Some sad news. Last night, around 9 pm 30/08/21, the Facebook account connected with Hello Angkor was hacked. The hacker was able to change the login info and security details leaving no ability to recover the account. Having tried all means with Facebook to reinstate access I have to now accept the page is lost along … Read more
Apologies to followers of HelloAngkor.com on Facebook and Instagram as we have lost access to both accounts once again for reasons unknown. It’s similar to last time but this time, access to Instagram and other social accounts has been lost too. Around the 8th of Feb there was an email alerting to suspicious activity and … Read more
It’s always interesting to look back in time and the experience of the first western visitors to the great monuments of Angkor and how they shared that with the world. A while back I posted an intro to Francis Garnier’s expedition in the late 1800s which is among the earliest detailed records of temples in … Read more
Another year of traveling and exploring this amazing country comes to an end! 2023 was full of short day trips out of Siem Reap and several larger adventures, mostly towards the northeast, Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom provinces, with a loop around the Tonle Sap later in the year. Cambodia’s roads are getting better and … Read more
The most important event on the Khmer calendar, the public holiday for the traditional Khmer New Year, or Bon Chol Chhnam Thmei/Sangkranta/Sankranti, will be Sat, Apr 13, 2024 – Tue, Apr 16, 2024. Much like the New Year festivals in any country, Cambodian New Year celebrations are the festival calendar’s highlight. The celebration also marks … Read more
A wonderful story from the early 1900s of a young Cambodian girl’s dream to join what we know today as the Royal Ballet of Cambodia. At that time, under King Sisowath, French records note the dance troupe consisting of around 100-120 girls including lead dancers, subjects, and students. This particular story and imagery comes from The Illustrated … Read more
A short note on reaching a milestone with the mapping efforts. Siem Reap Province now has 1194 temples and ancient sites listed to a reasonable level of accuracy! After pouring through several data sets, research papers, journals, etc, going much further is probably getting a little too granular at least until other regions are brought … Read more
In previous posts, we have explored many of the Theravadin Buddhist structures within the Angkor area, particularly Angkor Thom, which were created possibly in the last stages of the Angkor era (around the 14th century) into the post-Angkor era (15th century and beyond) as Theravdin Buddhism became the state religion which it remains till this … Read more
The latest tour of Cambodia’s amazing ancient sites and wonders covered familiar ground once again along the RN6 and some new ground for me which is Prey Veng and then back to revisit Oudong, a couple of amazing mountains in Pursat and Kampong Chhnang, back to Kampong Thma, and return to Siem Reap. Not a … Read more
It is fascinating (to me at least) to look upon Angkor today and not only wonder about its truly ancient history but also how it is still making history and touching the lives of so many, every day, in so many ways. This article comes from an Australian newspaper, the Cairns Post of Friday 8 … Read more
Not everyone is keen on taking long-distance bus journeys, particularly in Asia, so thankfully, there are a growing number of competent airline services in Cambodia. For those doing the PP to SR routes and routes to Bangkok, you may find flights offer a huge time saving for only a little more cost. Airports There are … Read more
Siem Reap is well known for amazing value accommodation and today I want to highlight some of the amazing value that can be found in the five-star category. There are around 100+ five star rated hotels in Siem Reap offering a diverse range of service and experience levels with prices ranging from around $40 to … Read more
Today I’d like to introduce an amazing ancient map of Angkor Wat created by Japanese voyagers sometime around the 17th century. It’s truly quite fascinating and offers a great insight into Angkor Wat in the post-Angkor period. It’s not without a twist though. As scholars have deduced, the Japanese may have actually been on a voyage … Read more
What to eat in Cambodia? Hint: more than just Amok and fried tarantulas! This massive list includes all the popular dishes and street foods that you should be experiencing on your journey through Phnom Penh, Siem Reap/Angkor, Sihanoukville, and beyond. Cambodia is very underrated and is a surprising foodies heaven, food is not only cheap, … Read more
Two fascinating objects of ancient Khmer art are Chaitya (or Caitya) and/or boundary markers. They present a diverse range of artistic style crossing religion and reigns, and excluding a handful that I’ll list below, most exist only in museums now. Standing around a meter high, carved from a solid block of stone, they are four-sided … Read more
This was a short day trip out of Siem Reap on the moto to find out if the two ancient bridges still existed north of the “firehouse” known as Seman Teng, but like any trip, there’s always a bit more than you expect. It’s not so easy to follow the ancient road in its entirety … Read more
A major but less talked about feature of the ancient Khmer Empire is the road network that spanned out from Angkor (present-day Siem Reap) to the remote reaches of the empire including deep into what is now Laos and Thailand. In my mind at least, the Angkor <> Preah Khan of Kampong Svay route, sometimes … Read more
While, somewhat sadly, we don’t have any surviving ancient Khmer texts apart from inscriptions what we do have are the accounts of the traveling diplomats such as China’s Zhou Daguan in the 13th century followed by Japanese pilgrims in the 17th century and then French explorers in the 19th century. One of those French explorers … Read more
Well removed from the regular tourist and even the local visitor routes, Angkor Thom is hiding some amazingly hidden sites that few have ever seen and even less seem to know about. Located well into the jungle of razor-sharp vines, funnel-web spiders, and nests of wild bees, they have been left seemingly undisturbed for centuries. … Read more
In an effort to boost tourism visitors buying tickets to Angkor Archeological Park will be given extra days for free. This is a time-limited offer running from the 25th of February to the 25th of June 2020. During the offer period $37 One Day Angkor Archeological Park Pass is valid for 2 days (normally one … Read more
Catching the sunrise at Angkor Wat is a must-do experience while in Siem Reap, and here is the ultimate guide to getting to the right place and getting yourself some awesome photos. Angkor Wat opens at 5 am every day allowing people to experience the break of day as the sun rises from behind the … Read more
Looking for the key sights within the Angkor Wat Temple? There is a lot, and with only one chance to visit there is a lot that people miss such as all the bas-reliefs, pediments, and architectural features. Here are two maps, one based on Google Maps and one in image form that will help navigate … Read more
Here’s a nice easy trail, by foot or bicycle that takes you around to rarely visited giant lion statues which ‘Maurice Glaze described as “amongst the finest and the best proportioned to be found in Khmer art”. They truly are beautiful and the best examples are truly hidden from the well-worn paths of many travelers. … Read more
The bus trip from Battambang to Kampot takes around 11 hours covering just over 400km. Bus from Battambang to Kampot Operator Depart from Arrive at Vehicle Depart time Arrive Time (est.) Travel Time (est.) Fare (USD) Virak Buntham VET Battambang Kampot Hotel Bus 23:00 10:00 11 17/ 17 Bus from Kampot to Battambang Operator Depart … Read more
If you have already seen and done the temples of Angkor at Siem Reap, or you are looking for a little something off-the-beaten-track away from the crowds, then you might love this list. These are Cambodia’s ancient temple sites outside of the Angkor Archeological Park, from the smaller ones through to epic mountain top sites. … Read more
The Royal Palace is one of the more popular areas in Angkor and today I hope you’ll read on as we take a look at the larger royal citadel area, uncover some lost shrines, and chart a rarely visited area. The Royal Palace as you well know was the seat of successive kings through the … Read more
Cambodia has, to date, through luck or good management, been fortunate to have not suffered the pandemic to the extent of neighboring countries or those further afar. As stated by the Cambodian CDC, as of 9am April 9, 2020, we had identified a total of 118 cases of COVID-19 patients, and six more had recovered. … Read more
Cambodia is fast becoming a hot destination not only for holiday-makers but also for long-stay expats. Long stayers can be broken into several categories including the ones unable to afford a reasonable life in their home country, the retiree with limited funds, the sexpat, the digital nomad, the volunteer, English teachers and the business savvy … Read more
Cambodia has a surprising number of islands off its southern coast offering beautiful waters, amazing beaches, nature walks, diving, and much more. Many of the islands still remain untouched while several have one or two accommodation bungalows, and some are growing into fully developed tourist getaways. Here is an intro to the more popular islands, … Read more
Cambodia has some of the most beautiful beaches in South East Asia and some of the best in the world according to many reviewers. With that, it has an ever-growing number of resorts that offer what many in the worlds most popular beach tourism destinations do not, serenity and true beach frontage. Many in fact … Read more