The Southeast Asia Travel Specialists Since 1999
Excellent to see the, in our opinion long overdue, recognition of Koh Ker ancient city by the UNESCO powers that be with its inscription onto their World Heritage list as of September 2023. These spectacular jungle ruins, located in Preah Vihear Province, represent the site of the Khmer capital during the early to mid part of the 10th century. As…
While the majority of the best-known and, of course, most frequently visited, Angkorean temples are situated in Siem Reap province and northwestern Cambodia, the well-preserved, hill-top sanctuary of Phnom Chisor, located in the opposite – southeastern – region of the country, is a reminder of the geographical extent of these fabulous ancient temples. Spectacular and often still intact, ancient Khmer…
If Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre was located, for example, between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, it would undoubtedly see far more overseas visitors than it currently does and its location in southern Cambodia’s Takeo Province is undeniably well off the main tourist trail. The site itself is fine and consists of some 6,000 acres of protected woodland, provided by…
As you’ll discover on our Beyond Angkor tour there are myriad, spectacular, lesser-known Angkor temples (as well as pre-Angkor) lying the length and breadth of Cambodia just waiting to be explored. Of course, iconic Angkor Wat, Bayon’s mysterious carved faces and the roots and creepers of atmospheric, jungle-clad Ta Prom are justifiably world-famous but some of these remoter and far…
Costing the Apopo organisation around 6,000 Euros each, including training and importation, these are certainly the world’s most expensive rodents yet when you see the giant African rats – or Gambian pouched rats to be precise, Cricetomys gambianus – in action, you’ll understand why. Easier to maintain and handle than trained dogs (and much lighter so less likely to set…
The now rather remote and rarely visited site of Koh Ker was for a brief period in the early 10th-century the capital of the vast Khmer empire. Lying in the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, around 3 hours’ drive from Siem Reap Town, this extensive complex of forest ruins is what remains today of the imperial city of Lingapura constructed by…
A short series of some our all-time, personal favourite tour destinations. Certain will be well-known and already popular and others much more off the beaten track and rarely visited, First up; Cambodia’s delightful coastal town of Kep. The above photo of Kep’s delightful Crab Market was admittedly taken a few years ago and some upgrading of the waterfront cafes has…
We’re delighted to see Cambodia gain a 3rd UNESCO World Heritage Site, after Angkor and Preah Vihear, with the granting of such status to the ruined 6th and 7th century Khmer capital at Sambor Prei Kuk. These picturesque ruined temples, scattered through forest north of Kompong Thom in central Cambodia, represent the remains of the royal capital, Ishnapura, of…
Sambor Prei Kuk; – the earliest known Khmer city in Cambodia is a superb site, yet one that’s largely overlooked by visitors to the kingdom. Dozens of decorated brick towers dating from the 6th and 7th centuries – some ruinous, some still remarkably well preserved, are scattered through picturesque forest some 30 kms north of the provincial town of Kompong…
A selection of photographs of Koh Ker, aka Chok Gargyar or Lingapura, as it was originally named. The ruined city is a remote site lying in the forest some 3 hours northeast of Siem Reap in Preah Vihear Province. For a brief period in the first half of the 10th-century, the ‘City of Lingas’ replaced Angkor as the imperial capital…
Came across this nameless Angkor period ruined temple whilst poking around in some villages outside of Siem Reap recently: even the locals didn’t have a name for it and though these days the few remaining stones scattered across the grounds of a contemporary Buddhist watnf don’t really merit the term ‘temple’ it’s interesting to think that even these meagre remains…
That’s Preah Vihear Temple to the Khmers or Khao Preah Viharn for the Thais. The recently promoted UNESCO World Heritage site is situated smack bang on the border and yes….you may well have noticed in the news that there have been a few border ‘issues’ between the two countries in recent times. Note the disagreement has never been over ownership…
Hanging around the Phnom Penh riverfront or Siem Reap’s ‘Pub Street’ tuk-tuk drivers will flock to offer you massages with; fish, their sister, grannie, themselves as well as attempt to flog you the gamut of soft and hard drugs – some may even offer you a ride – but turn up in Kampot these days you’re more likely to hear,…
Not one of Cambodia’s most well-known tourist destinations but the small brick Neang Khmao Temple (or Prasart Neang Khmau) is well worth a peak if you’re passing and is conveniently located in the grounds of the modern Wat of the same name right on highway #2. (Approx 50 kilometres south of the capital and 30 kilometres from Takeo City.) That’s…
A selection of photos of some of the more extreme examples of public transport Cambodia-style to be seen on the road in Cambodia. Mot of these were shot directly out of our minibus window, (rather than on the roof which might be good for photography but is undoubtedly a little on the dangerous side), so apologies for the slightly fuzzy…
Following on from our bird-life post here’s a selection of some of the everyday, local life on the Sangkar River we’ve photographed on recent trips along this spectacular, picturesque and unusual river in western Cambodia: The lower stretch of the river, closer to the great Tonle Sap Lake sees the largest fluctuation in water levels between rainy and dry season…
A few photos of some of the spectacular bird-life on the Sangkar River we’ve come across on recent boat trips down from Siem Reap to Battambang. (Would have a lot more for you but since it’s tricky getting sharp shots of fast-moving birds from a heavily vibrating boat we had to delete most of them!?) The Sangkar River begins in…
More pics from down the back of the sofa (or is that settee?). This time a selection of images of Kep sunsets taken during our last visit to the small Cambodian coastal town. We thought of Kep since we’ll be down there again in a couple of weeks on our next Beyond Angkor – off the beaten track Cambodia tour…
Following on from our previous post on Phnom Penh’s Wat Kean Kleang here are some photographs of the excellent paintings we mentioned that are to be found on the wooden doors and window shutters of the old viharn or main worshipping hall. Couldn’t ascertain exactly how old they were – 100 years or so (?) – and sadly we’re not…
A favourite Phnom Penh Temple. If we’ve got this right, (and we’re not guaranteeing it!), the temple’s called Wat Kean Kleang. Situated a couple of kilometres after the Japanese Bridge with the Mekong bordering one side of the temple grounds and the main highway Number 6 the other. The temple is hard to miss with a large and elaborate, all…