Selina and family boating along beautiful Halong Bay, Vietnam

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Ha Long Bay is one of the world's top sites and sights, competing with Ankor Wat of Cambodia as the public's favourite place in polls. Ankor Wat is walking and man-made. Ha Long bay is natural scenery, lots of sitting, on the car, taxi or coach to get there, on the launch out to your overnight cruise ship, clamber onto the boat, and more sitting as you sail - or rather row your canoe or share a boat, admiring the natural scenery and greenery covering the rocky outcrops reflected in the water.

Look carefully at this picture and you will see: 

the tree-covered slopes, 

the triple deck cruise ship far right, 

in the centre background a man standing, rowing, several more, small, boats. 

Everybody is wearing the provided life jackets.

It is ideal for a honeymoon, wedding anniversary, birthday, family holiday, or any break. 

Travel Information

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The Cost Of Seeing Ankor Wat and Cambodian Temples

Our tuk tuk and one of several temples you see with your combined ticket. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
From mid-September 2017 the price for entry to Ankor Wat (and other temples - all on the same pass) will increase. The price goes up for a three day pass for two people from the current £66 to £96. How could you economise?

It cost us £66 for a three day pass for two people. Now it would cost £96. Plus the cost of your driver for three days. (Plus accommodation, lunch food and drink, flights, dinner and dance show or theatre in the evening. Plus flights.)

A lot of people will now get up at dawn and try to cram several temples into one day. Exhausting. So they will spend less on hotels.

Free For Locals
Our driver stayed outside, guarding his tuk-tuk. He told us that he did not have to pay to enter the temple. I thought at the time it was because he was a driver, escorting visitors. However, it turns out that locals do not have to pay to visit the temples.

I was shocked by the high prices which we had to pay in a country where everything else is so cheap, before I heard that prices are due to rise even higher. My understanding is that the temple ticketing is run by Chinese business investors. I suspect they are doing a good and efficient job. I was certainly impressed with the clothing on sale, which I was told was organised by the Chinese and possibly made in China.

Later in the year I went hiking in Romania, where the newer roads have been financed by EU money. However, Romanian hiking trails had great sign boards on local animals and plants, but no toilets!

So, to reduce costs in visiting Cambodian temples, go now. Or budget carefully for this large expense. You will notice that all the tours say 'entrance to the temples costs extra'. Now you know that it's not a little extra but a lot extra. Or cram in more temples in a day.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.  I have several posts on Cambodia and Ankor Wat and Romania. Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Tuk tuk, trishaw or rickshaw, which do I want and does it matter? by Angela Lansbury

Problem With Rickshaw Terminology

I can't tell the difference between a rickshaw and trishaw and a tuk tuk.

Answer About Rickshaws

A technically minded friend tells me:

Rickshaws In Singapore

A rickshaw - the forerunner of the others was pulled by hand.

Usually one man, who could only pull a cart containing one man. An unskilled job, in the early days of Singapore, extremely hard labour.

Horse Power UK

In the UK the rich would have a horse, or a horse and a cart for business, or a pony and trap. Very rich, two horses and a permanent driver. A stage coach would have two or four horses, room for two or four passengers, and driver at the front, and space for luggage.

The horses would race over the ruts and be exhausted. So at the stages or stage posts, the horses, as well as driver and passengers, would stop for water and food and a rest. If passengers did not stop overnight, but were in a hurry, the carriage continued the journey. You would take another set of horses to go back and forth over their section of the road.

A trishaw - was a seated cart pulled by a bicycle. Does it have three wheels? Actually, it often has two under the passengers and the bike has two, so that makes four.

Tuk Tuks - in Cambodia

A tuk tuk is motorised, like a motorbike with a passenger cart, which we enjoyed in Cambodia. In Siem Reap the tuk tuks are the cheap form of transport as there are no buses in Siem Reap. It is the second city - but most popular for tourism - being a half-hour tuk tuk ride from the city to Ankor Wat. Buses run from one town to another but not within Siem Reap.

As you see from my picture, our driver wears a helmet because he is using a motorcycle, quite fast. The tuk tuks weave in and out of traffic, do U turns, cut across oncoming lanes to turn left

Auto rickshaw - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_rickshaw
An auto rickshaw (in India) or rickshaw (in Pakistan), also known as a baby taxi (in Bangladesh) .... Tuk-tuks, introduced in Durban in the late 1980s enjoyed growing popularity in recent years, particularly in Gauteng.

Tips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickshaw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickshaws_in_the_United_States

For more about travel to Ankor Wat and temples and what to see and do in Cambodia see previous posts.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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How To Get Lost and Found In Cambodian Temples

Problem
"People get lost all the time in temples," the guides told us in Cambodia, several different guides, several times.

Answers
Before we drove off to Ankor Wat, our tuk-tuk driver showed us his name on the side of his tuk-tuk. He asked us two write it down. We photographed his name, his face, his tuk-tuk.

He asked if we had a local phone. "No, because we have roaming on our phones."

He gave us his number. We tested by trying to ring each other. No result.

After some delay he worked out the code for Cambodia. We needed the country code for our Singaporean or British mobile phones.

The advantage of a local phone is that a local person could afford to phone us. He or she would not have to wonder which foreign country's dialling code was needed.

He told us that any tuk-tuk driver would make a local call to another tuk-tuk driver to tell him where his lost passengers (foreign tourists ) were waiting.

I had taken the hotel's address cards and advertising leaflet so that if all else failed I could get back to the hotel. Naturally I needed local money in case I ever get lost and needed to take a tuk-tuk back.

Lost Tuk-Tuk In Ankor Wat
Ankor Wat (wat is temple) where many people start is a relatively straight forward route. You go into the area across a long bridge. You walk to the centre.

In the centre there's a tower to climb. If you don't all want to climb, the non-climbers wait at the base.

Afterwards you could walk around the outside looking at murals not he outside walls. If you keep to gather, that's all on the flat, no problem. Then you walk around and retrace your steps across the bridge.

Lost Tuk-Tuk
You do need to know whether your tok-tuk is waiting in the car park on the right or left or down the road ahead.When we returned the area had grown crowded. The landmarks had changed, more shops and kiosks selling clothes and food. More car parks had been opened. We phoned our tuk-tuk driver. He asked, "Where are you?"

We hadn't a clue. We were near the north, east, west or south gate, in one of three roads through fields converging on the bridge, near one of a dozen restaurants with names in Cambodian letters.

We called another tuk-tuk driver to explain to ours where we were. "We are near a French restaurant," we said.

Next day was more of a challenge. I was seriously lost.

Lost in Bayon in the centre of the Ankor Thom complex
The word Thom means big. Here is the wonderful complex with the heads overhead, half smiling down on you, like sphinxes.

Take a few photos. Walk through the first entrance. Then you come to a seriously steep staircase. Somewhere between twenty and fifty steps up. Very steep. Hard to hold onto the balustrade which is burning hot.

I was starting to feel panic-stricken. The previous day I had fallen in the street over the edge of the road which had a steep curve. At the top I need a rest. I step into a shady spot. My travelling companion says he will go on. I shout, "Come back here shortly!"

After half an hour, he has not returned. The whole place is a one way system. Lots of photo opportunities on a level (no level but many rounded stones and short flights of three steps through arches). However, at the far side, there's another steep staircase. You can't walk down forwards. You need to cling on and go down sideways or backwards. I don't know how many more of these staircases are ahead. I am going back.

Returning to the original staircase, I find it is one way. A sign says no entry and the staircase is filled with people coming up.

More later!

Guide book prices in Cambodia

Problem
We paid thirteen dollars for a guide book to the temples. We were late offered the same guide book for one dollar.

I told an American about this. He replied, "My attitude is, if I am having a good time, apart from that, I won't let it spoil my holiday".

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Ankor Wat, Cambodia - highlight of the year

The outline of Cambodia's famous tourist attraction, Ankor Wat, is depicted on the flat.

Problem
How do you get to see Ankor Wat?

Answer
Your hotel will organise a tuk-tuk, and/or a guided tour.

The first thing you need to know is that the second city of Cambodia, Siem Reap, is a tourists' city surrounded by temples. The picture I have always associated with Ankor Wat, the one with the benign stone face, is like Buddha but not at Ankor Wat, at another Wat or temple nearby.

This statue appears more than once, the main one being another temple in the circuit, to be more precise, another temple plus several gateways to temple complexes.

I wanted to do the 'circuit' tour first to get an idea of the layout of the whole area, and I still think this is the best thing to do first. My companion said, "That's for old ladies who don't want to walk. I want to visit Ankor Wat and go inside and walk all the way round and achieve one temple done properly on my first day.

So off we went to Ankor Wat.

The biggest surprise was how busy it was. I had expected a remote path through the woods, solo, perhaps with a guide, through an overgrown path in the jungle, like a wilderness hike, wondering whether a wild animal or wild native would leap from the trees and make off with me or my camera or both, never to be seen again (the wild animal or native plus the camera without listening to polite arguments and NLP training all to no avail.

Nothing like that. More like sales day on a bank holiday at a safari park, kiosks selling water, postcards, fisherman's pants, tee shirt, guidebooks, and hordes of people with umbrellas following guides in ten different languages, tuk tuks and minibuses and cars in fields, plus bunting and litter bins and signs.


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Cambodian New Year - April 2017, flags, dances, hotels, temples, tuk-tuks

Problem
When to go to Cambodia?

Answer
Choose low or high season, hot or rainy, off peak or on peak,

Go before a national holiday or during a national holiday. The next national holiday is Cambodian New Year Starting April 13th 2017. The streets of Siem Reap, the second city whose main attractions are Ankor Wat and the other wats or temples.

What to see? The streets already have strings of bunting in the national colours of red and blue and other street decorations.

New Year Street Games
In the street they are playing a circular chasing game which looks like rounders played without a ball at primary school. The youngsters are gathered in a circle in the street and a smaller number are running around the outside of the circle with much hilarity. Apparently, it's a New Year game.

Read about the New Year games in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_New_Year

We saw the dancing right next to our hotel driveway.

Hotels
You can book a modestly priced hotel in the city centre such as where we stayed, Lemon Grass and Ginger. They arranged for us to be collected at the airport. When we arrived at the airport, like at Heathrow, lots of hotels had sent drivers with placards.

The Airport
It is hot. Not sticky heat like Singapore, hot like an oven.

Transport and Tuk-tuks
We followed our driver outside expected to see the hotel's pickup vehicle would be a car. We walked past the only car in the second parking lot to the street outside and found our driver had an open sided tuk-tuk. A large motorised bike pulling a kind of canopied cart, which appeared to be a two. Ours seated four we realised later, but the back seat was pushed forward to hold our suitcases. We could not stop laughing.

The driver donned a helmet. The open side created a breeze and my hat tugged at my hair. I grabbed my hat before it could blow off. A good thing I had had the forethought to sew ribbons on all my summer hats. But even the ribbons were not secure enough. Is stuffed my hat in my handbag.

We bounced along, no seatbelts. I thought we were going to be thrown out as he did a U-turn. But it was hilarious. We laughed and laughed. What a wonderful 'local' start.

Lemon Grass Hotel
I was disappointed with the size and position of the swimming pool, but cheered up when given a glass of lemon grass drink with a piece of lemon grass in it.

Our hotel, Lemon Grass and Ginger was set back behind the high street shops. The swimming pool was raised in front of the hotel next to the car park. Not big enough for laps. But apparently people like to take breakfast there. You are right int the centre of the nearest high street shops.

Next challenge. We were on the second floor (ground, first, second - what in Singapore would be called third). No lift. But far above the city traffic noise.

I was amused by the en suite shower room which had white pebbles down one side. My eye went along and I realised the white pebbles were filling in a gap in the floor tiles. Clever! I must copy that idea if I ever have a gap in a bathroom floor. (Works best if the wall or floor tiles or basin are white.)

Next challenge, getting a second backless stool so two of us could use our computers in the bedroom. I asked for a dining chair. No such luck. (If we had been in a bedroom on the first floor - second floor if you count the ground as first floor as in Singapore) I might have sneaked out to a table on the first floor dining area. If you are over seventy and not keen on stairs, ask for a lower floor bedroom. Or opt for a hotel with a lift.) To be fair, even three, four and five star hotels worldwide think that two people can share one dining chair (or one piece of chocolate). Sorry to say this, but a small round stool has scarcely room enough from one large Western size rear, certainly not two.

Meanwhile, we were immediately offered tours for the week, and opted for the evening's dinner and dance show. More photos and news about this in a later post. I have dozens of photos and videos of this one event. Highly recommended.

A family we met at the dinner and dance show in Cambodia had booked their entire stay from London through Beyond Tourism. Their trip was well organised. Their English speaking guide came t their table to collect them from the restaurant, reminding them they were to get up at 5 am to see Ankor Wat at dawn.

How would we get home to our hotel from the dinner show? Would we have to call our hotel's taxi? Our hotel's tuk-tuk driver was waiting at the kerb outside.

Goodness - I had delayed talking to fellow Brits, unwittingly delaying our driver. Did the driver wait all evening or go off, eat, sleep, and come back? ''Not our problem; that's the way it's done in these countries. We are giving him employment and an income," I was told by my companion.

Off we drove through the magical streets, all festooned ready for the coming New Year. Sadly we were going to miss it. Maybe you can catch it this year. Maybe you or I can catch it next year.

Cambodia, yes, love it, must go there again, see more, see the capital, definitely different. Happy New Year to everybody in Cambodia.

What were the best things we packed?
Mosquito repellent.

Tips
Check out:
TripAdvisor Cambodia
Lemon Grass and Ginger Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Porcuisine Restaurant (dinner and show), Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Anker Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cambodian New Year


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Quick Look At Cambodia: easy visas, history and language

Flag of Cambodia

Problems
Cambodia and Ankor Wat? What do I know about the Geography and history? (Zilch.)
When and where do I get a visa?
What sort of money do they take? Meaning what should I take.

Answers
Lots of booklets from the Cambodian embassy which provides visas for a fixed fee. It's tempting to buy when you get there, just in case your trip is cancelled. However, according to several websites I've read you are better off getting your visa in advance because might be asked for unofficial extra charges if you wait until arrival and try buying at local points.

Language
Four vital, frequent and easy to remember words"
Wat - temple.
Koh - island.

The word Koh appears around this area of Asia, for example Koh Samui.
P s a r - market. The word market is the same or similar in several Asian and Arabic and English languages: Think of p u s a h, p s a a r, b a z a a r.

Cambodian language, like Chinese, has some simple one syllable words, and grammar and sentence structure are simple because you use the word yesterday for the past and tomorrow for the future.

The language is not tonal. If you speak either French or Mandarin, you have a second way of communicating with local people.

Greeting
The local greeting is just like the Namaste, hands together at chest level as if praying and bow - head lower and hands higher to show greater respect. The local greeting is called Chumreap Suar.

Cambodia is a hot country. If your hands are perspiring or wet from holding an iced drink you will be glad not to have to shake hands.

Temples
So you can see that Ankor Wat is a temple. Lots of Wats are around the two major cities and tourist attractions, the capital,
Capital Phnom Penh.

Capital Phnom Penh
P h n o m mountain or hill, named after Lady Penh, like Pennsylvania named after Penn in the USA.

How do I remember the spelling?
P h n o m P e n h - means Pen's hill. The word P h N O M looks like mountain backwards. Or NOt Mountain. Both words start with P, like Pennsylvania P _ _ _ _ Pen_ . Pen's hill not mountain? P H N O M. PEN H. Pen's Hill.
Now add the letter H for hill to both words. PH _ _ _ Pen-H.
Where's my pen? I left my pen in Phnom Penh.

LOCATION
Going north from Singapore we reach Malaysia. (Think of Singapore like Sicily or the Isle or Wight, a little island kicked off the toe of the bigger landmass.) From Malaysia we reach Thailand. Then we can cross into Cambodia. If you have already visited Malaysia or Thailand you will see some familiar features of words and architecture.

VISAS
Please check with your nearest Cambodian embassy (and travel agents for )the latest on visas, currency and other vital facts for your trip because the facts change according to the country where you are starting and the place you are going to within Cambodia - and which website you and I read.

PHONES
Phoning home or phoning for help - or taking photos with your phone. You can buy Sim cards locally. Can be as low as $1.50 or even free.

Maybe you have an old phone you can take with to carry your newly bought Sim card. That way, less risk of losing your new smart phone. In case of loss you have the phone box at home with the number to report the loss. And a phone whose controls are familiar.

You need a passport and visa to get a Sim card.

MONEY
The latest information I saw was that Cambodians take US dollars, although only dollar notes. If you buy something and the price is not an even amount, you will be given the change in local money. (No problem - I love collecting coins - for coin collection, souvenirs. Would I turn small coins into jewellery - him - maybe in a case, not with a hole in the middle because that defaces the coin and I must check I am not piercing the head of a royal or respected person.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, researcher, author and speaker.
I have other posts on Cambodia and worldwide as well as more blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, books on Amazon and Lulu for you to browse or buy.
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Cambodia - Checklist of Things To See

Problem
So much to do so little time. Where first?

Answers:
Checklist:

We thought it was a three hour trip through the jungle but Ankor Wat seems to be in the country's second city and Siem Reap. You arrive at the airport 6 km away - hotels may provide transfer. The Ankor Wat complex is about 7 km away.

1 The National Museum has videos, static and interactive exhibits and provides an introduction to the temples (or a refresher).
Museums include at least two others featuring the war.

2 Ankor Wat
Also several other similar complexes:
Tour to
Bayon (Royal ...)

3 killing Fields memorial and Wat Thmey
Several people say it's free but another says the price includes headphones for commentary.

4 Terrace of the Elephants

5 Angkor Silk Farm

6 Lotus farm
Something different. 15 minutes out of town.

7 Shopping - Kings Road shopping village - dearer but good if you want to support locals.
A large number of combined shops and art galleries.

8 Night market.

9 Evening Cultural show.

Tips
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g297390-d6556656-Reviews-King_s_Road_Angkor-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cambodia

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.