Cambodia tours

More off-the-beaten-track Angkor Temples The sheer number of ancient temple sites, along with the limited time-frames available to the majority of visitors, mean that many of the smaller and more off-the-beaten-track Angkor temples remain almost completely overlooked. You certainly can’t see all the sites in a single visit, even with a 3-day pass – there’s little point in trying to…

Angkor and Angkor Wat On our small group tours to Cambodia we often see, amongst first time visitors, a certain amount of predictable confusion between the names Angkor and Angkor Wat. They do, of course, refer to two different sites, so here’s a brief explanation on the differences between Angkor and Angkor Wat. It can certainly be somewhat confusing for…

A morning temple hunting expedition around Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

Cambodia’s Beng Melea; chaotic, decaying ancient ruins and rampant tropical vegetation, is today a spectacular synthesis of man’s handiwork and untamed nature.

Cambodia money This Cambodia money post explains the slightly complicated dual currency system, which one you’re likely to use, what it’s worth and how to obtain it. The official currency in Cambodia is the riel, with approximate exchange rates being 5,200 for one UKP or 4,500 for a Euro, while a dollar will get you around 4,000. Conveniently, the nice…

Phsa Chas Phnom Penh Siem Reap’s Phsa Chas or Old Market, with its souvenir stalls, packaged herbs and spices and tourist-friendly cafes is well known amongst visitors to Cambodia yet the similarly named Phsa Chas Phnom Penh is rarely included on anyone’s city itineraries even though it’s centrally and conveniently located on 13th Street close to both the riverfront and…

Ta Prom Prasat Ta Prom, at Cambodia’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor. with its giant trees and sprawling roots, is certainly one of the vast Angkor complex’s most famous and photogenic sites, Commonly called the ‘Tomb Raider Temple’ due to its appearance in the 2001 film of that name, the late 12th-century, Jayavarman VII-period ruined sanctuary does consequently see a lot…

Baphuon Prior to the construction of Angkor Wat, Baphuon  – the 11th-century royal temple of King Udayadityavarman II – was the largest temple of the Angkor empire. With a main tower surmounting the massive sandstone pyramid, said to have originally been clad in bronze, and its spectacular, raised entrance causeway, Baphuon must have been a truly impressive sight. Unfortunately, for…

Banteay Kdei Temple Prasat Banteay Kdei, or Banteay Kdei Temple, in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor complex is not generally considered one of the ‘major’ Angkor temples and is often skipped by visitors and tour groups. However, we make a point of including it on all our Angkor tours precisely because much of the time you’ll have the spectacular temple…

Prasat Chrei Turn up in just about any Cambodian village and ask the locals if they have a ‘prasat boran‘ in those parts and they’ll almost certainly direct you down some track, across a field or round the back of the village wat to their very own Angkor period ruined temple. Now don’t get your hopes up since many of…

Kampong Chhnang We already did a photographs of Kampong Chhnang post – mainly this provincial Cambodian town’s fascinating market – but thought we’d add a few rainy season photographs for good measure since the views do change radically with the change in water levels. With the market being located right on the Tonle Sap riverbank, high water means the boats…

Bird-life on the Sangkar River A few photos of some of the spectacular bird-life on the Sangkar River we’ve come across on recent boat trips 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…