MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia
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08 December, 2009Tuesday Roadside Sellers in Cambodia
In Siem Reap, you can't missed the roadside vendors who sell all kinds of things, but mainly food stuff. It seems that any Cambodian with the time, skill and inclination can create some products and then set up shop at the side of a road.
We saw plenty of roadside vendors as we were ferried about in our hired tuk-tuk, but guess that only the locals will know what each vendor is selling as some items were hidden from view unless you stopped to look.
Read more... 08 December, 2009
Tuesday Sunset at Temple Mountain Pre Rup
Watching the sun rise and set seems to be one of the tick box activities in Cambodia. We had already seen the sun at both times in Angkor Wat yesterday and here we were at Pre Rup, a temple mountain, waiting to catch the last rays of this day. So were many other tourists too.
Pre Rup was built from brick, laterite and sandstone, with extensive use of the former two giving it a pleasing reddish tone that was heightened by the sunlight during visit at the end of the day.
It was a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, with a name that's comparatively modern, meaning "turn the body". This reflects the common belief among Cambodians that funerals were conducted at the temple, with the ashes of the body being ritually rotated in different directions as the service progressed. More photos below.
08 December, 2009 Tuesday Eating an Ant at Banteay Srei
At one point visiting Banteay Srei, our guide Lucky motioned us towards a tree and stated that the huge red ants scampering all over the trunk could be eaten. Moments like these are what I find fascinating about countries that are so different to what we're used to. However, eating a live ant freshly picked off a tree?
Besides, I had a job to do - to photograph and document. So Linh, who is on a roll from eating insects in Bangkok, decides to go for it. Apparently, these ants taste really sour, enough to numb your tongue, and can be sprinkled over rice or mixed with fish paste to flavour it.
Read more... 08 December, 2009
Tuesday Intricate Bas Relief Carvings at Banteay Srei
After visiting Kbal Spean, we headed onto Banteay Srei, a 10th century temple that was a little closer to Siem Reap. Banteay Srei was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and was built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings there.
The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction and I wondered if this was due to it being the only major temple at Angkor not built by a monarch (its construction was credited to a courtier).
Read more... 08 December, 2009
Tuesday Cambodian Land Mine Museum and Relief Facility
The Cambodian Land Mine Museum wasn't on our list of places to see, but as we were passing close by, our guide asked us if we wanted to have a look. He mentioned that it's a place that's quite significant in the history of his country so we thought we'd stop by.
As it happened, the museum is quite a small facility and also houses a number of children in grounds at the back who have suffered because of land mines. We ended up staying for more than an hour, becoming absorbed in the exhibits and stories that were told on the walls.
Read more... 08 December, 2009
Tuesday Stone Carvings and Waterfall at Kbal Spean
On our second day of touring in Cambodia, we went further away from the two main temple circuits to visit Kbal Spean and Banteay Srei. Kbal Spean was another Angkorian era site that was about twenty five kilometres away.
Kbal Spean is commonly known as the valley of 1000 Lingas as it consists of a series of stone carvings in and around the Stung Kbal Spean river.
Read more... 07 December, 2009
Monday The Soup Dragon Restaurant in Siem Reap
Linh loves eating local food and asking our guide for recommendations in Siem Reap, we found ourselves at The Soup Dragon restaurant one evening.
We had seen it before as its close to the Old Market area and we simply thought that it was aimed at tourists, but our guide assured us that its popular with the locals, particularly in the mornings where they feast on a quality Khmer breakfast. By the evening when we visited, there were also a few tourist patrons too, including us!
Read more... 07 December, 2009
Monday Angkor Wat - The Symbol of Cambodia
Angkor Wat is probably Cambodia's most famous attraction, from what we'd seen and read. After our sunrise visit to the temple and a day of exploring the neighbouring Angkor Thom, we returned to cover this major tourist destination and stayed until the sunset.
Angkor Wat, which means "City Temple", was a temple complex near Siem Reap, built in the early 12th century as a state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it was the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation - first Hindu then Buddhist.
Read more... 07 December, 2009
Monday Ta Prohm - Temple Ruin Location for Tomb Raider
To us, Ta Prohm was one of the best temple ruins we had seen in Cambodia. It was built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and located about one kilometre east of Angkor Thom.
One of the reasons we loved it, was because unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm had been left in much the same condition in which it was found. The photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.
Read more... 07 December, 2009
Monday The Compact Chau Say Tevoda Temple
The Chau Say Tevoda was a temple located just east of Angkor Thom. It was built in the mid-12th century as a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.
Read more... << Newer Posts | Page 6 of 44 | Older Posts >>
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In February 2009, Mark and Linh moved from the UK to the Far East to spend 16 months living in Hong Kong and traveling around East Asia. This website documents their journey.
Find out more on the MangoVine About page.
There are 435 entries on MangoVine.
East-Asian places visited so far:
Hong Kong (Throughout 09)
Vietnam (March 09)
Tokyo (May 09)
Macau (June 09)
Taiwan (July 09)
South Korea (July 09)
Singapore (September 09)
Malaysia (September 09)
Thailand (December 09)
Cambodia (December 09)
China (April 10)
