Cambodia - ANGKOR

Welcome to Angkor Temples my friends !!!

After 10 days in Phnom Penh, I was ready to discover Siem Reap and the beautiful Angkor Temples.

First for sunrise, then sunset, and 2 other full days biking around this huge area full of crazy vegetation growing everywhere in and around the temples...

As you can imagine, I wasn't the only one there,
ready to admire the sun rising behind the famous Angkor temple...

So much to see inside it, incredible precise carvings telling numerous stories 

(myths, battles, dances...)

Bas-reliefs which are internationaly renowned reveals its origin as a Hindu temple

But because modern Cambodia is a buddhist country 

there is a lot of statues of Buddha and employees taking care of them

 But the site is huge and there is dozen of temples to visit around...

I love the zen faces who seem to welcome you inside.

 

 Old trees growing all over the place

 

 Natural swings

 Cambodian family
on holidays

Relax picnic with a little french taste, a nice breeze and a great view

If one day you go to Siem Reap -and spend a full exhausting day at Angkor Wat in the heat- 

I recommend to have an Angkor beer with your guide and then, 

go to the swimming pool for the sunset at Ok1Villa which is on a pretty rooftop !

(But sleep next door at Yellow Hotel if you want a cheap room !)

BISOUS

CAMBODIA - Phnom Penh

I didn't have any plans apart from taking a plane from Paris to Phnom Penh on 2015, Feb the 20th...
But I found a nice place to stay (#10 Lakeside) and felt comfortable about this country really fast.

I never visited it before but it seems to be a pretty good mix of some places I already discovered :
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam (3 closest neighbors) and India.

Let's go on a tour around the city together !

Lakeside Guesthouse

(There is no lake anymore... Has been sold by the government for a lot of money !)

It's pretty hot during the day (35°C) so I visited some hotels with swimming pools (the 252-above pic, 3 Mangos and and 88 Guesthouse-right pic)

  

 Central market

 

Easy way to carry huge ice blocks...

 

 People from Crimea (Russia) I met on my first night...

I almost stepped on a snake that day, crossing the street...
Then I encountered an injured bat...
There are also a lot of geckos and mosquitos around here...
Nature is everywhere, even in the biggest city of the country ;-)

Local people exercising on the Riverside

My favourite indian restaurant in the city...

 

Some cool people I met :
    Gary (english man, on his way to live in China for one year as an english teacher) and Muss (Afhgano-french going to work in Vietnam)

 Mosque and pagoda...

 Another really nice place to refresh myself (Phnom Penh hotel)

A little rainbow corner in the street...

Tonle Sap River

Cambodian Street Art

Really close to the city there is a silk island, a community village where 26 women are working.
You need to cross 2 rivers to go there (one with a bridge, one by boat) and then go trough nice green paddies and villages to discover this pretty remote and interesting place.

  





Silkworms

Cocoons

Back to the city

 Another market in Phnom Penh, I think that's the Russian one...

So hot in here...But don't worry you can buy a fresh mango shake for 1$ !

 She made the shake, smiling,

I took a picture of her and then 

she insisted to make one of me, as you can see above where I'm really enjoyed the freshness of it !

 Frangipani flowers drying in the sun in front of a pagoda

 One of our numerous street feast!

3 views from Lakeside Guesthouse