder how they could have let go and thought nature would reclaim its land back. Many of the corridors are impassible, crumbling towers rendered too dangerous and precious to climb. Plants, trees, shrubs all fighting their way through bricks have stated their claim on the site and they seem to be winning. Winning they may be, and a great expense too as the more land they reclaim the more humanity loses such a beautiful and historical site more over the more cryptic, captivating the scenery at Ta Prohm. Although some of these sights are now beeing restored and maintained in a bid to hold on to them, I wouldn't wait too long to visit Cambodia.
Below are some of my pictures from our visit to Ta Prohm.
8 May 2016
Gelato Lab Co | A Slice of Italy In Cambodia
Cambodia is a country that calls souls to witness the awe-inspiring Angkor Temples. With flocks of tourist heading to Siem Reap to see the temple ruins, the city is lively and constantly abuzz. Food is not so far behind city explorations and in such a tropical destination you can beat the heat is not so far behind. When the heat calls so does the thirst for something cool. Gelato Lab and Co is a little gem that we discovered when wandering the alleyways of Siem Reap's Pub Street narrow and long alleys.
Gelato Lab Co offers authentic Italian gelato and sorbets all freshly made on site and with all natural ingredients too. Made the Italian way! Ice-creams are made with the finest Madagascan vanilla beans and made using the Cattabrigga Eff 6, said to introduce air to the gelato that distinguishes it from the standard ice-creams. The put in similar effect into their aromatic coffees. The ice-creams, sorbets and the coffee are all full of flavour and a testament to the pride and joy that goes into producing food in this cafe. Its a cool and laid back cafe with friendly staff.
Gelato Lab Co - Alley West | Between Sivatha Rd and Street 11, Siem Reap 855, Cambodia
Open - 9am -11.30pm
7 May 2016
Cambodia | Where To Eat, Sleep, Shop and Relax In Siem Reap
Siem Reap is lively whether it's during the day or late in the evening. I actually found it to be even more lively in the late evenings. Possibly because everyone had come back from their explorations of Angkorian Temples. While you are in the city don't be fooled into thinking that all there is to see are old ruins of these temples. You will also find modern temples within the main town that you should definitely check out. As far as what to do when you are not temple running I have posted details below on where to eat, shop, relax and seek entertainment in Siem Reap.
24 April 2016
Cambodia | Exploring Siem Reap's Bayon Temple [Pt 2]
Yesterday I shared the first installment of my pictures of Bayon Temple on our first visit to Bayon Temple. Being that it was my favourite temple out of all the ones we had seen I had to go back for a second visit. Sadly on our second visit to Bayon Temple, the weather wasn't the best, but we were lucky in that there was some sort of gathering on the day and a lot of monks out on the day. In an around many of the temples, the monks were out exploring much like the tourists themselves so from what I gathered, a lot of them were also visiting the city as visitors.
Our visit, this time, was a lot more slow paced this time as we visited slightly later in the afternoon so it was much quieter, although there were still tourists out and about. Below are some of our shots from our to my favourite Temple in Siem Reap; Bayon Temple.
So, have you been to Siem Reap? What was your favourite temple?
21 April 2016
Bayon Temple | My Favourite Temple In Siem Reap and Why You will Love It Too
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O and on that farm he had a duck...and a quack quack here, and a quack quack there, everywhere a quack quack!!! That rhyme seriously reminds me of Cambodia's Siem Reap, except instead of having a quack quack everywhere, its temples everywhere! Because there are many temples, almost everywhere you look, there is a likely chance you may experience a little bit of temple fatigue. It's best to take your time and see only a few temple a day and then repeat on the ones that you liked. Out of all the temples that we visited Bayon Temple stood out for me. Out of all the temples we passed by, visited, and explored, Bayon Temple came out a clear favorite for me.
Bayon Temple is distinctive in that it's richly decorated with a multitude of smiling faces in many of the towers of the Temple. Bayon Temple was a state of Jayavarman VII, a powerful ruler in the 13th century. It's sat on what was a center of Angkor Thom, a walled city that served as the capital of the Khmer Empire. Much like all other the temples, there are carvings around the temple telling stories of the empire, of life of those in around cities at the various times throughout past centuries. The temple has seen modifications having passed through Hindus and Buddhists. This is evident in the combination of beliefs and representation through mythological, historical scenes around the temple as well the notable marks where carvings were later removed as and when different leaders were in power and depending on their beliefs(whether following Hindu or Buddhist) some motifs were removed.
Out of all the temples, Bayon Temple stands out, it's different from all other temples which seem follow a rather tradition or classical style and perhaps that makes them appear roughly the same. Bayon temple, I guess makes you fall in love with it as it smiles at you from every direction as your explore. So much so that I wouldn't be surprised if you revisited this temple twice more. We managed to visit and walk around twice as well as passing by it several times during our stay in Cambodia.
I will share more pictures from our second visit to Bayon Temple. The tips and ticket details I shared in the Angkor Wat post in that your should bring with you some water, something to cover and protect your from mosquitoes as well as sunscreen or an umbrella, especially during the crazy summer season.
19 April 2016
Cambodia | Quick Guide On Where To Stay In Siem Reap
Tales of ancient civilisations, unique landscapes, and now UNESCO World Heritage sites. So you have decided on temple running through Cambodia's Siem Reap, but where do you stay in Siem Reap? Siem Reap serves as the gateway to temple ruins of the Khmer Empire. It's a bustling city and you will want to be right at the heart of it, in terms of accessibility to restaurants, entertainment, and accommodation. Siem Reap or Cambodia as a country for that matter is one of those places that you can surprisingly find a bed to sleep on for the price of a London Latte. Yes, I was just as surprised as you are right now. Yes, beds in a hostel can be as little as £3.75, which is great for those on a super tight budget. Fear not, for those with supercharged budgets as luxury hotels and villas, are a-plenty!
When I book hotels I can be a little fussy and sometimes I tend to opt for smaller hotels simply because I want a more peaceful stay without hordes taking up spots for the poolside lounge. Having scoured the internet and booking and cancelling places, we finally settled on Kiri Boutique Hotel. We booked this via Booking.com. You can check out deals on hotels, villas, and hostels in Siem Reap. You can also check out other sites like Agoda, Trivago, or Expedia.
Palm fringed villas and gardens, all surrounding inviting pools, with even better service are the makings of a perfect stay. In the land of $5 hour-long massages, you know you will be in for a relaxing stay. The beauty of our stay at Kiri Boutique Hotel was that in addition to the cheap and worth-every-buck massages you could get in the city, the hotel could arrange these in-house and have the masseuse come to our hotel room if all the temple running has got the best of us. Below I have listed a few spots covering most budgets just to get you started on your search if thinking of heading to Cambodia's Siem Reap.
17 April 2016
5 Things People Dont Tell You About Angkor Wat
Many people dream of seeing the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the beautiful pictures that we see floating around make it seem so serene and a peaceful and calm. That is until you actually get here and the place looks like a zoo for humans. Okay, there are times when it's not so crazy, providing you avoid the place at certain times. Below are some of the things I wish people would have warned me about, which I hope will help you. Also, note that this post is only intended to assist in setting your expectations when you visit and perhaps prepare you for it. There is no doubt that this place is magical but would be even better without the things mentioned below.
1. The Moat Is Artificial (Fake)
We have all see those beautiful pictures with a beautiful reflection of Angkor Wat towers and palm trees reflecting off the water. Well, guess what the moat has dried up and now has to be artificially filled with a pipe connected to the water supply from the main moat at the entrance of the temple's outter entrance from the road. The scenery itself was beautiful and the reflection perfect but to stand there while also in clear view of this large blue pipe that was supplying water to the moat so that these tourists who have paid hard earn money for to view the world famous Angkor Wat sunrise reflection can get their money's worth and that money shot reflection picture. Well, let's just say I felt cheated a little. I arrived in the summer so maybe it does dry out and refills during the rain season, but just the thought of this thing being filled up while we were there, rubbed me the wrong way.
13 April 2016
Siem Reap | Exploring Angkor Wat Temple At Sunrise
Wild, mysterious and beautiful all at the same time. I have been wanting to visit Cambodia for such a long time. Last December my boyfriend and I decided to embark on a month-long trip traveling around this part of Asia. Our first stop was to be Cambodia. On my list were the many temples of Angkor. I will try not to refer them all as Angkor Wat Temples as is the case with most blogs. Angkor Wat simply means City Temple( Angkor means city and Wat means temple, or city of Temples in Khmer), which is the one shown in the pictures below. All the other temples although siting within the Angkor Archaeological Park are not called Angkor Wat like commonly referenced on blogs. Each has its own name. I will be sharing more pictures of the other temple with tips on these in the coming days.
Angkor Park is a world heritage site and compasses 400 square kilometers and more than 1000 temples. Some are just piles of rubble as a reminder of what was. Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world. Originally constructed as a Hindu Temple for the Khmer Empire but was later transformed into a Buddist Temple. Having explored the temples and ruins of temples, it is by far one of the best preserved among them and a prime attraction for visitors heading to visit Angkorian temples.
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