As posted by Helen:
On our last day in Luang Prabang we visited some waterfalls (Kuang Si) some 15 kms. from town. Soooo picturesque!
The waterfalls formed a number of pools in which you could swim. Next to one of these pools was a tree to which was attached a rope and you could swing from this rope to the middle of the pool and jump in. Here's a picture which captures this - the boy in blue is just about ready to let go the rope and jump in. It was fun watching but we couldn't muster the nerve to do this ourselves!!
The next day we took our first flight on VietNam Airlines via a Turbo Prop aircraft, but as nervous as we were (see Ingrid having second thoughts) it turned out well. We arrived safely in Siem Reap and have enjoyed the magic of Angkor as outlined by Ingrid below. We were so impressed with the VietNam Airlines that we have booked our Hanoi to Hong Kong portion with them.
As posted by Ingrid:
Nearly 5 weeks into our journey and we have now visited Angkor, the ancient city that defies any description that could be put into a blog as short as this. The complex of Angkor, the site of the world's largest religious building, is enormous and any superlatives don't do it justice.. Built between 610 and 1295 AD these Hindu and Buddhist temples were built in the Khmer architectural styles of the day of brick, standstone, laterite and wood.
We had orgnized a tuk-tuk from the hotel and explored the temples for three days. Setting out in the dark to experience Angkor Wat at sun rise, we continued on to explore the Central complex with the temples of Bayon, Bapuon, The Elephant Terrace, the Leper King Terrace, Phimeanaka, Preah Palilay, and Preah Pithu. Many of the structures are still in the condition in which they were "found"in the 19th century and with the political turmoil of the last 40 years, restoration supported by Unesco and other international bodies is only now getting slowly under way. At this time, the venues are not yet restricted, visitors are free to clamber over most areas and some sites are so crowded is difficult to find a quiet spot.
On day 2, we visited Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Pre Rup (at sun-set), the Rolos Group consisting of Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei, and the most lovely Banteay Srei. The latter was dedicated to women, its name, which translated means "Citadel Beauty", refers to its small size and the delicacy of its decorations. Often described as the 'Jewel of Khmer Art' is was one of the first structures to be restored in the 1930s by the French.
The representative from Traveler's Insurance:
After climbing on board our tuk-tuk on day three at 7:00 am we saw Kanteay Kdeu, Prasat Kravan, East Mebon, and Bantaey Samre. Each has its own character and lintel styles of increasing complexity and beauty. At the end of the day, with the crowds thinning and the sun turning a dust coloured red, we made a last visit to Angkor Wat, crossed the long over-water approach to its perimeter wall and then the long approach to the main complex and marveled one more time at the majestic beauty of this place.
And more steps:
We have seen century-old trees whose branches entwined the structures and kept them from collapsing, climbed hundreds of steep steps until our thighs streamed with pain, took long tuk-tuk rides (some temples are 20km apart) which made our hair fly and the ever present red dust cling to our skin, clothes, eyes and nostrils. We drank the juice of large fresh coconuts, consumed gallons of beer mixed with bottled water (after all it is 35C+ here) and ate Khmer, Swiss and German dishes. We traveled through acres and acres of parkland interspersed with small lakes and filled with trees we had never seen before, awed by natures beauty and the priviledge of being in a place that was, long before Singapore and Bangkok, the largest city in the world.
Cambodia, which did not recover from the Pol Pot years until his death in 1998 is a place feverishly determined to catch up. Siem Reap the town closest to Angkor Wat, is a hopping mixture of commercial activity, building boom, hyper tourism and its ugly underbelly (Pub Street), souvenir stalls, night markets and street kitchens. It is building new roads to ring the city where only a few farming villages now exist.
Light years away from the laid-back style of Luang Prabang, we nevertheless feel quite safe here. Although LP offered a lot of rock climbing, hiking, high speed boating and off-road biking, the town had no doctor with a medical degree, no ambulance - no help whatsoever in case of injury. Lulled by the town's sleepiness many a visitor is tempted to try motorcycling for the first time, only to find himself being flown to Bangkok on an emergency basis. Here in Siem Reap hospitals abound and at least one is affiliated with a large hospital in Bangkok.
It looks like everybody wants to learn English. Monks and high school students approach us and ask to converse. Cambodians have large families (8-10 children) and even though there are many primary and secondary schools spilling out little ones with pressed blue and white uniforms in the early afternoon, higher education is expensive, particularly for those living in outside villages. One third of the population lives on less than 1$ a day.
We see many people with missing limbs, the result of unexploded landmines, a large percentage of which still has to be deactivated. We have visited a number of museums showing the effect of land mining and carpet bombing during the 1970s - very sad.
Of course, we drown our sorrows in the evening with a large cool one...........or two. We also celebrate having survived another tuk-tuk ride in this chaotic traffic crazy city.........we are doing great and miss you only..........a little!!!!!
On our last day in Luang Prabang we visited some waterfalls (Kuang Si) some 15 kms. from town. Soooo picturesque!
The waterfalls formed a number of pools in which you could swim. Next to one of these pools was a tree to which was attached a rope and you could swing from this rope to the middle of the pool and jump in. Here's a picture which captures this - the boy in blue is just about ready to let go the rope and jump in. It was fun watching but we couldn't muster the nerve to do this ourselves!!
The next day we took our first flight on VietNam Airlines via a Turbo Prop aircraft, but as nervous as we were (see Ingrid having second thoughts) it turned out well. We arrived safely in Siem Reap and have enjoyed the magic of Angkor as outlined by Ingrid below. We were so impressed with the VietNam Airlines that we have booked our Hanoi to Hong Kong portion with them.
As posted by Ingrid:
Nearly 5 weeks into our journey and we have now visited Angkor, the ancient city that defies any description that could be put into a blog as short as this. The complex of Angkor, the site of the world's largest religious building, is enormous and any superlatives don't do it justice.. Built between 610 and 1295 AD these Hindu and Buddhist temples were built in the Khmer architectural styles of the day of brick, standstone, laterite and wood.
We had orgnized a tuk-tuk from the hotel and explored the temples for three days. Setting out in the dark to experience Angkor Wat at sun rise, we continued on to explore the Central complex with the temples of Bayon, Bapuon, The Elephant Terrace, the Leper King Terrace, Phimeanaka, Preah Palilay, and Preah Pithu. Many of the structures are still in the condition in which they were "found"in the 19th century and with the political turmoil of the last 40 years, restoration supported by Unesco and other international bodies is only now getting slowly under way. At this time, the venues are not yet restricted, visitors are free to clamber over most areas and some sites are so crowded is difficult to find a quiet spot.
On day 2, we visited Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Pre Rup (at sun-set), the Rolos Group consisting of Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei, and the most lovely Banteay Srei. The latter was dedicated to women, its name, which translated means "Citadel Beauty", refers to its small size and the delicacy of its decorations. Often described as the 'Jewel of Khmer Art' is was one of the first structures to be restored in the 1930s by the French.
The representative from Traveler's Insurance:
After climbing on board our tuk-tuk on day three at 7:00 am we saw Kanteay Kdeu, Prasat Kravan, East Mebon, and Bantaey Samre. Each has its own character and lintel styles of increasing complexity and beauty. At the end of the day, with the crowds thinning and the sun turning a dust coloured red, we made a last visit to Angkor Wat, crossed the long over-water approach to its perimeter wall and then the long approach to the main complex and marveled one more time at the majestic beauty of this place.
We have seen century-old trees whose branches entwined the structures and kept them from collapsing, climbed hundreds of steep steps until our thighs streamed with pain, took long tuk-tuk rides (some temples are 20km apart) which made our hair fly and the ever present red dust cling to our skin, clothes, eyes and nostrils. We drank the juice of large fresh coconuts, consumed gallons of beer mixed with bottled water (after all it is 35C+ here) and ate Khmer, Swiss and German dishes. We traveled through acres and acres of parkland interspersed with small lakes and filled with trees we had never seen before, awed by natures beauty and the priviledge of being in a place that was, long before Singapore and Bangkok, the largest city in the world.
Cambodian Mama:
Cambodia, which did not recover from the Pol Pot years until his death in 1998 is a place feverishly determined to catch up. Siem Reap the town closest to Angkor Wat, is a hopping mixture of commercial activity, building boom, hyper tourism and its ugly underbelly (Pub Street), souvenir stalls, night markets and street kitchens. It is building new roads to ring the city where only a few farming villages now exist.
Light years away from the laid-back style of Luang Prabang, we nevertheless feel quite safe here. Although LP offered a lot of rock climbing, hiking, high speed boating and off-road biking, the town had no doctor with a medical degree, no ambulance - no help whatsoever in case of injury. Lulled by the town's sleepiness many a visitor is tempted to try motorcycling for the first time, only to find himself being flown to Bangkok on an emergency basis. Here in Siem Reap hospitals abound and at least one is affiliated with a large hospital in Bangkok.
It looks like everybody wants to learn English. Monks and high school students approach us and ask to converse. Cambodians have large families (8-10 children) and even though there are many primary and secondary schools spilling out little ones with pressed blue and white uniforms in the early afternoon, higher education is expensive, particularly for those living in outside villages. One third of the population lives on less than 1$ a day.
We see many people with missing limbs, the result of unexploded landmines, a large percentage of which still has to be deactivated. We have visited a number of museums showing the effect of land mining and carpet bombing during the 1970s - very sad.
Of course, we drown our sorrows in the evening with a large cool one...........or two. We also celebrate having survived another tuk-tuk ride in this chaotic traffic crazy city.........we are doing great and miss you only..........a little!!!!!
I cannot believe it is five weeks already! You sound as if you are having the trip of a lifetime and I love all the information you are posting on this blog. One question-what is a tuk-tuk?
ReplyDeleteSnowing again here, aren't you glad you are missing it?
Good to see you are becoming seasoned travellers and
ReplyDeletenow qualify as excellent photographers and travel writers too.
Hope everything continues to meet expectations. It is great to share in the experience vicariously.
As the writer above mentioned, snow is in the forecast again,
but at least the temperature is mild - just above freezing.
Think of that as you swelter!
In the meantime, some of us keep the local food and booze stores in business in between tennis and bridge! Look forward to more of your colourful accounts.