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The Bungalow Heritage Homestay
Wednesday, 1 October 2014
Friday, 19 September 2014
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Cambodia…….Land of Angkor Wat.
If
anyone asks me, one reason for visiting Cambodia…..its nothing but the world
famous temples (Wat means temple in Khmer) of Angkor, erstwhile Capital of
Khmer Empire. Its once in a lifetime experience to visit Angkor Wat.
It was the greatest Hindu temple complex cum capital of the world. In 12th century,
at the height of its rule, Angkor was a capital city which was spread out to an
area of about 45 Square Km and with a population of more than a million!
Biggest cosmopolitan city in the world, at that time London was slightly bigger
than a village with a population of less than 50,000!! Just imagine the
size & the majesty of this city during the 10th to
14th century. How could I explain that Majesty of Angkor Wat in a
better way; Epic of the proportion of Great wall of China, intricacy of Taj
Mahal and symmetry & symbolism of Pyramids; all these rolled into one would
be called Angkor Wat !! I think that’s enough for introduction, I will be
explaining it in details with photos, when we reach Angkor in my tour
diary.
While
going through below please note that time imprinted on
photos are Indian Standard Time (UTC+ 5.5 Hr). So add 1.5 hr to get
Cambodian local time. On the other hand, time mentioned in my writing are local
time of the corresponding place.
07th Apr
2014, Kochi –Kuala Lumpur:
Departed from The Bungalow at 2030Hrs and reached Kochi International Airport
at 2115Hrs. Immigration was smooth. Our flight took off right on time.
08th Apr 2014, Kuala Lumpur – Kampot:
Olivia @ Phnom Penh International Airport. |
Dinner @ our hotel. |
09th Apr 2014, Kampot:
Today we had our first hand experience of Kampot. Our hotel was facing the river
and it was really good to have breakfast on the first floor over looking the
river. Then we started exploring the French town of Kampot. It must had been a good small town with well laid roads and French colonial buildings. Most were
deserted and some destroyed during the infamous Khmer Rouge regime. After Khmer
Rouge those heritage buildings are renovated into heritage hotels and
restaurants. One of the best French building I found was the Old French
Governor’s Mansion. Morning was hot and humid but evening was really pleasant; footpaths
with chairs & tables laid out for dinner. We tried lunch at a place called
Capt. Chim’s and Dinner at Mira’s Home
cooking.
Though Capt. Chim’s restaurant
was recommended on Lonely Planet but we found that Mira’s food was much better
than Capt. Chims.
Durian roundabout @ Kampot. Durian is the National Fruit of Cambodia. |
French Heritage Buildings. |
French Governor's Mansion @ Kampot. |
View from our Hotel Restaurant. I am the one crossing the road! |
10th Apr
2014, Kampot:
Today was our second day so we decided to take it easy at Kampot.
11th Apr
2014, Kampot - Phnom Penh:
Morning we had a quick breakfast and departed from Kampot by Giant Ibis
bus. They provided a complimentary pick up from our hotel which was indeed
good. We started off by 0820Hrs on their
bus to their office at Kampot and by 0835Hrs we departed from Kampot.
Giant Ibis mini bus. |
By
1130 Hrs we were at Phnom Penh. Took a Remork (Tuck-Tuck) to our hotel in Phnom Penh.. As
Khmer New Year was fast approaching, all Museums and markets would be closed
from 13th Apr evening for 3 days, hence we had to plan our time efficiently; we
were left with only 2 1/2 days to cover Phnom Penh.
After
checking in we headed straight to the Central Market (Psar Thmei). Built by
French, its one of the world’s 10th largest markets with Babylonian ziggurat.
Under the dome of Psar Thmei, Jewellery section can be seen. |
Selling Insects, a Cambodian delicacy! |
Dry Fish section of Psar Thmei! |
After shopping we took Remork in order to visit The Royal Palace but it was
closed till next afternoon as King & Queen were performing Prayer Ceremony
for the preparation of their coming Khmer New Year. After walking around the Palace
compound we walked back to the hotel. After taking some
rest we made our way to the waterfront area in order to enjoy the beauty of Palace from the river
with lights on. We were able to see the waterfront decorated with flags from different countries.
View of Palace from outside. |
Flags of different countries along the walkway, opposite side of Palace. |
12th Apr
2014, Phnom Penh:
Today
morning after breakfast we took a Remork and proceeded to see S-21 Genocide Museum.
It was a sober experience but a part of recent Cambodian History. Khmer Rouge
after taking over the country, opened high security prison all over Cambodia.
In 1975 Toul Savy Prey High School in the heart of Phnom Penh was converted
into a Security Prison and it was numbered as 21. In short it was called S-21. After the liberation
from Khmer Rouge this prison was turned into a museum for the world to know the
atrocities done by the Khmer Rouge.
S-21 Museum. |
Class rooms turned into prison cells by Khmer Rouge. |
Another modification of class rooms to Prison Cells. |
Before going into detail let me give you a short touch on Khmer Rouge. So that you will be able to understand the fall of Cambodia from the heavens of Angkor classic culture to the hell of Khmer Rouge!
Pol
Pot, educated in Paris was the head of the Khmer Rouge, who with the help of
Chinese communist government conquered Cambodia. After the independence from
French, the country was totally corrupt and the people were unhappy. Khmer
Rouge revolution was welcomed by the Cambodians but after getting power, they
started changing into a brutal system. Initially they killed their enemies and
then started purging their own. Comrades became enemies and a system evolved
where nobody could be trusted. Families were uprooted and shifted. People who
were unproductive to the society were killed immediately; they felt it was a
waste to feed them. Phnom Penh became a ghost city. If Vietnam had not invaded
in 1978, I believe, the entire population of Cambodia would have been “purged”.
Vietnam Army buried the dead bodies from S-21 here. |
Khmer
Rouge were like Nazis, good at keeping records. Each prisoner was photographed
from front and side. In Prison S-21, a museum now, we could see the photography
room, each classroom was subdivided into prison cells on ground floor and mass
prison cells on the top two floors. Interrogation rooms and torturing equipment are
also displayed. After interrogation, if sentenced for death, then they were
taken to the killing field which was about 16kms outside Phnom Penh city
and executed. Bullets were precious and not to be wasted, so they were killed
either by hitting on their head or by slitting their neck. When army of Vietnam
approached; Khmer Rouge killed most of the prisoners and there were only 7 survivors, out of these only 2 are alive now. Bodies which they found were buried by Vietnamese at the S-21 ground.
Chum May with his book. |
One
among the seven was a gifted artist and he painted the torturing so vividly
and were displayed in the museum. Also, we were lucky to see one of the survivor named Chum
May over there.
With Guide. |
Royal Palace of Phnom
Penh resembles that of Bangkok. Royal family shifted their seat from Angkor
after the attack by Siam (Thai) to south and ultimately settled at Phnom Penh.
Phnom in Khmer means hill. Later we took a tour of
Royal Palace, which is facing the Mekong River and next to it in the same compound is the famous Silver Pagoda. It’s the pagoda of the Royals and here the floors are with pure silver tiles each
weighing 1kg. Photography was not allowed inside but still I think the exterior photos which I have taken will speak much better than I can.
Royal Palace, Coronation Hall. |
Today
we went to visit the famous Wats (temples) of the city. Wat Ounalom and
Wat Phnom. Its from Wat Phnom the city derived its name. In 14th century
while capital was still at Angkor, A wealthy lady named Penh got a statue of
Buddha from the Mekong river and she enshrined it at the hill near by. The
shrine became popular and the hill (Phnom) came to be known as Hill of Penh or
Phnom Penh. When Royal seat shifted here, the city developed around this
hill and it got the name of the hill, as Phnom Penh!
Khmer New year at our Hotel; note the red coke cans. |
It was Khmer New year day starting from today for the next 3 days. In fact Khmer New
Year day always match with Kerala’s Vishu Festival. Today Phnom Penh was like a dead city,
so it was nice to walk around the city leisurely. Early morning walk was great, but by 11
o’clock clouds started building up and very soon ……it was down pour. We got into the near by Royal boat jetty right opposite to the palace and when the rain stopped we moved on.....
15th Apr 2014, Phnom Penh – Battambang:
Today early morning at 0545Hrs we left the hotel in order to reach in time at the bus station of Cat Mekong Express. Boarded the bus by 0615Hrs.
VIP mini bus of Cat Mekong Express. |
It was a Mini bus, what they call as VIP bus. Seats were good and
excellent WiFi connection was available on bus. We reached Battambang by 1115Hrs . A free pick up was arranged by our hotel, so our driver was there waiting for us. It was again a Good hotel facing the Sangker River.
Afternoon we took some rest. Evening was pleasant so we walked to the
former French Governor’s Palace. Had dinner and came back.
16th Apr
2014, Battambang:
Today
we went to visit Battambang. All most all sights can be seen on foot. First we
went to the Old Railway station, where time still stands 0802Hrs. It was built
by French now totally non-functional after Khmer Rouge regime. It was said that renewing work will begin soon. French laid grid system of road on either
sides of Sangker River. Battambang along with Siem Reap was under Thai’s control
when French arrived. French forced Thais to give back these area to French as
part of their Indochina colony. Thus Battambang (and Siem Reap & Angkor)
came back to Cambodia after almost 200years of Thai rule. In fact the French
Governor’s Palace was Thai Governor’s palace when French took over Battambang.
Palace was built by an Italian Architect for the last Thai Governor.
View of Battambang French Heritage Town & Sangker River from our hotel. |
Buddhist Pagoda, note the Samudra Manthan (Palazhi Manthan) Bass-relief on top of red compound wall. |
Thai / French Governor's Palace. |
Battambang Railroad station. Note the time on the clock. |
17th Apr
2014, Battambang:
Bamboo train journey is one of the highlights of Battambang and it was our wish to go for a ride in it. We made all arrangements with a Remork ( Tuck-Tuck ) driver the day before and today morning after
breakfast we went to see the Bamboo Train. As the railway system became
dysfunctional, Cambodians found an innovative system to carry cargo on rail.
About 3.7km south of Battambang to O Sra Lav along the misaligned bumpy rail
lines left by French, Khmers tied 3m long Bamboos to form a pontoon on wheel
which will be driven along the rail by 6BHP Gasoline engine. They carry
everything from people to cargo on it. Soon it became a tourist attraction.
So we went to explore, it was an hour ride on a“Bamboo Train”…… Khmers call it as “norry” a derivative
of lorry. It was a ride for about 7kms
one way. The drive started from an abandoned station to the next one. There was a stop for about
10minutes to cool the “engine”and later we returned back to the starting point .
The renovation of Railway line will take away this system. Another funny
thing about this "norry" is that ; when two Norries comes in face to face then the one with less
people/cargo will be taken out of rail and the other with more
people and cargo gets the chance to move on...... This is the rule of the road (or rail) for bamboo trains and it has been loyally
followed. The ride is indeed a funny and interesting experience .
Bamboo Train!!! |
It's Good Friday.
Morning after breakfast we went to the Capitol Bus company office to buy our bus
tickets to Siem Reap. Afternoon we went to church for the Good Friday Service, as Way of the Cross and the service was in Khmer so we were not able to follow still we found it interesting.
19th Apr
2014, Battambang – Siem Reap:
Way of the cross on Good Friday. |
With priests from England. |
Today morning after
breakfast we checked out of our hotel at 0900Hrs, took Remork (Tuck-Tuck) to bus station of
Capitol Bus company. Bus departed at 1000Hrs and we reached Siem Reap at
1415Hrs. Siem Reap would be our base for exploring Angkor.
Capitol Bus from Battambang to Siem Reap. |
Siem Reap in Khmer means, "Siem Defeated". Siem means "Thais" (Siamese), so the city name is "Thais defeated" !!! It will be like naming Kargil as Pakistan Defeated. How funny
that name would be. So is Siem Reap. This is the place where Khmer fought and
defeated Thais; irony is that ultimately Thais defeated Khmers and Angkor (and
most of Northwestern Cambodia) was under them for almost 200 years till French
took it back and added it to French Cambodia (Indochina).
20th Apr
2014, Siem Reap/ Angkor:
Angkor, including the
famous Angkor Wat, is indeed worth a visit in our lifetime. Angkor was the
capital of Cambodia and from 7th Century when the construction of
these temple city started, it was the reign of King Jayavarman II (802-50). He
unified Cambodia, proclaimed himself as Devaraja (God King), as god represented
on earth. His initial capital was nearby a place called Hariharayala (now called
Rolous). He started the construction of Hindu Temples and city itself is in form
of mount Meru, the abode of Lord Shiva. Angkor Wat the most famous of them is
surrounded by a big moat, representing Ocean. The entrance to it is having
rainbow bridges which is symbolized by seven headed Nagas; through which man
can reach abode of Gods. Once inside generally there will be 3 layers (stories)
and the stairs to each level is steep. 3rd level represent mount Meru,
the abode of God. Depending on the favorite deity of the King. Earlier there
were statues of Shiva or Vishnu at 3rd the top most level.
Later in 12th Century when King Jayavarman VII converted to
Buddhism, Vishnu & Shiva statues were changed to Buddha statues.
In 12th
century, at the height of its rule, Angkor was a capital city which was spread
out to an area of about 45 Square Km and with a population of more than a
million. It was the biggest cosmopolitan city in the world, at that time London was
slightly bigger than a village with a population of less than 50,000!! Stone structure were only for the abode of Gods and all others including palaces of Kings were made in wood, those were decayed long ago. Only temple complexes remained after the city was abandoned,
mainly because of the attacks from Thais and also because of the lack of water to sustain
such huge population. Capital was shifted to south till it settled at Phnom Penh.
Angkor, once a Glorious
city was forgotten in the 14th Century. In 1860, French explorer Henry
Mouhot accidently ‘discovered’ Angkor which was hidden in the forest; it later became an
international sensation.
Tourists started flowing since late 19th Century,
it continued till 1970s when Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia. Opened to the
world again in late 1990s.
A minimum of 3 days is required to glance through complete Angkor, and it's the main reason for our visit to this country. So as and when we were planning our trip we fixed up with one of the Remork driver for our pick up from the bus station, drop at the Airport and of course for a 3 day tour with him.
Today morning as discussed he was there waiting for us at the hotel and we made our way to explore our life time dream. Reached there safely , went on to buy tickets. Tickets were issued with photos for a day, week and so on....We took a 3 day pass, it was USD 40 / Person and on each day they punch the pass before our entrance. Today we went to see
Angkor Wat, near by city called Angkor Thom and the surrounding temple complexes
like Ta Prohm ( famous in Angelina Jolie’s movie called Tomb rider). In 12th
Century Angkor Wat was ransacked by Chams, after the initial set backs of King
Jayavarman VII who threw Chams back. This surprise attack made Jayavarman VII to
think about making another New City which will be extremely difficult for the enemies to conquer. Later next to Angkor Wat there formed a new city called Ankor
Thom. Walled city of Angkor Thom itself is 10 SqKm.
I think my description of
Angkor will not do any justice, so let the photos speak.
Photos of Angkor Wat:
Entrance to Angkor Wat. |
Majestic Angkor Wat! |
With Buddhist Monks @ Angkor Wat. |
Bass-relief of Battle of Kurukshetra @ Angkor Wat. |
@ Angkor Wat with my Husband. |
Olivai @ ANgkor Wat. |
Entrance to Baphoun. |
Baphoun Temple @ Angkor Thom. |
Bayon Temple @ Angkor Thom. |
Face of Avalokiteshvara @ Bayon Temple. |
Sa Srang Lake, man made lake for the ablution of Kings. |
Angelina Jolie's Tomb rider fame Ta Prohm Temple, see the tree grown on Temple. |
Archaeological Survey of India's Restoration of Ta Prohm. |
Today we went for the tour of the Bigger Circle, which covered the outer laying Temples. I think you all can go into detail through these photographs rather than my write up.
Ta Som temple entrance, Tree again! |
Neak Poan temple, at the middle of the lake. |
Prasat Kravan Temple, Construction early 10th Century. |
Vishnu Carving @ Prasat Kravan Temple. |
Pre Rup Temple built by King Rajendravarman in early 10th Century. Almost 100 years prior to the construction of Brihadeshwara Temple at Tanjavore in Tamilnadu, India. |
I am Climbing down the stairs @ Pre Rup!!! |
Evening we were invited to the house of
our Remork ( Tuck-Tuck ) driver Lim Kimhean. As
a sailors wife I have traveled far and wide and even visited many
families in different countries, so we were happy to take his invitation. Thus
Lim's invitation gave us our first
hand experience of a Khmer family.
22nd Apr 2014, Angkor:
Today we went to see
War Museum, which includes weapons caught from Khmer Rouge including Tanks,
Fighter Planes, Helicopter, Mines, Guns etc. It was worth a visit, here the Visitors were allowed even to touch and feel these weapons so for the first time in our life we too went ahead and felt it.
After war museum we went to see the Floating villages at Kompong Phulk. It was in Tonle Sap lake. This is a special lake, I mean special because during rainy season water will flow into the lake and the level of water rises by 7m and the lake then will cover an area of 3200 Sq km. After rainy season water starts flowing out into rivers. This is only one of its type of ecosystem in the world, where water flows in two directions in two seasons! As we went in dry summer season of April water level was low and the village houses, made of wood and on bamboo polls were 7 m above the water level! During rainy season water level rises and comes in line with their floor!!! There were even restaurants, houses and fish farms which floats in water.
Hi....its me!!! |
Olivia on Anti-aircraft Gun. |
Wow!!! |
After war museum we went to see the Floating villages at Kompong Phulk. It was in Tonle Sap lake. This is a special lake, I mean special because during rainy season water will flow into the lake and the level of water rises by 7m and the lake then will cover an area of 3200 Sq km. After rainy season water starts flowing out into rivers. This is only one of its type of ecosystem in the world, where water flows in two directions in two seasons! As we went in dry summer season of April water level was low and the village houses, made of wood and on bamboo polls were 7 m above the water level! During rainy season water level rises and comes in line with their floor!!! There were even restaurants, houses and fish farms which floats in water.
Tonle Sap Lake houses. Water will rise upto the floor of these houses during Monsoon. |
Floating houses of Tonle Sap. |
That was the end of our 3day Angkor visit. Tomorrow we
will be exploring Siem Reap our own.
Before I end on Angkor, I would like to thank Mr. Lim Kimhean, our tuck-tuck driver who was extremely good and helpful in arranging our tour of Angkor and the floating village. When we started planning Angkor as I had mentioned before, I started exploring Tripadvisor to select a reliable tuck-tuck driver who had some knowledge of Khmer History as well. I stumbled upon Kim and it was good we selected him. Normally on my blog, I would not like to name people but he was so humble, honest, helpful and full of information of Khmer History; so I would strongly recommend Lim Kimhean to any one visiting Siem Reap/ Angkor and you will not regret.
Before I end on Angkor, I would like to thank Mr. Lim Kimhean, our tuck-tuck driver who was extremely good and helpful in arranging our tour of Angkor and the floating village. When we started planning Angkor as I had mentioned before, I started exploring Tripadvisor to select a reliable tuck-tuck driver who had some knowledge of Khmer History as well. I stumbled upon Kim and it was good we selected him. Normally on my blog, I would not like to name people but he was so humble, honest, helpful and full of information of Khmer History; so I would strongly recommend Lim Kimhean to any one visiting Siem Reap/ Angkor and you will not regret.
Kim and his Remork (Tuck-Tuck). |
23rd Apr
2014, Siem Reap:
Today we spent our day
exploring Siem Reap. Walked upto the Royal Residence, walking leisurely along
the river was great. It was our last day in Cambodia, so we did some shopping as well, you all know that Ladies are fond of shopping and so do I ... it's nothing but Souvenirs and tiny catching things ....
24th Apr 2014, Seim Reap – Kuala Lumpur – Melaka:
Town of Siem Reap. |
Pub Street of Siem Reap at night. |
24th Apr 2014, Seim Reap – Kuala Lumpur – Melaka:
Today morning at
0600hrs had a quick breakfast and checked out at 0615Hrs. Our Tuck-tuck driver
Kim drove us to Siem Reap International Airport and we said bye to Kim and to Cambodia.... There wasn’t much crowd, all
formalities finished quickly.
Flight departed on time at 0830Hrs and arrived at Kuala Lumpur at 1130Hrs. Took Transansional bus from LCCT to Melaka, by 1530Hrs we were at hotel in Melaka.
25th & 26th Apr 2014, Melaka:
Melaka has some heritage attraction to us like other Heritage towns like Fort Kochi, French Quarter of Pondicherry, Latin Quarter (La Fontainhas) of Goa. I am not going to explain much about Melaka as its already explained in my last Travel Diary about Malaysia. In short I would like to say that we really enjoyed our stay, a Good relaxation after the Angkor Tour...
27th Apr 2014, Melaka – Kochi:
Today we departed from Melaka; caught 1500Hrs Transnasional Bus from Melaka Sentral to LCCT. By 1730hrs we were at LCCT of Kuala Lumpur airport…….saying bye to this trip of ours. A special heartfelt thanks to our Lord Jesus for keeping us safe, sound and guiding us throughout this tour too.
and the Award goes to.....
Siem Reap International Airport. Statue is the same from Neak Poan Temple. |
Flight departed on time at 0830Hrs and arrived at Kuala Lumpur at 1130Hrs. Took Transansional bus from LCCT to Melaka, by 1530Hrs we were at hotel in Melaka.
25th & 26th Apr 2014, Melaka:
Melaka has some heritage attraction to us like other Heritage towns like Fort Kochi, French Quarter of Pondicherry, Latin Quarter (La Fontainhas) of Goa. I am not going to explain much about Melaka as its already explained in my last Travel Diary about Malaysia. In short I would like to say that we really enjoyed our stay, a Good relaxation after the Angkor Tour...
27th Apr 2014, Melaka – Kochi:
Today we departed from Melaka; caught 1500Hrs Transnasional Bus from Melaka Sentral to LCCT. By 1730hrs we were at LCCT of Kuala Lumpur airport…….saying bye to this trip of ours. A special heartfelt thanks to our Lord Jesus for keeping us safe, sound and guiding us throughout this tour too.
Before
I end my blog, following are a few selected interesting photos I would like to share:
Hammock is a common sight at Cambodia.Even,Cab drivers park their car near trees, tie hammock and take a nap....
Carrying Pigs. |
What is the Cargo???? |
More than he could carry!!!! |
Its not soft drinks....guess what.....Gasoline! |
Hammock is a common sight at Cambodia.Even,Cab drivers park their car near trees, tie hammock and take a nap....
and the Award goes to.....
While
we were walking along the riverfront at Kampot....I saw this. Initially I
didn't understand what it was...when I looked across the road to the opposite
side, there was "Kampot Provincial Hospital". Then the picture became
clear....a patient and his helper, took the drip along with the stand...crossed
the road, came and sat at riverfront promenade...to see the sunset and have a
good breeze. "Open" hospital I guess!!!
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