Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts

Travel to Cambodia - What to see? (Part 2)

Hiya folks!!

How was the weekend? I'm still reeling from the workload that accompanies return from a vacation. Dusty house cleaned, groceries purchased and laundry just doesn't seem to get over. But then, when the vacation was worth all the work post it, I should not complain much.

Last week, I posted about how we felt about Cambodia and its people (we LOVED them!), how to get there, where we stayed, some very personal views on the food and night life and some tips regarding visa and currency. You can read all about it here.

This post is all about why we went there in the first place - the Temples and the magnificent ruins. Some things can rarely be described in words, like the beauty of the Taj Mahal, the mesmerizing effect the temples had on me is one such thing. While Angkor Wat is the symbol of Cambodia, there are a lot more temples and ruins to be seen here.

The temples are divided into the small circuit and the grand circuit with a different set of temples covered in both the circuits. It takes 1 day per circuit, so keep aside at least 2 days just for the temples. You can buy a daily pass of $20 or you can buy a 3 day pass for $40 (obvious choice!). The 3 day pass allows you to visit the temples on 3 non consecutive days.

Some general tips:
  • Wear good walking shoes. There is a lot of walking involved as the tuk tuk can only drop you at the gate. There are also lots of stairs to climb to see most temples. Be prepared.
  • Carry lots of water. The amount of climbing and walking you will do along with the tropical heat, is bound to make you thirsty. They sell "Cold Coconut" (chilled tender coconut) outside most temples, don't miss it.
  • Carry caps, hats, umbrellas. The sun is strong as in all tropical countries, you will feel the heat by 10am. If you are travelling in the rainy season, don't forget to carry an umbrella, it rains very heavily.
  • Sunscreen up to protect your skin.
  • Dress up conservatively. Wear something that covers your knees (no shorts) and a top with sleeves. Sleeveless tops or tops with really short sleeves are not allowed inside. Alternatively, you can carry a scarf or a stole to cover up your arms and a wrap-around to cover your legs while entering a temple.
  • Shop for cheap t-shirts, pants, souvenirs outside the temples. You can get t-shirts for $1 and pants for $1-$2 here. The same will cost you a little more at the night market - $2 for t-shirts and $2-3 for pants. 
  • Do not buy anything from the children selling trinkets outside the temples. This encourages them to skip school.
  • Be aware that you will not get phone signal inside a lot of these temples. So decide with your driver where you will be meeting up after seeing the temple.
  • If you don't want to take a guide, read up before you go so you can relate to the temple. The grand circuit does not require a guide, but I recommend a guide for the small circuit.

Small Circuit:


The small circuit covers the temples and complexes of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (Baphuon, Bayon, Palace, Elephant Terrace), Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, Srah Srang and Phnom Bekhang.  There are a lot of smaller temples on both the circuits that you can see if you have the time and inclination.
Most of these temples are Hindu in origin, while some are Buddhist. No worship happens in most of them anymore. In the words of our guide, Mr. Chanty, "First there was Hinduism, then Buddhism and now Tourism". Aptly said, I think. But still to respect the sentiments of the place, it is expected that you wear clothes that cover knees and shoulders. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed.

Although this is called the small circuit, it is the more hectic one of the two circuits. A lot of walking and climbing happens here. If you are short of time and can only do one day of temples, do this circuit.

Angkor Wat:


The main attraction of Cambodia. It has become so famous, it is even on their flag. You have not seen Cambodia, until you have seen Angkor Wat. It is the largest religious complex in the World and a UNESCO world heritage site.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

While most of the Khmer Empire kings worshiped Lord Shiva and built temples for him, Angkor Wat is different, it was built in worship of Lord Vishnu. A Vishnu statue still stands there today in one of the chambers. Over the years, the temple was converted to a Buddhist temple. Although, no worship is officially performed at the temple, the inner sanctum or the Bakan is closed for public on certain auspicious Buddhist days according to the Lunar Calendar. The Bakan is not a very stable structure and hence, at a time, only 100 people are allowed inside. The staff manages that well, you needn't be worried. Most people stay inside for 10-15 minutes so the queue moves fast. Pregnant women, children below 12 years and people with cardiovascular diseases aren't allowed to climb to the Bakan, but don't worry, if you are in any of the 3 categories, you aren't missing much. There is so much to see even without the Bakan.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Ram, Laxman and Hanuman
The walls of the temple have carvings of the Kurukshetra war on one wall and Ramayana on one wall. There is Sagar Manthan depicted too. There are carvings of how hell, earth and heaven were imagined to be. Taking a guide along is highly recommended. While all of us already knew all the Mahabharata and Ramayana stories, we would not have been able to identify them on the walls. Our guide helped us in identifying them. If you are unaware of the Hindu epics, it would help to read a brief about them online, before going to the temple to appreciate the beauty of the carvings.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Angkor Wat is unusual in its facing. While most Hindu temples face the East, Angkor faces the West. This is one of the reasons it make a beautiful Sunrise spot when the sun rises from behind the temple. People gather as early as 5am to catch a spot to view the temple's reflection in the water just around sunrise. It is a beautiful sight and I would say try to go if you can. Most hotels pack a breakfast box or like us, you can return to the hotel, have breakfast and then proceed to the next spot.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Bayon:


The temple of faces, that's what this is. There are so many smiling faces carved all around. There are supposed to be 216 faces carved out of sand stone here. The faces are supposed to represent the king who built the temple. It is one of the newer temples in the complex and was built as a Buddhist Temple as opposed to a Hindu Temple. Definitely not to be missed. You will see similar faces all across the temple gates or Gopuras.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Baphuon:


This temple is right near the Bayon temple. It was built in worship of Lord Shiva. Due to the war, the restoration of this temple also was not completed. Be aware that there is a lot of climbing to be done here. There are stairs but they tired me out. But the silver lining was the view from the top. It was beautiful.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Palace and Elephant Terrace:


A part of the original palace still survives but you aren't allowed to enter it.
The Elephant Terrace is just a platform from which people watched men training elephants.
You can give both a miss, if you are short on time or too tired to walk.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Ta Keo:


This was meant to be a Shiva temple, but it was never completed. The climb to the top of this temple is very steep and it is better if done either earlier in the day when the sun is low. There are 2 levels to the temple, there are wooden stairs present to reach the first level (they are also pretty steep).When we went here it was raining, and that brought down the temperature, making it easier for us to climb at around 3pm. If you are tired or unable to climb much, you can give this temple a miss.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Sprinting to the top, obviously, I'm losing :(

Ta Prohm:


The jungle temple, Lara Croft temple, it is known by many names, but the official name is Ta Prohm. This temple has been made famous by the movies shot here. The beauty of this temple, or rather it's ruins lies in the fact that the forest around the temple, has taken over the temple. This is where nature got married to man made structure.


What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

The temple was abandoned for very long and in this period, Mother Nature showed its might and trees have grown into the structure and in many places, it is these trees that are helping the structure stand erect. This temple was built to honour the King's mother. This temple is being restored by the Archaeological Society of India and there are no plans to cut any of the trees growing on the temples. Fortunately for us, this temple had no climbing involved. This is definitely one of the "Don't miss" temples.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Banteay Kdei, Srah Srang:


Srah srang is just a man made lake with an overlooking platform. It is right opposite Banteay Kdei.
Banteay Kdei is very similar in architecture to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, except that it is smaller in size. The temple has several enclosures with one chamber leading to many more. It is again a temple that requires no climbing and is ideal to visit towards the end of the tour when you are all tired. If you are visiting Preah Khan, this temple can be missed.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
One of the gates

Phnom Bekhang:


This is just a small temple atop a hill, but it is a famous sunset point. The hill has to be climbed on foot, or a two wheeler or you can also climb on an elephant. No tuk tuks are allowed to go up. The climb is not steep and takes around 15-20 minutes. The temple on top isn't very stable and only 300 people are allowed to stay on top to see the sunrise. Most of the crowd starts accumulating at around 4pm, make sure you are there before that. The wait is boring as sunset happens around 5.30-6pm because of the latitude of Cambodia. You can also see Angkor Wat from here. Unfortunately, when we went it was raining and there was cloud cover everywhere, so we did not wait until sunset.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com


Grand Circuit:


The grand circuit covers Preah Khan, Ta Som, Neak Pean, East Mebon and Pre Rup. It covers fewer temples but the distance covered is more. The temples are far apart and you need a vehicle to cover them all. Read up on the temples you plan to visit before you go and you won't need a guide. We did not hire one for this circuit, and we did fine. This circuit is less tiring than the small circuit and we finished it by lunchtime.

Preah Khan:


Chambers, chambers and chambers, that is what this temple is all about. There are so many chambers here. This temple was built to honour the King's father. Wikipedia gives elaborate information on the structure and it's history, and is best read there. The temple is worth a visit, just to see the beautiful carvings and it's huge structure. This temple also has trees growing out of it like Ta Prohm but at a smaller scale.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Ta Som:


This is one of the temples that has not been restored. It is the first temple that is being managed by an all Cambodian staff who were trained while working on Preah Khan. The temple is said to have been purposely destroyed. The gates and gopuras of this temple are beautiful.



East Mabon:


This temple was once surrounded by water which has since dried up. There are life sized stone elephants on all 4 corners on 2 levels that are still intact. Stone lions greet you at the entrance. The space on top of the doorway or the lintels of the little towers have some very intricate and beautiful carvings. I spotted a Lord Ganesha carving.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Pre Rup:


The architecture of Pre Rup is very similar to that of East Mabon. This temple is believed to be associated more with funerals than with worship. This is one of the few temples in the grand circuit that requires you to climb a long steep staircase. Hence, it is also another popular Sunset point. We did not see many carvings here as the temple appears to be built out of smaller bricks rather than larger stones. My personal opinion is you could either see it or leave it, it does not make much difference.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Neak Pean:


Now of all the temples we went to, this one by far is the most different one. I've seen a few blogs where they say this can be skipped, but I won't say it. It was one of my favorite temples of the grand circuit. The temple by itself isn't anything great, it is located on an island that we do not have access to. The water around it was green with algae. But the walk to the temple was what sealed the deal for me.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

You have to walk on a wooden plank bridge that is surrounded by water on both sides to reach the temple. It is this walk that I enjoyed. The water was still and you could see the sky in the water. There were dried up trees for a long distance that were in the water, adding to the scenic beauty of this place. This temple is nothing like the others and warrants a visit just because of its uniqueness.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Other Attractions in Siem Reap, Cambodia:


Apart from the temples, there are several other sights that you can see in and around Siem Reap:

Phare, the Cambodian Circus is a highly rated and recommended by a lot of people. The entire act consists of 5 different stories that are acted out by former street children. The acts are moving and apparently gravity defying. We did not go for this, but you can read about it here.

Apsara Dance is the national dance of Cambodia and there are several places that have performances along with dinner included. The prices range from $18 to $50. The hotel we stayed in - Silk D'Angkor has also newly started the performance at an introduction price of $18 on certain days of the week. We had other plans and could not attend it.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Apsara Dance

Rosana Broadway is a "Lady-Boy" show similar to those in Bangkok. We actually went for this one and enjoyed it. There were several performances with songs, cabaret, folk dances of all the South East Asian countries. The tickets cost you $30 for deluxe seats at the back and $40 for the VIP seats in front. The must watch performance in this is the "One man woman" where one person is dressed half as a man and half as a woman. The show includes a pick up and drop in tuk tuk.

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com


What to see on vacation in Siem Reap, Cambodia at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com


There are museums like the National Museum and Landmine Museum that you can also see. There is also the floating village which can be visited. Apart from these, there are cooking classes and pottery classes that one can go to.

Thanks for staying with me till the end, I hope you found it useful. Leave me a comment if you want more details on anything that we visited.


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Travel to Cambodia - An unforgettable experience! (Part 1)


We are back!!! Almost a week ago and I've been wanting to write this post from the moment we landed, but you know, the lazy me... Editing the mountain of photos we clicked had be bogged down the whole week. Back to the essence of the post - Cambodia.

We loved Cambodia and none of us wanted to come back.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
All of us at Angkor Wat
I admit I was once not even interested in going to Cambodia (thankfully that changed) until I saw pics of Angkor Wat. After that, Cambodia as a vacation destination made place somewhere in the corners of my mind. 

What I saw and experienced in Cambodia in a short time of one week can only be described in many many words and hence, I'm splitting this post into two parts. The first part to describe my experience, how to travel, visa, food, shopping, stay etc and the second part is dedicated to the sights to see. Watch out for the second part next on www.oneteaspoonoflife.com.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Angkor Wat at Sunrise

The Experience:


What strikes you first when you land in Cambodia is not the magnificent temples, or the heat, it is the people of Cambodia. I believe it is the people that make a country and the people of Cambodia make a very fine country. Everywhere we went we found people always smiling and ever courteous, which is very heartening to see. Something our guide Mr. Chanty said to us, stayed with us – “We were fighting for so long, we forgot to develop our country”. He informed us that Cambodia has been at war for centuries, and one would expect that people from a war ravaged country would be bitter towards everyone. However, this is not the case here, the people welcome you wholeheartedly.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Among the four of us, we’ve been to 10 different countries, and Cambodia was our 11th, and we all felt that of all the countries we’ve been to, Cambodia had the softest, the nicest people. The Cambodian people speak softly. While most of them speak better English than you will find in the rest of South East Asia, even those who barely scrape through with English will try their level best to communicate with you. They understand when you say “No”. The tuk tuk drivers or the Night market vendors will ask you just once if you want something, they don’t pester you.

We did not find one rude soul there. If I go back to Cambodia, it will be more for the people there than the sights to see.

Apart from the people, we also loved the Temples, the Food (Yay!) and the Shopping.

Travel  + Visa:


Cambodia is well connected by air. You have many other local and major airlines flying into to Cambodia. Check what works for you in terms of cash and convenience. You can fly into Phnom Penh or Siem Reap airport, but if you plan the temple trail, then Siem Reap works best.

We took a Thai Air Asia flight via Bangkok on a Friday night and reached Siem Reap on Saturday morning. The flight from Bangalore to Bangkok takes around 3.5 hrs and Bangkok to Siem Reap takes about 1 hour. Thai Air Asia does not have any vegetarian food on board, so it's better to eat at the airports. You are allowed to carry your own food, but not eat in on board.

Siem Reap Airport
Visa is on arrival and they provide the forms in the flight. The Visa costs $30 per person. All you need is a completed visa application form, a passport size photograph and the money. The speed of the officials who approve the visa is commendable. We were done with our visa in 15 minutes. Immigration and baggage clearance takes a little longer but neither of that should hold you in the airport longer than 30 minutes.

If you plan on buying a SIM card, you can at the exit of the airport. There are representatives of several service providers stationed there. You can get a SIM card for as low as $5.

Tuk Tuks are the way to travel in the country once you are there. They are cheapest and best mode of transport according to me. Since the temple trail is pretty much surrounded by forests and there is minimal pollution, the open air travel seems nice and fresh as compared to a closed AC car.

Tuk Tuks

Hotel:


We booked our stay through www.agoda.com. We booked Silk D'Angkor Boutique Hotel on Charles de Gaulle Boulevard. It is located around 9km from the airport and 2km from the city center. It is a quiet hotel with exceptionally friendly staff. We had requested them for airport transfer and they sent us 2 tuk tuks for 4 of us. We were greeted by ever-smiling Daniel, the manager, at the reception who helped us plan out the next 2 days of our travel. The hotel arranged for 2 tuk tuks and a guide to take us around the temples. One tuk tuk cost us $19 and the guide $40. This may work out cheaper if you hire an independent tuk tuk or go through a travel agency. However, the tuk tuk drivers were nice and our guide was knowledgeable, so we had no regrets paying a little extra.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Extremely friendly staff at the Hotel
The stay included breakfast. The breakfast was a standard fare and tasted good. The hotel also had a pool, a restaurant and massage facilities. We tried the Khmer massage and I recommend it only to the brave. Do not expect a soft sweet massage, Khmer massage includes a lot of kneading and while it can seem painful at the moment, the pain does not last beyond the massage. There are massage parlors all over town that offer it for very low rates, you can also get it done there.

Food:


What can I say about the food except that it was FANTASTIC!!! I love my Thai curry and Cambodian curry did not disappoint. Infact, it may have just beaten the Thai curry to become my favorite. I could not have enough of it. I even picked up some curry powder there and am dying to try it out.

In Siem Reap it is very easy to find awesome vegetarian food. For all you non vegetarians out there, I believe there is no shortage of food you'd want to try. You get everything from your regular chicken to fried insects.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Peace Cafe ROCKS!!!

For all you vegetarians like me, there are several cafes around the city that serve veg food like Peace Cafe, Banlle, Artillery Cafe, Chamkar House to name a few. There are several Indian restaurants in the city like Currywalla, Vanakkam, Maharajah, Namaste, that serve you a mix of South and North Indian food, both in veg and non veg.

I tried a lot of things there like the Khmer Red Curry, Thai Green Curry, Vegetarian Amok, Fried Rice, Durian Ice Cream, Bubble Tea, Coconut-Rice cake (num krok) along with some western cuisine like Spinach Pizza, Veggie Burgers, Nachos, California roles etc. I loved everything we tried.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
Vegetarian Amok

I specially recommend the Vegetarian Amok, Cambodian's national dish at Peace Cafe. Peace Cafe is a beautiful restaurant surrounded by greenery. They serve only vegetarian food that is fish sauce free, MSG free and shrimp paste free. They have a long exhaustive menu and we tried a lot on it and it very soon became our favorite place to eat. They also have a small but slightly overpriced gift shop that holds beautiful things. I picked up my curry powder from here. They also conduct Yoga classes. You can find out more from their site.

We loved the "Flying Zebra" for Pizza. It is a tiny little place in the city with a wood fired oven. We tried their Spinach Pizza which was amazing, so was their Cheese Garlic Baked Potato. Just don't kiss and tell, they are generous with their garlic. We also tried the vegetarian pizza and a quirky spicy mango pizza which you can try for an experience.

Also, there are a lot of French Bakeries across Siem Reap where you get amazing bread. The cakes may be good too, but I did not try any. I just fell in love with the bread and sorely miss it here in Bangalore.

Last but not the least, you cannot leave Siem Reap without having the "Cold Coconut" which is tender coconut kept under ice. It is nice and sweet and healthy. You will find it being sold outside pretty much every major temple and is a must have. It cools you down instantly. Be aware that these coconuts are huge and extremely filling. They cost $1.

The average cost of a meal ranged from $5 to $10 per person for us.

Night Life:


Pub Street is the place to be when the day starts to fade. It is the most happening place in town. Noisy and fun. You can buy draft beer for as little as $0.5. The Angkor What? is the most famous pub which has tourist flocking in there just to say "we went there" and to leave their mark on the walls of the pub. The other pubs around are slightly cheaper and some also serve food. Some pubs serve traditional barbecues while others can get you filled up on regular burgers and fries.

We were on Pub Street on the night of the Halloween Party and it was amazing. A little too loud, but fun nevertheless.

Cambodia Vacation, What to do in Siem Reap at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com
You have not experience Siem Reap, until you've been on the Night Scene

There are also several carts all across that serve you everything from the coconut-rice cakes, to fried ice cream rolls, pancakes, insects to cocktails. Yes, you have carts that sell you cocktails along with carts that sell you fruit smoothies.

I cannot describe night life without the Night Market. My favorite activity in Siem Reap was bargaining at the night markets. There are several night markets around the city. Almost all sell you similar stuff and at similar prices. Don't pay what the vendors ask you for, haggle for at least half the price. Look around the market and don't buy at the first place you see.

Most Night Markets are open from 4pm-11pm, however some are open throughout the day. We liked shopping at the Angkor Night Market and the Noon Night Market. The vendors speak manageable English and are excited to sell their goodies. Clothes are sold here at a bargain and unless you already bought them outside the temples (where they are sometimes cheaper), I highly recommend buying them here. T-Shirts are for $2, and you can buy 3 for $5. Same with the cotton pants. This is also a nice place to shop for souvenirs and gifts.

Currency:


Thanks to Matt from LandLopers, we did not exchange our US Dollars into Riels, the Cambodian local currency which worked just fine. In major cities, all the vendors deal in USDs only. So if you by something for $3.5 and pay with a $10 bill, they will return $6 in USD and the $0.5 in Riels. However, if you travel to interior places or to small villages, you may need to carry Riels.

Watch out for my next post on what to do and see in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Until then, you can read my reviews on Trip Advisor:








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