Cambodia Travel Diary: Siem Reap

Cambodia is one place that had been on our minds to explore for over a year now.  Why? Because it has one of the world's wonders and it is a UNESCO world heritage site! My husband and I finally planned a trip there to celebrate our anniversary few weeks back. One of the advantages of living in Singapore is that it makes all of South East Asia easily accessible. It was just about 2~2.5hrs flight and visa on arrival for Indians (you will know what a relief that is, only if you are an Indian!)

What is one of the top 5 things you do when you plan a travel? You check the weather and the best time to visit the place. And we being very cute, forgot to do that and ended up there in the HOTTEST (note the bold letters) season of the year. It was around 38~39 degree Celsius but felt like 45deg. Not a smart choice, considering that majority of the places you have to visit are temples made of stone which heat up like crazy! So please don't go there in May/June unless you want to get a tan, sunburn or badly roasted.

Siem Reap is a small town and thrives mainly on tourism. So be prepared to be hounded by the local sellers, tuk-tuk drivers and tour guides wherever you go. We stayed at the Royal Angkor Resort which was a French colonial building, on the national highway slightly off from the town centre but the tuk-tuks make it accessible to get anywhere around easily for just under $5, if you know how to bargain with them. It had a lovely ambience and very friendly staff and I highly recommend it!

We had just about 4 days to explore and we started off with the Bayon and Angkor Thom temples as you get the best sunset view from near there. We got a 3 day Angkor Pass which would allow us to visit the entire set of temples for 3 days as many times as we wanted and cost about $40.  It was an adventure exploring this during peak afternoon with scorching heat and we were so dehydrated that I thought I would faint anytime  (which is why you have to be smart and not go there during summer time!) But it was worth all of that hardship as the temples are beautiful and the guide we hired gave us a lot of the history which made it more interesting. Hinduism and Buddhism are very predominant there and as I am familiar with both, it kept me very engaged while I gulped down 2 isotonic drinks, 3 bottles of water and some tender coconut water. 

We went on later to explore the famous Ta Prohm temple also known as the Tomb Raider temple as a small part of the movie was shot there with Angelina Jolie. So it is a major tourist attraction and it was completely packed with people, especially the Japanese tourist groups (we see them in action everywhere :))

Another full day was spent exploring the main Angkor Wat temple, both at the time of sunrise and sunset. They look very different as the temple gets fully lit up for a few minutes at the time of sunset and the sun rises behind the temple during sunrise if you are at the west gate, so you can capture some amazing photos. It is very important from which entrance you go in if you are looking to do photography based on the sun's position. So make a note of that! As it was summer, there was hardly any water in the mirror pool in front of the temple, so we couldn't get great pictures of it with the reflection in the pool, which are the signature photos taken at this location. But nevertheless, managed to capture a few decent ones!

During Sunrise

During Sunset

Honestly I was a bit disappointed with the Angkor Wat temple maybe because I had huge expectations. So it didnt take my breath away or made me feel like I should come back here again. I was happy to just tick this off my list of places to see. 

Apart from the countless temples to visit, you also have the old market to explore in the heart of the city. There is a night market if you are someone who loves to shop till you drop, like yours truly! There is nothing unique to buy except for some wooden handicrafts and regular clothes and decorative stuff. Cambodia uses USD as their main currency even though they have their local cambodian currency. So all transactions are in USD which means no hassle of exchanging currency. People work really hard there, manage to speak english and are very polite as their economy thrives on tourism. So you will feel at ease while you are travelling there.

There is also a pub street nearby which as the name suggests has loads of pubs and restaurants to tingle your tastebuds. Make sure you don't miss tasting Khmer cuisine, which is the local cuisine of Cambodia. It is mainly non-vegetarian but if you are a fussy vegetarian like me, you can go to this restaurant called Chamkaar near pub street which serves only vegetarian Khmer cuisine. To my surprise, I loved a couple of their dishes! And if you get bored there are many Indian, Italian and Thai restaurants as well to explore.

Apart from the above, you can visit the cultural village on the national highway and a floating village to do some boating and other short trips all of which we skipped simply because of the weather. Instead we chose to indulge and pamper ourselves in the spa with some amazing body massages, head massages and foot reflexology. You have to use your awareness and choose a good place for this to have a nice experience.

Overall it was a good vacation. Will I go back there? May be during winter just to see if the experience would be different. 

Japan Travel Diary: Kamakura & Nikko

This is a continuation from the previous post - click here

 

We kept Tokyo as our base and did day trips on the last 2 days of our journey, to Kamakura and Nikko - which is a UNESCO world heritage site. These 2 cities do have good hotels to stay if you want to explore the place more, but we were quite happy just spending a day each.

 

KAMAKURA

 

The fastest and best way to reach Kamakura is by train. While you are in Japan use the trains everywhere. They are super fast and super easy!! Take the JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo station which takes about 90 mins. If you feel adventurous then get down at Kita Kamakura then you can trek down the next 2 places till you reach The Great Buddha statue, Daibutsu. It may take about 3 hours. While we were there it was raining due to Typhoon, so we chose not to trek and changed over to the Enoden train line to see the Buddha statue. Daibutsu statue has it own charm. You can just sit there and keep looking at the peaceful Buddha and you won't realize how time flies. The energy of the place is very positive, peaceful and serene. If you are going all the way to Tokyo then I highly suggest visiting this statue; energetically it can contribute a lot to your life :)

There are 3 really beautiful Zen temples near Kita Kamakura station (Engakuji, Kenchoji, Tokeiji) and the most important Shinto shrine - Hachimangu shrine and the Hasedera temple near the Buddha statue. These are a must see. Engakuji is right behind the train station and it is surrounded by a canopy of lush green trees as it built on the slopes of the forest trails. The moment we entered the temple it felt like the temperature dropped down by 2 degrees. It is extremely peaceful and truly Zen like (pun intended) inside!




Engakuji Zen Temple Main Gate

 

 

If the weather is good and you love beaches then you can continue your journey all the way to Enoshima on the Enoden train line where there are popular beaches for surfers. But we skipped it due to lack of time and not so favourable weather.

NIKKO

Nikko is a world heritage site which is about 125kms north of Tokyo and can be easily covered in a day trip. Again, the easiest and fastest way to reach is by taking the Asakusa line from Tokyo/Ginza station to Asakusa station. From here, there are hourly rapid trains to Nikko which take about 2 hours. There are also few limited express trains which take only 105 mins, if you want to reach faster.

All of Nikko's shrines and temples are clustered around the Nikko main station. So we just took a bus from the station and got down 10 mins away and explored everything on foot for the next 4-5 hours.
The temples are worth a visit and the carvings and gold colour decorations are extremely intricate and very impressive! It is a treat to the eyes. Some of these temples allow you to go inside the prayer room and there will be a monk to explain the history/culture inside. If you can understand Japanese then you can follow him else you can just admire the beauty inside (like we did) ;-)

If you keep sufficient time (shops usually close by 4pm), then on your way back to the bus stop to go to the train station, you can do a lot of shopping in Nikko. Apart from the usual good luck charms and souvenirs, you get a wide variety of green tea, ceramics, incense sticks, kimonos, antiques and more!

Don't forget to visit this famous red bridge. I have no idea why it is famous or why you need to buy a ticket to walk on it, but nevertheless, when in Rome be a Roman! :)

The temperature in Nikko can be much cooler compared to Tokyo, so make sure you carry some warm clothes if you are on a day trip (lesson learnt from experience!). Nikko also has some traditional Ryokans, Japanese guest houses if you wish to spend a night there but I felt a day was good enough to explore the entire place.

 

Japan Travel Diary: Tokyo

This year has been adventurous in terms of travel. We managed to squeeze in a 2nd vacation to visit the land of the rising Sun. I have been lazy to write the travelogue for the Europe trip and I am positive that I will get to it before this year ends :-)

 

The best time to visit Japan, obviously, is the Cherry Blossom time in April/May. But we missed it, hence chose the 2nd best which is during Autumn season in October. The leaves become colourful while the trees are preparing for winter and it looks vibrant and a gorgeous treat to the eyes. And the best thing is it is still not full blown winter, so it is not too cold; just pleasant and perfect weather!

 

Japan is a huge country and definitely you can't do justice to experiencing it all in 1 or 2 weeks. So for a week's travel we chose Tokyo as our base and visited Mt.Fuji, Hakone, Nikko and Kamakura.

 

Tokyo is the current capital of Japan and interestingly there is no airport in Tokyo. So you have to either land at Narita or Haneda International Airports which are a couple of hours train ride from Tokyo. And considering the super fast trains in Japan, this surely isn't something you would mind :)

 

How to get around?

The best way to get around in Tokyo (or anywhere in Japan for that matter) is by trains. Taxis are way too expensive and we saved it only for occasional use. It does take a while to comprehend the complicated maze of the train map. So make sure you have done your research on how to get to your hotel from the airport, well in advance :) Also if at all you end up in the trains during peak hours then trust me, you will not miss Mumbai!! There is such a huge crowd that when you are walking and you happen to stop for a second or change direction suddenly, someone will bump into you.

 

Where to Stay?

We chose to stay in Tokyo's most upmarket Ginza district which is the shopping centre. So it is no surprise where literally every brand name in fashion and cosmetics can be found here. Ginza is also the most expensive real estate area in Japan. I loved it. It has a very vibrant energy and feel. You just walk out of the hotel and there are loads of restaurants, cafes, shops, bars etc. And every street seems to have an exit to the train station. But prepared to pay a lot for a room that is less than the size of a matchbox! We stayed in the Ginza Nikko Hotel which was way too small than even words can explain but the Courtyard Marriott was at least worth the money.

 

What to do?

Some of the must see things in Tokyo according to me are

 

1. Metropolitan building, on top of which there is an observatory to get a lovely view of Mt.Fuji and the entire Tokyo city skyline

 

 

 

2. The Asakusa temple, has a Shinto shrine and definitely worth a visit

 

 

 

3. Some of the freshest seafood is found right here in Tokyo. So what better way to savour them all than to go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market?. Although certain areas have now been made off limits to tourists due to sanitisation and food safety, you’re allowed to visit after 9am and have the freshest sushi breakfast or lunch at the local restaurants there. If you are keen (and lucky), you may be one of the 120 visitors allowed into the tuna auction area to view the transactions. Supposedly Application can be done at the Osakana Fukyu Center at the Kachidoki Gate, starting from 5:00am on a first-come, first-serve basis.

4. Meiji Shrine /Yoyogi park - the moment you enter, temperature drops by 2-3 degress due to the thick green cover of the trees. The park is very peaceful and the Meiji shrine is 1 or 2 kms walk inside the park.

 

 

 

5. Shop for electronics - visit the Sony showroom in Ginza district and the Yodobashi camera/ Bic camera shops for great deals on electronics. Sony has an international section where the gadgets are tax free and have good promotional offers.

 

6. Roppongi area is one of the popular party areas but you are warned to be careful as you can get mugged there. The recommended club in this area is NEWLEX Edo, 1 3-13-14 Roppongi, Minato-ku, 03-3479-7477, though we did not visit this place. It is also apparently one of the best nightspots to spot international celebrities and models alike.

 

7. Tokyo tower (Skytree) also has some breathtaking views of Tokyo

 

 

 

8.Do Not Miss Shibuya Crossing

It is said to be the world's busiest crossing where all 4 traffic lights go Red at the same time and people cross in all possible directions. As a friend of mine pointed out, for a directionally challenged person this can be the toughest challenge! You definitely should experience this well organized chaos (pun intended)!

 

 

 

And if at all you are a vegetarian like me and end up with least options for food, you can try this really good Indian restaurant called MUMBAI in Ginza, which is few blocks away from the Courtyard Marriott Hotel. They serve absolutely delicious food and trust me it's a treat to your taste buds when all you can get is margarita pizza!

 

 

 

Travelogue: Kuching (Malaysia)

Continuing with my travels, I visited yet another country 2 weeks back. So that makes it 8 countries in 1 year :) The more I travel, the more I seem to enjoy it!


There was a long weekend 2 weeks back and we planned a short 3 day trip to Kuching which is towards the eastern side of Malaysia, in the state of Sarawak. It's probably one of the greenest cities I have seen so far. The entire city is painted GREEN with plants and trees, absolutely anywhere you go. It was truly a visual treat!! There are hardly any high rise buildings, you will find only villas and bungalows through out. So it also has a very spacious vast feeling unlike Singapore where you are surrounded with tall structures everywhere.

Weather wise it was not a great time to visit as it was onset of summer. Being a tropical climate the humidity was very high and it was tough to venture out during the day time. Yet we managed to do a short jungle trek, in one of the nearby islands at Bako National Park. Well, contrary to what we were told that we could see "wild" animals there, the only thing we spotted were monkeys :) It was quite a streneous trek, given the heat and humidity. But the 45 minutes motor boat ride to the island and back was more adventurous for me! Given the fact that I am hydrophobic and it was my first time sitting in such a small boat and going on the sea in such speed, I had my heart in the mouth!

We stayed about half an hour drive away from the city at Peramai Rainforest Resort, in one of their Tree houses. This was again a brand new experience for us! It was amazing to stay among the trees, right next to the beach, in a wooden tree house which would shake everytime you walk inside! The freaky sounds of insects, the mosquitoes, the rains and the noisy waves hitting the shore at night all added to our experience. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Kuching as against staying in the city in a usual hotel. The people in the resort were very friendly and gave a good service. The food was nothing great, especially me being a vegetarian I really had a tough time finding something edible to eat. I am not a big fan of malaysian food either. But I did manage to survive :)

We also visited the city and did some shopping. The Sunday market, which is a tourist attraction was closed by afternoon and we had no idea about it and we missed it. The city seemed to be like a very relaxed and laid back place. Everything shuts down early and there is nothing much to do even as a tourist. It's a good place to visit if you want to just go unwind, be close to nature and relax!