Colourful food in colourful fields

Looking for bright colours is easy in a tropical area. But finding exciting colour contrasts are the real fun.

Along the small inlets and in between the rice fields along Siem Reap river down to Phnom Krom and the Tonle Sap lake, some local restaurateurs build these small huts on stilts in the background. A family or travel party can order food and drinks, and relax in the shadows with a view to this tranquil landscape.

It really is a soothing experience with the hammocks provided.

Or maybe guests can have a small walk pre or post lunch, just to look for colours, shapes, flowers or plants, and birds or other animals.

Alive or not.


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Noodle nests in scale


Like many large Asian cities, the sheer number of people living in a relatively small space is a trademark. No difference in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and the largest city in the kingdom.

But as this is the Khmer capital, good food is just as important here as in the rest of the country. And making unique products is essential if you want to stand out in the competition for hungry stomachs.

Fresh made for the soup sold, dried for take away
This business produces egg noodles on a large scale, and whatever they don’t use in their own breakfast restaurant is sold as these dried noodle nests.

In this narrow side street between Orussey Market, Olympic Mall and the Central Market, there’s a steady flow of tuktuks, bicycles, cars and people. Fresh noodles served hot and fresh in a big bowl of rich broth with meat and vegetables street side: That is a rewarding start of the day. Listening to the city wakes up is audible spice.

When I asked the price was one and a half dollars per kilo of dried noodles. That’s a lot of noodles for the money.

Over the years, the business has expanded. The first time I saw this place, there was only a single row of drying racks. Last time, they had started with the double row in the background.

But the woman on the bicycle passed by unbothered both times.


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Angkor travel style – most styles possible

Being on a bike, my style of exploring Angkor Park, meeting a completely different style.

Here at the West Gate of the Angkor Thom old capital, this beautiful Rolls Royce had brought their guests to visit. The kind elder couple had wanted to take this trip to Angkor for a long time. And they wanted a ride to make it very special.
I’d say they succeeded.

This gate is named Ta Kav gate in Khmer. I t is one of the four main entrances to Angkor Thom, out of the total of five gates int the capital built by the great king Jayavarman VII.
Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia, is truly a Kingdom of wonders. And some surprises.

There are several companies renting stylish and/or classic cars for people looking for that special travel experience in Siem Reap. Or planning a very special event. I have found several classic Mercedes, Bentleys, Italian Maseratis, and US Camaros and Mustangs. And Vipers.

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#rollsroyce #luxurycar #luxury #angkorthom #takavgate #jungle #khmer #art #architecture #elephants #selfie #jayavarmanvii #travelinstyle #travel #visitcambodia #visitsiemreap

Morning moment of peace and fishing in a pond

This little pond near Kror Sang Rolerng village is surrounded by rice paddocks on three sides. The local school and road to Wat Athvear is on the fourth.

Wat Athvear is both an active monastery and an old, small temple build in early Bayon style. Like Preah Enkosei on the north side of Siem Reap City, this temple from the Khmer Imperial era is one of the closest temples to Siem Reap city proper.

This is a nice spot to see a compact version of a temple between 2 main eras of Khmer imperial architecture. Normally it is very peaceful to visit Wat Athvear.

#citylife #countryside #biking #bikingintheangkorhinterland #watathvear #temple #fishing #sunrise #kingdomofwonder #Cambodia #siemreap #visitsiemreap #visitcambodia #Angkoroffthebeatentrack #AOTBT #KrorSangRolerngvillage #phnomkraom #phnomkrom #rice #ricefield #ricepaddock #2022CE

Pointing out a treasure at mysterious West Prasat Top

Exploring Angkor Park is best in the early hours of the day. The temperature is pleasant, and the light is playful and challenging.

This little temple is one of the hidden treasures near the beaten track. But atill several hundred meters off it, by bike or walk.

This morning the sun pointed out a spot to the northeast. I did not find gold, but the remain of an old guardian statue.
A good start for a peaceful visit and some reflections on this small spot in ancient times.

Small mystery
West Prasat Top is in the area where you find several larger temples like Ta Keo, Ta Nei and Ta Prohm. They are all on the east side of Siem Reap River, a couple of kilometres away from the Victory Gate and Angkor Thom. It is close to Don Mao, another small temple near one of the old East Baray docks.

But the current single tower is of post Bayon style. Meaning it was built sometimes after 1200. And the stones used to build this temple may have been reused from older structures.

This is a mysterious temple not only for confusions regarding its origin. Some of the information about this temple mixes it up with the West Top Temple in Angkor Thom.

West Prasat Top’s tower was built on a laterite platform. The pink-sandstone columns and lintels contain some decorations from the 1100s. There are visible remains of stairs leading up to the temple both to the east and west. Parts of an enclosing wall are still there, and more fragments of statues and other carvings.

The tower itself was overgrown when I visited, but recently excavations and renovations has cleared it and cleaned it, and West Prasat Top is pretty in pink today.

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Visit to an impressing off the main track citadel temple

Banteay Thom, the big (Thom) Citadel (Banteay), is 10 km north of Angkor Wat and 15 km out Siem Reap City limits. It is accessible by motorbike or a proper bike only.

This temple was built during the rule of Jayavarman VII "the Great" in early 1200s CE. There is one main entrance to the east, and a gate blockaded by debris to the west. Remains of a moat surrounds the old temple.

As a temple built by a mighty god king, it is of stately qualities including some very advanced arts and stone carvings.
After the anteroom and Gopuras, the main three towers are of impressive sizes. But in some need of restoration.

Being outside the main Angkor Park area, there is no need for an Angkor temple pass to visit. It is a truly quiet place with spots and details to study closely, without the queueing and crowds in the more famous temple from JVIIs reign.
Unfortunately, its solitude location means that the temple has been a target for looting into quite recent times.

Banteay Thom is surrounded by rice fields. Visiting during harvest season means meeting and surprise a lot of locals tending to their fields. Including the field where the young Khmer works, where you can listen to the latest in Khmer pop music.

That is not a bad thing. Kh-pop is patent, modern pop worth listen to. And makes a nice cultural contrast to the old Archaeological structure.

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A quiet morning at the hospital temple Prei Prasat Ta Oun Temple

This is one of those temples that literally is off the beaten track. The only access is via a narrow bike trail, on the side of farmland with grazing cows. The trail gets very muddy in green season.
Localised well north of Angkor Thom, this temple was built in late 12th century. It is one of the over 100 hospital temples built during the reign of the great Khmer king Jayavarman VII. More known for his state temple Bayon with what is considered his portrait being repeated all over its façade.

Hospital temples were temples connected to a nearby public hospital. It was used for prayer, rites, offerings and probably as part of the therapy. It was an early example of public healthcare system built in scale. It shows how advanced and rich the Angkor empire was at its peak 450 years into its existence.

Compact and peaceful
It is not a large site, but it is one of the best kept examples of these hospital-temples built in Bayon style. Even the moat surrounding Ta Oun is in relatively good order. But it dries up during the hot season.

There are remains of a Gopura and a Library to the east of the main temple, and a smaller gate to the west. There are no remains of the hospital itself.

It is worth a visit not only for the insights into an important part of Khmer imperial history. Ta Oun is well off the main visitor’s area, is peaceful and often without any other visitors.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2025/02/16/ta-oun-temple/

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Modern colourful Lolei pagoda

The original, classic Khmer temple Prasat Lolei was placed on an island in an artificial water basin. It was the royal family temple in Hariharalaya. That was the last capital outside what we now recognise as the core Angkor Archaeological Park area around Angkor Thom north of Siem Reap.

The water is gone, but the four old temple towers are still there. Around the old temple grounds, a modern Buddhist monastery was built and still operating.

A modern Wat and Temple
The monks here were quite interested in talking to visitors, seeking information and some of them loved to practice their English. And some German too, come to that.

This photo is from inside the modern Buddhist temple, which is among the heaviest colourful temples I have seen in the Siem Reap area. But it is also very open to the sun light, making it a place of worship filled with light and colours.

I like religious buildings with this sort of character.

Under a hundred meter away, the 1100 years older holy towers connect the old and new continuous cultural history and heritage of Cambodia.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2024/10/10/prasat-lolei/

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Sunset at Preah Enkosei Temple
ប្រាសាទព្រះឥន្រ្ទកោសីយ៍, Siem Reap.

It is regarded as the ancient Khmer temple closest to modern Siem Reap city centre. Preah Enkosei is between the modern Wat Enkosei and the necropolis of this pagoda and monastery area.

Preah Enkosei was built as a three tower Hindu temple appx 950CE. The entrance Gopura is flanked by small lion guardian statues. The Gopura have an anteroom with a lingam and is placed on the remains of a laterite wall running partly around the perimeter. There are two "library"-building remains flanking the gate on the inside.

The southern tower is marked by a platform only. There are discussions going on if it was ever built, never finished or for other reasons demolished before modern excavations started.

This temple is close to Siem Reap River, and it is an excellent target for an easy afternoon stroll along the river. It should take appx 30-35 minutes’ walk from Siem Reap city centre.

Or 10 minutes by bike.

Visitors do not need Angkor Pass, but this is still a functioning wat and pagoda area. Please act respectful entering this holy place of worship.

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