Author Archives: Grand Escapades

Highlights In & Around Chengdu

28th January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AnimalsAttractionsCultureLandmarksSightseeing

Giant Panda Breeding Research Base

No tourist leaves Chengdu without visiting the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, with its 50 Giant and Red pandas. May is the end of the “falling in love period”, so in September we would have seen the very young ones. Nevertheless, they are not a pretty sight right after they are born.

It has all been said before, but we cannot help it. These woolly creatures are just sooooo cute and lovable! They are the pride of every zoo and there is reason for this, besides the fact that they are so rare and close to extinction. The way they munch away on bamboo leaves and stems is hilarious, lying on their back or propped up like a Roman patrician enjoying a feast. Their movements when stuffing themselves with their favourite foods are so human, made possible by the fake thumb bestowed upon them.

After we watched some adult pandas enjoying breakfast, we thought that such adorable behavior cannot be topped. However, then we came to the area where the young pandas are kept, those 8 months to 18 months old. Their playful acting was simply too much! They would roll over each other, try to climb trees and then fall off, get stuck between branches and perform swinging exercises that only a baby panda could think of. It was almost impossible to walk away!

The adjacent museum provides interesting displays and an informative video on panda habits and reproduction. The most surprising piece of information for us was regarding female pandas giving birth for the first time. Apparently they get so confused by the tiny hairless thing popping out of them that they whack the newly born with their paws. According to the video, this is why in the wilderness the first born never survives, only after this experience do female pandas become caring and loving mothers. In captivity, the new borns are taken away from the mother immediately and bottle fed.

Jinjiang Theater

Jinjiang Theater is Chengdu’s cultural pride, with Chinese opera performances aimed at the many Chinese tourists who visit this city. For the few foreigners, there is a digital display that tries to translate what is being sung or said. It was a great evening with a little bit of everything, luckily!

The Chinese opera singers and soloists playing traditional Chinese instruments were top artists, but nevertheless our ears only slowly adjusted to this kind of music. It is quite incomprehensible that somebody can sing in such a high-pitched voice. So we were somewhat glad, as surely as the rest of the audience, that in between the music sessions there were other types of artistic performances, like hand shadowing, sketches and acrobatic acts of every kind. The most fascinating was one where the artists all wore masks that changed in colour, shape and design in a split second.

Emei Shan – The holy mountain

Emai Shan is one of China’s four famous Buddhist mountains and thus the destination for zillions of Chinese tourists and pilgrims. Not that we could distinguish who was making their way up or down Emai Shan for what purpose, but what was so overwhelming was the sheer number of people on a normal weekday in the low season.

There are many ways to conquer the summit at 3,099 meters… You can take the bus and cable both ways. This can be done in high-heels, which some ladies actually did. One thing that we could not get over was the way many Chinese tourists had themselves carried up the mountain by porters. Only a very few western tourists take the time and effort to climb up and down, which can be done in two long days. Of course, there are many options in between, like taking the bus only half way up and then joining a trek.

Our plan was taking the bus / cable car all the way up to Golden Summit and hike down. Unfortunately, the top was completely engulfed in such a fog that we could not even see the Golden Elephant even when we were standing right next to it… Same for the temple! The people around us were moving behind a thick haze, which created quite a special ambience, but not what we had come here for.

Luckily, we had done a four hour walk on the lower parts of the mountain on the previous day, right after our arrival, and so had got a good taste of what this destination is all about. The path we took ran through lush vegetation, often along a creek and mainly consisted of a trail leading through the “monkey reserve” where about twenty people with sticks would watch that the cheeky monkeys, accustomed to human contact and food, stayed away from the people.

Leshan – The biggest Buddha

Who would not like to see the tallest Buddha in the world sculptured into a cliff overlooking the river? Although it must have been a quiet day, the crowd control devices were in place and the stairs down to the Buddha’s feet were jam-packed with Chinese tourists. So we simply looked for an exit sign in this milling crowd and decided that we would have to continue on with our lives without standing next to the Buddha’s 8.5 meter long toes…

Luckily, the day before we had hopped on a boat that takes you across the river and stops in front of the Giant Buddha for about ten minutes. This way, you get a good view from the river and have time to take photos. Of course, there were no westerners on the boat and the commentary was all “Chinese to us”. The riverfront in Leshan is a lot of fun in the evening, where people stroll along the boardwalk, swim in the river, or join the aerobic classes on the streets.

More pictures of South & Southwest China: http://grandescapades.net/china-a-selection-of-54-pictures

Guilin, Yangshuo, Ping’An & Sanjiang – Guangxi

27th January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

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What makes this area a prime tourist location is the amazing rock formations that are especially spectacular to watch from the Li or Yulong River. They are best described as a never ending cascade of pointed hills covered with lush green vegetation, often coming in bizarre shapes given names like Moon Hill, Nine Horse Fresco Hill… One range follows the other, the ones further away mysteriously disappearing in the haze, typical for this area near two rivers. It reminded me a lot of Halong Bay in Vietnam, without the ocean of course and more, slimmer hills!

Cycling along the Yulong River

One of the best ways to see the extraordinary scenery is riding a bike along the Yulong River. Here tourism is presently finding its way into the local farming communities along the river. This area is undergoing a major transition: you see farmers working their rice paddies or taking their animals home in the evening, while others are building bamboo rafts or taking tourists down the river on these floating devices.

Cruising the Li River

Another possibility to see the stunning rock formation close up is taking a boat trip along the Li River. There are many options, a full-day trip from Guilin to Yangshuo in a big tour boat, or covering only the most scenic stretch in a bamboo raft equipped with a little engine.

Rice terraces of Ping’An – Avoid long weekends…

We were well aware that visiting a main tourist attraction in China during the May 1st holiday week would not be a lonely affair! Nevertheless, what we experienced in the tiny village of Ping’An was beyond our wildest imaginations. The area is famous for its extensive and elaborately sculptured rice terraces, a truly magnificent place. BUT! Since it caters mainly to Chinese tour groups coming up for the day from Guilin or Yangshuo, the place turns into a zoo during the busy holiday season.

Not that Ping’An is a village just off a major highway: it requires quite some traveling to get there, all in all at least 3 hours from Guilin for instance. The last bit is a steep, narrow, windy road that ends at the path that leads to the village. For 50 Yuan, you may pass the entrance gate. From there, it is another 15 to 20 minute walk uphill to the village proper. Unfortunately, in this place, the word mass tourism took on a dimension we did not think was possible. We tried to focus on the positive side and see it as an attraction of its own.

Minority villages near Sanjiang

After the madness of Ping’An, it was such a relief to find Ma’an, famous for its Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge, a quiet relaxed place. The about 100 year old bridge was built by the villagers only using wood, no nails and is covered by what looks like a cascade of roofs. The rice paddies next to the river are irrigated by large squeaking waterwheels.

Unfortunately it rained a lot when I was there, which strongly hampered my hiking plans. Nevertheless, I managed to do a four hour walk around the neighboring Dong minority villages. These are famous for their drum towers, which are basically assembly halls or places to meet socially.

In the village of Pingtan Zhai, I was offered to come inside the Drum Tower, where a group of elderly men was playing cards. Some were watching a hilarious TV program, a man and a woman were competing screaming “Miau” in high-pitched voices. When I was ushered in by one of the men, the others gave me big welcoming smiles and then went on with their business. Tea was offered and of course some smoke, both pipe and cigarettes.

For more information about travelling through South and Southwest China please visit my website http://grandescapades.net/travel-guide-to-china

Discovering The Khmer Rouges’ Killing Machine

26th January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

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Most visitors to Cambodia come to discover the stunning temples of Angkor near Siem Reap. Nevertheless, no travel to this country would be complete without visiting both the “Security Office 21” or S21 (Torture Prison) of Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields in Choeung Ek, each extremely depressing and haunting experiences. These two places display without filter one of the darkest and most gruesome pages of recent history, the Killing Machine of the Khmer Rouge.

The Killing Machine

The Khmer Rouges took over Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 and that very same day, they started to make 2 million people leave the city under the pretense of possible Vietnamese and American air raids. This evacuation didn’t take more than a few days. The “New People”, as the urban population was now referred to, were taken into the countryside, where they were forced to work in the rice fields or build irrigation canals.

Intellectuals, teachers, politicians and soldiers of the old regime were the first ones to be arrested and taken to prison centers to be tortured and then exterminated. There were 167 “Security Offices” and 343 “Killings Fields” in the country.

Very soon, it showed that Pol Pot’s vision of a perfect society, based on collective farming, would fail. Although almost the entire population was working in the fields, there was famine. This nightmare did not go unnoticed and some Khmer Rouge cadres tried to defect to Vietnam, others uttered mild criticism, a death sentence if caught. This is when the 4 “Brothers” became even more paranoid, filling the prisons with more and more of their own people. The term Angkar (meaning “Organization” in Khmer) became a synonym for an omnipresent and mysterious power, a coining for the Communist Party (Khmer Rouges / Pol Pot), which acted in complete secrecy.

S21 – Security Office 21: the Torture Prison of Tuol Sleng

This school – turned – into – prison was Cambodia’s largest “Security Office”, especially designed for the interrogation, torture and extermination of anti “Angkar”, or what a paranoid clique of Khmer Rouge leaders thought was such.

Building A is probably the most horrifying section, where the political prisoners, often Khmer Rouge cadres, were kept in single cells, shackled, and tortured. In each cell the gruesome image of a person tortured to death brings the suffering to a new dimension. These pictures were taken by the Vietnamese army, when they liberated Cambodia of the Khmer Rouges in 1979.

Other buildings contain equally horrifying evidence. There, “normal people” were imprisoned. Either they were kept in miniature cells with chains shackled to the floor or held in large mass cells where their legs were shackled to a piece of iron bar. They were regularly tortured. The rules were rigid and inhuman. Anyone breaking them was tortured. The guards were teenagers taken from remote villages, uneducated and eventually trained to kill.

The hundreds of photos of prisoners on display are haunting. Prisoners were photographed when they arrived at the prison, before and after torture. The fear in their eyes makes you cringe. One of the photos nobody ever forgets is that of the wife of a top official of the Khmer Rouge holding her baby. Her eyes and resigned facial expression tell that she knew exactly what was going to happen to her and her family.

People would confess to most imaginary crimes under torture. Then, those who did not die under torture were sent to the Killing Fields and exterminated. Everything was held for the record, filling thousands of pages. Approximately 17.000 people were killed in S21. There were only seven (!!!) survivors amongst the inmates.

The leaders of the Khmer Rouges denied any knowledge of the existence of these death camps. Since it was impossible to determine who was supporting simply the Khmer Rouges and who was pressured to commit these atrocious crimes, a general amnesty was granted in 1991. The fatal part of this decision was that the top command of the Khmer Rouge was let off the hook. Pol Pot or Brother Number 1, as he was called, died of Malaria in 1998. Other top Khmer Rouges leaders and criminals lived in Cambodia unharmed until 2007.

Then finally Brother Number 2 and Brother Number 9 were arrested and brought to justice by an International Court under the supervision of the United Nations. Their trial is still ongoing, and the Cambodian Government does all it can to avoid sentencing these mass murderers. So far, only the head of S21, Kaing Kek Lev, also called “Duch”, has been sentenced to life in prison and is indeed serving this sentence.

On the day of our visit, we had the unexpected privilege of meeting Chum Mey and Bou Meng, the last 2 of only 7 survivors of S21 who are still alive today. Despite the indescribable suffering they endured there, both men have the unbelievable strength to come back to the place of their torment to sign their book and talk to visitors. What drives them is to inform what happened and why, hoping to prevent such madness from happening again. Unfortunately similar atrocities took place again in Rwanda, in Darfur, in Easter Congo (DRC) and might be happening at the moment of writing without us knowing…

Of course we appreciated being able to buy the books of Mr. Chum Mey & Bou Meng!

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

During the Cambodian Genocide, at this site the unspeakable horror of the Pol Pot Regime reached its climax. Just 15 kilometers outside of Phnom Penh, this is the place where between 1975 and 1979, an estimated 20,000 prisoners were executed. Here, the Khmer Rouge brought those prisoners who had survived the interrogation and torture at S21.

The vision of Pol Pot’s ideal society required to erase all traces of civilization, money, markets, books, spectacles, property, anything linked to culture and education. The goal was to create a rural egalitarian society based on collective farming.

Anybody could end up in the Killing Fields: former politicians, intellectuals, teachers, farmers, workers, women, children, monks, foreigners … It was completely random and soon the Khmer Rouge cadres were targeted, even at the last Pol Pot’s best friend, especially when it became obvious that the “project” was failing. Although most Cambodians were forced to work in the fields, a famine of unknown dimension hit the country. Scapegoats had to be found: “spies” working for the hated Vietnamese and Americans. Prisoners were tortured until they would confess to crimes they never committed and were then executed.

The centerpiece of this memorial is a high tower divided into layers, filled with the 8,950 skulls removed from the 86 excavated mass graves (out of 129) there. It is a ghostly, horrid sight that becomes even more alive when the guide reveals some of the torment and cruelty these prisoners were subjected to.

The Khmer Rouge recruited very young, uneducated men from rural areas, not older than 15 and systematically prepared them for their “task”. Once prisoners arrived at Choeung Ek, they had to line up, kneeling or squatting in front of a very deep ditch, hands tied behind their back and blindfolded. They were hit over the head with a bamboo stick or an ax, often their throats were cut with banana tree leaves and they were then pushed into the ditch. The Khmer Rouge never used guns to kill their victims, because bullets were too expensive. It can be assumed that many victims were still alive when they were buried. Then DDT, a strong poison, was spread over the pile of bodies, to avoid the smell of the decaying bodies being detected by prisoners and farmers in the surrounds.

The number of people found in each of those mass graves differs greatly, from a few to over 400. Often a grave contained a whole family, because the Khmer Rouge believed that “the evil” could only be extinguished by killing all the family members of the accused. The skulls and graves are the only evidence left. All buildings and torture instruments have disappeared or were destroyed.

The code 3 – 8 – 20 stands for three years, eight months and twenty days: the period the Cambodian population was literally enslaved. When the Khmer Rouge terror regime was finally ended by the Vietnamese invasion, an estimated two to three million people were dead, murdered, starved to death, or killed by illness and exhaustion.

Practicalities:

We strongly recommend taking a guide at S21, who can provide more intimate details. The lady who took us around in 2008 was 14 years old when she was made to leave Phnom Penh and labor in the rice fields. Only one cousin of her extended family survived. Our guide in 2014 was much younger but had a wealth of knowledge about this period.

The audio system at the Killing Fields is excellent – if disheartening. The interviews of survivors are difficult to stomach, but extremely moving – they show the dimension of the horror and of the madness of the Khmer Rouges.

Learn more about the stunning Temples of Angkor near Siem Reap.

The Floating Villages Of Tonle Sap

23rd January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

BoatingExcursionsScenerySightseeingTravel

Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, a sight in itself. But even more striking are the villages around and on the lake.

Approaching Tonlé Sap, we felt propelled back into the Neolithic Age. The small river running along the road towards the lake is lined with dwellings that look like giant spiders. On endlessly long, thin stilts, sit huts made of bamboo mats. Often these walls and roofs were in a dishevelled state, some people were able to afford corrugated iron. These structures look so fragile you would expect them to crash any minute into the swampy ground deep below.

Why would people choose to live high up in such raggedy wooden constructions? During the monsoon season, when all of Cambodia receives a lot of rainfall, something very unique happens: the rising waters of the Mekong River (which is connected to Tonle Sap) push their way into the Tonle Sap Lake, causing the waters to flow backwards (!) thus contributing to the swelling lake.

The many antennas poking high into the air surprise most visitors. Yes, there is TV, but don’t assume electricity from the grid has arrived in those huts, only half an hour’s drive from sparkling Siem Reap. It is batteries only.

The only means of transport is by boat, and motorboats seem to slowly gain ground. The heart of the villages is a real maze where only locals won’t get lost. On top of that, driving around by motorboat can be quite challenging, as houses are sometimes fixed to one another with ropes just below the surface. The floating houses are indeed moved over the year, depending on the level of water.

Even though Kompong Pluk and Kompong Luong, the two villages we have discovered, are now regularly visited by tourists on boat tours, the vast majority of the villagers and fishermen do not profit at all from this visitor influx in their neighbourhoods. Poverty here is disheartening, living conditions not much different to those in slums. Most of the people here are Vietnamese refugees with nowhere to go. They lost their citizenship after fleeing Vietnam and are not welcomed in Cambodia either. As if living in such misery was not enough of a burden, they became victims of pogroms as recently as 1998!

The 11 Highlights of my 2 weeks in Oman

18th January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AdventureCultureHistoric BldgsRoad TripsScenery

Oman is special. Where else on the Arabic Peninsula has some of the “Sinbad the Sailor” feeling survived? Besides this 1001 Nights flair, I was stunned by lush oases, ancient fortresses, sandy beaches, dramatic mountain scenery, rolling desert dunes, picturesque wadis, deep fjords and over-friendly people. All in one country! And honestly, when I booked the flight to Muscat, I had no real idea what to expect… Only when I started reading travel blogs in more detail, did I find out that the 2 weeks we had would never be enough to visit all major attractions. The south with its abundance of incense trees around Salalah, I have to save for another trip.

Beware, though… Oman is an expensive destination, no matter how you travel and how hard you try to save money!

The highlights of the trip were

  1. The Omani people – Three adjectives to describe them – friendly, tolerant and not at all pushy. For example, asking somebody for directions can trigger different reactions – various people getting involved in finding an answer or even a motorist escorting you through a city. In most countries, such services would immediately result in demands for money. Not in Oman, never did vendors push their wares on us or even approach us for that matter.
  2. Small town Khasab on the peninsula of Musandam – guarding the Strait of Hormuz: a six-hour sailing trip around Khor al Sham was one of the highlights of my two-week travel in Oman. Resting on carpets and pillows gazing at the dramatic mountain scenery can easily fill a day. Twice we stopped for swimming and snorkeling. It was on this boat that I discovered the most addictive drink ever: tea spiced with cardamom, rosewater and saffron.
  3. A few days in the Wahiba Sands, a desert with 10,000 km2 of reddish dunes rolling all the way to the Indian Ocean! The simple beauty of this and the feeling of vastness leaves nobody untouched. Going in a jeep deep into the desert was an experience! We climbed and slid down steep dunes as tall as buildings and had a Bedouin lunch in the middle of this emptiness…
  4. Driving into the heart of the Hajer Mountains on a windy dirt road, that reminded me tremendously of Bolivian “Death Road”. The incline was sometimes so steep that I could see nothing but the hood of our car. I could only hope that I was not going over a cliff or running head on into another vehicle. Wannabe daredevil as I am, I had saved on the 300 Euros to rent a GPS and soon after heading into the mountains from the coastal road: immediately after the tarred road ended, I got lost!
  5. Hiking Wadi Ghul – Oman’s Grand Canyon: At the crack of dawn I started the trek into Wadi Ghul, Arabia’s Grand Canyon, following the narrow foot path hewn into the western wall of the canyon. Early in the morning the sun was touching our side of the canyon and I loved being warmed. Every time I stopped for taking photos, I asked myself how I could possibly describe the scenery – majestic, spectacular and mighty? It all sounded so trivial!
  6. Gazing at the 5,000 year old tombs of Al Ayn – just me! Built 3000 BC, in prehistory times, during the Bronze Age, these tombs were once 8 meters high, but with the stone slabs falling off, most of them are only two to three meters high now. It was beyond my comprehension that this was not a major tourist site (I was the only visitor).
  7. Fortress hopping – and I only visited 8 from the nearly 500… The most remarkable were:
    • The fortress of Nakhal, the perfect start for my “fortress hoping” in Oman. Its hilltop location makes it the perfect photo opportunity, probably the best of all Omani fortresses.
    • Approaching the gigantic Fortress of Bahla, Oman’s oldest Fort, in the evening light, was magnificent… Its renovation has been going for decades, since only hand made clay bricks are used, to get as close to the original as possible. Despite such immense efforts to make it look authentic, it comes across a bit too neat, like most castles in Oman.
    • Nizwa is also a perfect base for some more serious fortress discovery… The fortresses of Jebreen, Bahla, Nizwa and numerous oases wait to be visited!
  8. The haggling at Nizwa’s goat market on Fridays, very early morning, before busloads of tourists arrive… Even before the selling began, the round podium in the center of the roofed-in arena was filled with men dressed in white Dishdasha, looking elegant and important. A sudden noise of shuffling feet announced the selling and the crowd of humans and animals in the circle started moving. Soon the noise increased, as the men were calling out the price and touting the qualities of the goats, which they were dragging or carrying around…
  9. Meeting Khalfan in his very personal museum in Al Kamil – Khalfan, a collector at heart, has made his dream come true and turned his grandfather’s old castle into a museum. He spent the last three years travelling all over Oman buying everything from old household items to weapons. He personally took me around and explained the most outstanding items: old coins, stamps, jewelry, telephone cards or weapons that were 500 years old…
  10. Egg-laying turtles at Ras Al Jinz – Thousands of Green Turtles arrive at the beaches of Ras Al Hadd and Ras Al Jinz every year to lay their eggs in the sand. To do so they dig a deep hole with their powerful flippers. A truly moving experience!
  11. The many oases of Oman, for instance Wadi Bani Khaled. If there ever was a Garden of Eden, it must have looked like Wadi Bani Khaled. Here emerald colored pools lined with palm trees and reeds welcome the visitors. An easy trek leads into a narrow canyon with more pools surrounded by large boulders – much more than the usual picturesque oasis!

http://grandescapades.net/travel-guide-to-oman/#more-2230

Siem Reap – Much more than only Angkor Wat

| Article By Grand Escapades

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Or how to discover (many) Angkor Temples around Siem Reap without the crowd… and without straining your budget!

No visit to Cambodia would be complete without marvelling at Angkor Wat and the stunning Khmer temples around Siem Reap! Nevertheless, seldom have we experienced such strong contrasts as in Siem Reap, the hub to visiting the stunning Angkor Temples… On the one hand, the city itself and unfortunately the most famous temples like Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm have turned into a congested tourist mess and now represent mass-tourism at its worst. On the other hand, as soon as we headed a bit further afield, we could enjoy beautiful temples almost void of any visitors…

Siem Reap has indeed changed a lot since my last visit in 2008, and not for the better – It is now a gigantic tourist hub, with 2 million people arriving every year. Huge fancy hotels that cater mostly for large groups from Asia, have popped up like mushrooms. The Old Market Area, especially around “Pub Street”, tops it all… though some restaurants there are quite pleasant.

And unfortunately, the main temples are terribly overrun, with large groups creating a (loud) commotion at every corner and people more busy taking pictures of themselves or of one another than discovering the temples and soaking up the atmosphere of these unique places.

Maybe the worst experiences – yes, hard to believe – are Sunrise and Sunset over Angkor Wat. Sunset at Phnom Bakheng, I remembered as overcrowded and not spectacular from back in 2008, so we did not even bother. This time, we decided to give the “Sunrise Over Angkor” a chance… At 05:00 we became part of the most impressive Tuk tuk armada anyone has ever seen… Well, another (unspectacular) mass-tourism experience under our belt!

Nevertheless, there are many ways to enjoy the magnificent Angkor Temples more Off The Beaten Track…

  • Of course you cannot miss both Angkor Wat (visit in the morning and at the end of the afternoon for pictures) and Angkor Thom (best enjoyed in the afternoon). Ta Prohm has changed for the worse and is now, in my opinion, very disappointing. In those temples, you will not be alone! No chance… The “Balloon Over Angkor” Ride (15 USD) is a good opportunity to change perspective, and there seems to be no tour groups there, at least if you avoid sunrise and sunset.
  • Beng Mealea (a must do, the opportunity to experience a real “Jungle Temple”, and a major one at that) can be enjoyed in total quietness if you visit early enough.
  • Other remote temples like the pre-Angkor Roluos Temple Group, the very refined Banteay Srei or the mystical Jungle Sculptures in Kbal Spean are far less overrun. You won’t be alone, but it is unlikely that you will witness masses. Be very early at Roluos to beat the tours heading there in the morning. Few people do the hike to Kbal Spean, and this you can do at noon time as it is almost completely in the shade.
  • At far away temples, you will really be completely on your own, especially if you stay there overnight and start with an early visit:
    • Stunning Koh Ker with the most impressive Prasat Thom.
    • The “Sky-Temple” or Prasat Preah Vihear, Cambodia’s second UNESCO World Heritage, so very disputed with Thailand.
    • Sambor Pre Kuk, the oldest of all temples in the Angkor area, built between 618 and 635 AD.
    • And last but not least Banteay Chhmar, an imposing construction that remained as it was when discovered.
    • Preah Khan we would no longer visit, as this is a long and very rough drive. The temple is impressive though!
  • Around several of the remote temples, you also have the opportunity to do Home Stays. We did in Sambor Pre Kuk and in Banteay Chhmar, the latter being a highlight of our trip. This is such a great way to discover a much more genuine Cambodia and to support communities that truly need the extra-income. Moreover, you will actually save money there, as those are really cheap…
  • Last but not least, an adrenaline pumping activity around Siem Reap is a flight in an Ultra-Light Plane with Aero Cambodia over Angkor. For 125 USD you are taken on a large loop over Angkor Temples.

How to get there?

  • If you have some money to spend, consider renting a car. We used Sout Transportation, a very nice gentleman who spoke good English, was eager to share everything we wanted to know about his country and drove us carefully but efficiently in his own car. We paid 80 USD a day (car, driver, gasoline, driver’s costs…) for our loop. Of course, you can share such a car with fellow travelers to cut costs. Expect to travel 4 to 5 busy days to cover all the remote temples.
  • If you are on a limited budget, you should hire a scooter (like 125 cc semi-automatic) and do a big loop. Allow a few extra days for that. Roads are good except to Preah Khan (only for extremely experienced off-road drivers) and the last 5 kilometers to Banteay Chhmar. If you have the time, this is also a very good way to discover life in more remote parts of Cambodia.
  • If you are on a very tight budget and have time available, many remote temples (but unfortunately not all…) can be reached by public transport. This is no personal experience, but I met a few travelers relying on shared taxis in very remote areas. This can be rather time-consuming and sometimes frustrating, though…

As a conclusion?

Yes, you can go Off The Beaten Track in and especially around Siem Reap. It does not mean missing the most stunning and hence most popular temples. It only means to take the time and also consider visiting those really bypassed by the vast majority… And they are definitely worth the visit!

Mana Pools – Canoeing the Zambezi River

14th January, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

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Should anybody ask us what we liked best about this entire trip, the answer is very simple: the four days canoeing on the Zambezi River, camping on its bank and being in the midst of all this wildlife. And let’s not forget, listening to Gus’ exciting stories, a resume of 20 years of experience in national parks all over southern Africa.

What made it so special? The different approach to game viewing! We moved in canoes and on foot. Yes, on foot… Each day, just after dawn, Gus, our guide from SunPath Safaris, took us for a walk through the bush, always sporting a revolver and a gun on these excursions. Luckily, he never needed to scare off a startled or frightened animal. How we felt? Rather exposed, but we soon got used to briskly walking single file behind Gus, stopping, getting down on our knees, crawling or whatever movement the situation required.

The rest of the days we spent in our canoes gliding down the Zambezi. This required surprisingly little work, the light current doing most of the job. Gus and Heidi shared one canoe, Jason and Gilles took turns steering theirs through the hippo infested river.

Floating through this most scenic valley was a highlight of its own, but it was this unique safari that we found most thrilling. Our encounters with game were immediate and often dangerous, especially with hippos. Gus claimed that 2.000 of them inhabit this stretch of the river and they required all your attention. Initially, we thought those dozing motionless on a river bank are easiest to ignore. However, they did not ignore us: they always noticed us, got up one by one and heaved their large bodies into the water, where we were. We never got used to 20 hippos moving our way, although Gus explained that they simply try to get into a safe environment: the water.

Hippos squatting in shallow water can be equally vicious, where they scare you with their loud snorting and grizzly stares. Even hippos sleeping can be dangerous. According to Gus, they come to the surface for breathing while sleeping and knock against canoes… frightening the hell out of tourists!

Lots of crocodiles could not be bothered by us. Gazelles and waterbucks would keep their distance or fearfully flee with graceful leaps. Once we waited for an hour until a family of elephants was ready to cross the river. What a sight when they first waded through the shallow water, but eventually the small baby elephant had to swim. It looked rather inexperienced: its head popping in and out of the water.

Sitting at the campfire at night was equally electrifying, watching unparalleled sunsets and listening to the increased activity of animals around us. Soon we would not see but only hear them, wading through the shallow water, ripping off leaves and rampaging through the undergrowth just next to our tents…

Wadi Ghul – The “Grand Canyon” Of Oman’s Alps

14th December, 2015 | Article By Grand Escapades

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Cold it was up there when we finally pulled in to Jebel Shams Resort, at almost 2,000 meters above sea level. For 150 € (half board) the large room was very cozy and warm, but the restaurant reminded me more of a cheap buffet in a high-school cafeteria. From our room we could see the lights of the military base high up on top of Jebel Shams. We were not envying the soldiers up in their chilly barracks. Guarding what?

We came to this place by way of Oman’s Death Road (that’s another story). At the crack of dawn we started our trek into Wadi Ghul, Arabia’s Grand Canyon, following the narrow foot path hewn into the western wall of the canyon. Early in the morning the sun was touching our side of the canyon and we loved being warmed. Every time we stopped for taking photos, we asked ourselves how we could possibly describe the scenery – majestic, spectacular and mighty? It all sounded so trivial!

We ended the trek after about 2 hours at an old abandoned village built into the cliff, Sab Bani Khamis. Some 5 to 10 families lived there up until 15 years ago, taking care of their goats and terraced gardens, also built into the rock. We thought a lot about what it must have meant to lived in such isolation.

Walking back the same way was tough. It was a very easy, wonderful walk but at 10:00 am the sun was hitting the rocks with all its force, frying us. If we ever did this hike again, we would start around 02:00 pm and return with the setting sun. On top of that, in the afternoon, there wouldn’t be any other hikers.

Most of those we met were Germans. As experienced hikers, they explore the Hajer Mountains with state of the art equipment, even with small children. Immediately we spotted the first non-Germans, a family led by a T-shirtless man. Bingo – a British father of two, catching a serious sunburn.

Euphoric we were and regretful – it was a mistake not to stay longer in this incredible place. Besides, for serious photography you need to do the trek in the afternoon, when the sun is setting on the opposite side of the canyon trek.