The best time of the day for Temple Hopping in Siem Reap, Cambodia

I didn't imagine myself visiting four temples in a day, in three alternate days, but yes I did it in Siem Reap with lots of curiosity and bewilderment. Believe it or not, if not for my tired and aching feet, I would have visited even more temples.

Cambodia is very rich in history dating way back to 802 AD. It was the most powerful state in South East Asia before and during the first millennia. There are estimated 50 Hindu and Buddhist temples in Siem Reap, this makes Siem Reap the tourist hub in Cambodia.

December to April are considered peak seasons in Siem Reap and it is best to know the temple's orientation on the sun path to have good photo shots. These temples stimulated my inquisitiveness and interests the most.

1. Banteay Srei "Citadel of Women"

Banteay Srei " City of Shiva " 

Banteay Srei is a Hindu Shivaite Temple. It was built in the late 10th Century and one of the founders of the temple was Yajnavaraha, he was a high-ranking officer and a royal physician  during the rule of Rajendravarman. I suppose Yajnavaraha was an influential person to the king because he was awarded  lands by King Rajendravarman and he used those lands to build temples. Shiva Linga is at the centre of this temple, associated with the Hindu pantheon of Gods Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer).

The place is compact in nature, buildings are smaller compared to the other temples. Banteay Srei is made of hard red sand stones and carvings are three dimensional. The lintels and pediments structures are elaborately carved with fine details that even to date are still clearly outstanding. Citadel of Women, to some the detailed architecture of the reliefs were carefully carved by the hand of women. 

The earliest possible time to leave your accommodation and head to purchase the tickets at Angkor Archaeological Park Ticket Center is fiveish in the morning. This is the only official vendor of entrance tickets to the temples. The estimated travel time to Banteay Srei would be one hour and ten minutes. The best time to visit and capture great photo shots of Banteay Srei Temple Khmer Architecture is early in the morning before the sunrise as the main entrance of the temple is facing east. During mid morning tourists would normally start to flock the temple and it can be quite crowded on peak season. 

2. Bayon Temple "Victorious Mountain"

Bayon Temple standing tall at sunrise

Façade with Buddha faces on every towers

Bayon Temple was built in the late 12th Century during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, a Mahayana Buddhist. Bayon was the official state temple situated in the center of Angkor Thom (last and largest city in Khmer Empire). A representation of King Jayavarman VII crowning victory and glory.

What makes Bayon unique ?  It's tall towers and massive faces of Bodhisattva Avalokitshvara. Others believe that it resembles the face of King Jayavarman VII. There are fifty four towers with lotus flowers on top of each head, each tower has four faces, that makes it more than two hundred faces altogether. Some locals believe that the king was fifty four years old when the construction of the temple had started. It also represents the fifty four states of Khmer Empire during King Jayavarman VII reign.

I can spend two to three hours at the ground level admiring the mythical faces and artistic carvings unveiling against the morning sun. While the other half of the day to appreciate the beautiful vast scenery of Angkor Thom from the third level of Bayon. The magnificent bas relief, that depicts the everyday life of the Khmer, battle against the Chams (now called Vietnam) at Tonle Sap Lake, war against the Siamese (now called Thailand), King processions to meditate in the forest and other interesting stories that helps us understand Cambodia today.

3. Angkor Wat "City Temple"

Angkor Wat at sunrise

The largest religious structure in the world is Angkor Wat with 162.6 hectares, surrounded by walls and moats that represents the mountain ranges and ocean around Mount Meru. Angkor Wat is a replica of the Hindu cosmology, Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu pantheon. The five towers represents the peaks of Mt Meru in Tibet. The temple architectural representation of Hinduism and a tribute to Lord Shiva. It was built during and beyond the time of King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. 

The bas relief on the galleries is just like a time travel in the past. From there we can see the battle of Vishnu and Demons, battles of the kings, heaven and hell, and other interesting details. 

The orientation of this temple is facing west contrary from the other Angkorian Temples which is east facing. Some experts have concluded that this temple was built primarily as funerary temple for King Suryavarman or due to temple's tribute to Vishnu, who is associated with west direction. Therefore, the best time to capture the beauty of Angkor Wat is in the late afternoon to sunset.

4. Ta Phrom "Monastery of the King"

It was founded by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. In the 13th century, it was believed that Ta Phrom was a community of  high priests, officials, dancers and other service people living in the villages. It is indeed a rich place with golden dishes, silk beds, diamonds, and golds according to experts. 

Today, Ta Prohm is slowly becoming part of the jungle as tree roots are engulfing every historical structure in it. It's unique Lost World scenery invites tourists around the world to witness the extraordinary merging of history and nature.

The temple is surrounded and covered by tall forest trees, therefore you can visit the temple anytime throughout the day.

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Disclaimer : The content in this blog is for information only and based from the author's experiences, opinions and feelings at the time of travel to places and may not be necessarily applicable to the reader/s. The information in this blog is not updated in a timely manner. Accuracy is not a guarantee. Therefore, the author is not liable to whatever links, information, images changes/ updates by third parties that are not directly connected to the author of this blog. This blog is not suggesting, recommending anything to it's readers and are not liable for any  damages or losses.  If you have any suggestions or comment/s please email the author at mytraveltourasia@gmail.com.  It is important for the reader/s to do your due diligence before traveling to foreign place/s. The information and images in this blog are sole propriety of this blog and reproduction is illegal.

10 Funtastic Ways to Spend Your Fifteen Days in Japan

Ramen Adventure in Tokyo

The BEST Japanese Ramen I've tried with tonkotsu (pork broth base) @ Ichiran Shibuya.

The Japanese Ramen with miso broth near Kikukawa Station.

Japanese Ramen with shoyu base under the stairs near Urayasu Station.

In Tokyo, you will find lots of noodle shops selling ramen of different soup base. You may choose from shio (salt base), miso (fermented soy bean paste base), shoyu (soy sauce base) and tonkotsu (pork broth base).

In my opinion, the most delicious of all was the Ramen with pork base at Ichiran. We queue for 30 minutes to get to order through the vending machine. You can also order additional ingredients like sliced pork, green onion, kikurage mushrooms, dried seaweed, garlic, hard boiled egg, vinegar, other food and beverages such as, draft beer, tea and matcha almond pudding. The attendant will give you two pieces of paper right after ordering from the vending machine. The first page will be the standard ingredients and you can tick the noodle thickness of your choice, how your noodle will be cooked, how much salt you want in the soup, whether you want your soup spicy or not spicy, whether you want an additional spring onion and sliced pork. The second paper is for the additionals that you might have missed out when ordering at the vending machine. The eating area is limited to around eighteen seats. Inspite of the place being very small, the traffic inside the shop was well managed by the attendant.

The concept of flavour concentration counter was originated from this shop. Where each customer ate within his/her own cubicle and no one else can see you enjoying your bowl of ramen. The written ordering system, caters to customers' various preferences such as combination of ingredients, texture of noodle and richness of soup stock. I like the written ordering as I was given a choice to select the saltiness of my soup. I've noticed that most of the soup based food that I have tried in Japan was either salty or very salty.

Must try Matcha Almond Pudding.

Price range : Yen 900-1,200 per pax
Ichiran Website



Wanderlust in Tokyo

Watch how Shibuya Crossing sends many people in all directions.

In anyway we call it pedestrian scramble, scramble crossing, diagonal crossing, X crossing. It only means one thing, there's just too many people crossing at that point in time. Traffic signals stop all vehicles in every direction of this road, allowing people to cross the pedestrian towards various ways. 

Standing proudly among the crowd.

Faithful dog Hachiko will never be alone again. There are always people taking turn to take photo  memorabilia  with the famous statue of Hachiko near Shibuya Station.  His loyalty and fidelity to his owner has inspired people around the world.

Witnessing a solemn Shinto wedding ceremony in the making.

The Shinto wedding ceremony is normally limited to family only and friends can be invited in the reception. The ceremony is based from Shinto purification and couple exchange of the sacred rice wine for drinking. This wedding ceremony is not common anymore, in recent years the trend is changing, couples are choosing Western-style chapel weddings.

Takeshita Street in Harajuku

Takeshita street is one of the many shopping streets spread around Tokyo. You can find fashion boutiques, cafes and food stalls. There are many treats for you to try in this street such as Totti Cotton Candy Factory, Calbee Potato Chips, Crepes, Pablo Cheese Tart and many more.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

The panoramic view of Tokyo skycrapers can be viewed from Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo World Trade Centre, Tokyo Tower, Raponggi Hills, Sunshine 60, Bunkyo Civic Tower and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The later two buildings are free of charge. I visited Tokyo Metrolpolitan Government Building, from South-West façade on a clear sky you'll be able to view Mt Fuji, Tanazawa-san, Oyama, Tokyo Opera City Tower, New National Theater, Shinjuku Park Tower and Yoyogi Park. On the North-West orientation of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are Mt Takao, Daibosatsu Toge, Kumotori-yama, Nakano Sun Plaza,Central Park Tower La Tour Shinjuku, Nishi Shinjuku Mitsui Building. Opening hours and direction to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

Feel how intensifying sumo wrestling practice at Sumida.

For curious tourist and wants to see sumo wrestlers in action at no charge at all. You can visit them during their practice hours at Arashio-beya or sumo stable in Sumida. Read carefully the details on the Arashio-beya link, as you need to call them a day in advance to verify if there is a practice on the following day. The Japanese-English script is available for you  to use when you call the stable over the phone. There are also rules and regulations that you need to follow during the visiting hours.

Black-teethed Lion head (represents female) during Shishi Matsuri Celebration at Nimayoke Inari Shrine, Tsukiji Market

Something exhilarating, every year in June 10-12 Tsukiji shop owners and workers in Tsukiji Market participate in the dancing celebration. Shopkeepers wear their traditional costume, dancing, chanting while carrying the enormous lion heads, believed to bring prosperity and safety to Tsukiji Market.

Tsukiji Market is the world's biggest wholesale of fish and seafood market. You can observe the Tuna Auction at Tsukiji Market in the early morning, registration starts at 05:00am. For more details check the Tsukiji Guide.  If you want to see the auction early in the morning, I suggest you book an accommodation in Tsukiji so that you don't need to spend too much time on traveling to get there.

Find the lovely maids at Akihabara.

Don't forget to visit the unique place of Akihabara, famous for many electronic shops, maids café, anime shops. Still holds the biggest electronic mall in the world Yodobashi Akiba. It is entertaining to see café maids wondering around, marketing their cafes, they don't allow people taking photo of them while standing on the streets. But it was really tempting for me so managed to get this shot, after all it was a public place.

Spot the unique anime cars in Akihabara.

They stand out in the street, so it is not difficult to spot this car as it really attracts attention from the public. It took me less than ten minutes of walking on the sidewalk, have some hot or cold drinks. You will not miss this one.

Mesmerize and  be amazed by Magical tandem Mickey and Minnie mouse.

Japan trip is not complete without seeing Mickey and Minnie mouse. Surprisingly, Disneyland and Disneysea are not meant for kids only. I saw lots of people of different ages enjoying to be kids like again in Tokyo Disney. I am not a Disney fan though, but I've realized that Disney characters made people of all ages entertained and happy for many decades now.

Appreciate the Majestic View of Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji from Ohashi Bridge, Fujikawaguchiko,

Fujikawaguchiko is located in southern Yamanashi Prefecture, in the foothills of Mt Fuji.

Mount Fuji from Iyashino-Sato Nenba Healing Village near Lake Saiko

Iyashino-Sato Nenba located on the western shore of Lake Saiko, Fujikawaguchiko.

Peak of Mount Fuji from Shizuoka, Fujinomiya

Fujinomiya Prefecture is located on the southwest part of  Mt Fuji.

Mount Fuji from Gotenba near Gotenba Premium Outlet

Gotenba is located at Shizuoka Prefecture, eastern side of Mt Fuji.

Mount Fuji from Owakudani Ropeway, Hakone

Owakudani Ropeway, Hakone is located at Kanagawa Prefecture facing the the southeast side of Mt Fuji.



Try Something Unusual

Japanese sweet corn.

Bought this sweet corn, fresh from the local produce in Shizuoka corn field. Peel the corn husk and eat straight from the cob. You don't need to cook it, just eat it fresh. You'd be dumbfound how sweet and yummy it is.

Moo Farm in Shizuoka

We visited the Maikano Farm in Shizuoka, I was hoping my kids can enjoy petting animals in the farm.  Disappointing to find out that the "farm" is a theme park for kids. Took us an hour or so of driving around in search of a real farm. It wasn't easy as most of the farm is not accessible to public, they put NO TRESPASSING on the entrance. Along the way, we've met an old lady, I guess she's the owner of the farm so we managed to enter the NO TRESPASSING area, in search for dairy farm we ended up in a local bbq park. We've met and chat with the locals who can speak a bit of  English. I got to buy the yummiest mozzarella cheese produced from this farm. The most fun experience was to shout to the woods of the Mt Fuji foothill echoing back your voice. Locals would shout "Yahooooo!!!" into the woods for fun.

Japanese Loquat - Biwa

Whenever you have the chance don't forget to try fruits that are new to you.

Paragliding

In Shizuoka Prefecture alone, you will find more than ten flying sites to choose from. We didn't try this one as my kids are not ready yet. It looked really fun, you can ride in tandem with the guide, a day of training is not enough to learn the skill of paragliding.




Flower Pictorial 

June when we travelled to Japan. You don't really need to visit flower exhibitions, along the way during your travel on the roadside, mountain side or even parks. You will see how beautiful they are in the pot and in the wild. I will write a separate article on this, I managed to take a lot of photos of different flowers during this trip.

White Orchids from the neighbourhood garden in Kikukawa, Sumida

Japanese Bellflower

Lotus Flower in Kawaguchiko

Purple Roses

Flowers along the road

Food Tasting

There's just to many food I've tried during this 15 days trip. I cannot possibly include in this article. I will write separately on that. 

Pablo's cheese tarts

fresh oysters

Japanese Tamagoyaki

Fun chocolate banana skewers dipped in chocolate and sprinkles

bowl of rice sashimi bowl.

Popular salt grilled Ayu fish.

Mountain Hiking

Mt Sengen, Hakone mountain hike is a four hours walk to Hakone-Yumoto Station. I find that the trail is easy to medium hike. You will not get lost as the trail is very clear. Just remember to keep your voice low when hiking as we don't want to disturb mother nature. Along the way we've met old folks hiking and enjoying the mountain scenery. You will also find the Yusaka Trail and the remains  was the main road used in the Edo period to crossover Hakone. Around 20mins hike from Kowokudani Station, immerse yourself on the beautiful scene of water falling like thousands of threads on Chisuji-no-taki falls. The place is simple and quite, away from the crowd. This is just one of the many trails that you can hike during the day.

Joy Ride
When in overseas trying other forms of transportation to get to your destination is also an adventure. Got to know that not all bus is the same, they have their own unique qualities. You'll never know until you try riding on them. The cruise ship is divided into different cabin according the classes,  additional charges applies to higher class cabins.

Thomas Bus from Shinjuku to Fujikawaguchiko

Discover different aspects of Japan Prefectures by car.

visit the port of Motohakone-ko and Hakonemachi-ko on a Hakone Sightseeing Cruise.

Enjoy the slow ride on Hakone Tozan Cable Car.

Experience to cross the Owakudani Valley and see the active sulphur vents and hot springs in Hakone.

Fruits Picking in Yamanashi Prefecture

Fruits picking varies depending on the season Nakagomeno Orchard is an excellent place for fruit picking as the owner can speak English. The people working in the farm speaks a bit of English as well. His website will tell you all the details on how to go to his orchard and the do's and don'ts.

There are a lot of orchards in Yamanashi area, so far only Nakagomeno Orchard has a website and translated on English. Based from what we have experienced, the pricing are standard among the farms. The farmers were very honest not to steal customers who have prior booking in other competing orchards.

The instruction to us was climb the ladder, pick the fruit, rub the fruit on your shirt and eat it. We figured out that the redness of the cherry fruit signalled us sweetness in it. Pick as many as you can, this was so called "40 minutes cherry buffet". By the way, you can only pick what you can eat, no take-away allowed.

Cherry picking at Yamanashi Prefecture

Forty Five Minutes in Kimono

You can fit yourself in a Kimono for a lesser yen or you can also try some shops in Tokyo Metro that caters fashionable Kimonos for each and everyone. When you are in Kimono, move like the Japanese do.

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Disclaimer : The content in this blog is for information only and based from the author's experiences, opinion and feeling at the time of travel to a place and may not be necessarily applicable to the reader/s. The information in this blog is not updated in a timely manner. Accuracy is not a guarantee. Therefore, the author is not liable to whatever links, information, images changes/ updates by third parties that are not directly connected to the author of this blog. This blog is not suggesting, recommending anything to it's readers and are not liable for any  damages or losses.  If you have any suggestions or comment/s please email the author at mytraveltourasia@gmail.com.  It is important for the reader/s to do your due diligence before traveling to foreign place/s. The information and images in this blog are sole propriety of this blog and reproduction is illegal.