Tonle Om Gate / South Entrance to Angkor Thom

Tonle Om Gate is the southern entrance to the Angkor Thom temple complex. This is the most well known and busiest of the five gates to Angkor Thom. We visited Tonle Om Gate the morning after we had been to Angkor Wat, our first temple visit of the trip. Angkor Thom and its five gates are part of the Angkor Archaeological Park, meaning you'll need your Angkor pass to visit here. We purchased a three day flexi pass for the park, giving us the choice of which three days we would use to explore the area.

As you can see here, this gate is very popular, not only is it the primary way to access Angkor Thom from Siem Reap, it is also the gate which has had the most attention when it comes to restoration and preservation, making it a popular photo stop for tourists and locals alike.

Our Angkor guide, Kea Simon, explaining some of the history of Tonle Om Gate to Mel and Ken. Simon was our guide through all the Angkor temples and was an invaluable asset to us during our stay in Siem Reap.

The 100m causeway across the moat at Tonle Om is flanked by balustrades featuring Devas and Asuras holding the body of a giant Naga serpent.

On the left side of the causeway, the Devas are depicted with happy faces and represent the good in the world. Here we have Mikah and Lori with the Devas of Tonle Om Gate.

The Devas are in constant battle with the Asuras on the right hand side, who are malevolent beings representing all the bad in the world and depicted with grumpy faces and bulging eyes.

The preservation and restoration of these ancient works is a continual project and you can see here the contrast between original and replacement parts of these statues.

Lori doing her best Asura impression at Tonle Om Gate, Angkor Thom.

Tonle Om Gate, Angkor Thom, as seen from the causeway across the moat.

Here you can see the tri-headed elephant, Airvata, below the faces that tower over Tonle Om Gate. The four faces are believed by some to represent Brahma, the creator, although this is not known for certain.

Here is another angle showing Airvata, the tri-headed elephant, which also features in other nearby monuments, such as the Terrace of the Elephants.

Inside Tonle Om Gate are these small chambers, which could have functioned as guard stations at one point.

Once you have passed through Tonle Om Gate, make sure you turn around and appreciate that these gates are works of art on all four sides.

Tonle Om Gate is an amazing place to visit, no matter the time of year, although visiting at the tail end of the wet season, like we did, ensures beautiful green scenery all around. Make sure you take the time to get out and walk through this gate, as it really is awe inspiring. For me, this gate, and the whole Angkor Archaeological Park, is a very highly recommended part of any visit to Siem Reap, and Cambodia in general.

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Hard Rock Cafe - Angkor / Siem Reap

After spending the bulk of the day at Angkor Wat, we headed to Hard Rock Cafe Angkor, in Siem Reap. Mel is a confirmed Hard Rock addict, with quite an impressive collection of memorabilia, so we would be visiting two Hard Rock Cafe locations in Cambodia.

Mel with the guitar outside Hard Rock Cafe Angkor, in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Now for the big question - what did we think of Hard Rock Cafe Angkor? Well, our impressions needed to be tempered with the knowledge that Cambodia is still returning to popularity after COVID put the brakes on tourism world wide for several years, and more recently, we were visiting at the tail end of the wet season, historically a slow time for tourism in the region.

Mel and Lori checking out the shirts in the Rock Shop at Hard Rock Cafe Angkor.

We were the only guests for most of the night, with another couple coming in while we were there, and the Rock Shop was missing quite a few regular items. There were no Hurricane glasses and no collectors pins, so our cocktails came in well worn hurricane glasses, but the collectors glasses we brought home were pint glasses. This was also the case in Phnom Penh and from speaking to the staff at the two venues, this will be rectified soon.

Loaded fries and potato skins at Hard Rock Cafe Angkor, in Siem Reap.

We also noted that there was a reduced menu here for food and drink, but that what was presented to us was top notch, we certainly had no complaints about the food, drinks or service here. While there was no live music on offer here, we would find out later that the band was only a week or so away, as they were performing at the Phnom Penh venue at the time, as that venue was training the new bands for both locations.

There was no live music here tonight, so Mel hopped on the skins for a photo. We would later find out that we missed the return of live music to this venue by a matter of weeks.

Would we come back to Hard Rock Cafe Angkor? Of course! Although being the only guests there put a bit of a dampener on the atmosphere, we're quite confident that with the return of live music and as tourists return to the Angkor region, Siem Reaps own Hard Rock Cafe will start to see the crowds returning and we would love to see this venue when it's really pumping.

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Nerk Restaurant - Siem Reap

After spending the morning exploring Angkor Wat, we asked Sophorn, our driver, to take us somewhere nice for lunch. He recommended Nerk Restaurant, an upscale restaurant in suburban Siem Reap. Lori and Mel both ordered Chicken Amok, a traditional Khmer dish that they had both been looking forward to trying while we were in Cambodia. Ken ordered a serve of frogs and I ordered eel, however I was informed that they were out of eel, so I ended up ordering the Beef Lok Lak instead, another traditional Khmer dish.

Outdoor bar at Nerk Restaurant.

We drank a lot of Pina Colada's this trip, this was Lori's here at Nerk.

I opted for a Margarita with lunch, and Nerk's version hit the mark just right.

Lori and Mel both ordered Chicken Amok, a traditional Khmer dish we had been really keen to try here in Cambodia.

Mels' Chicken Amok, removed from it's coconut casing. Chicken and fish amok are tradional Khmer dishes usually cooked in these little banana leaf cups.

Lori also had a serve of satay chicken and Jasmine rice.

The food, drinks and service here at Nerk Restaurant were all on point and we all left full and happy. This is a higher than average priced restaurant for Siem Reap, but the quality and the setting is on par with the pricing.

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Angkor Wat - Part 2

Angkor Wat was our first temple visit in Cambodia, it's the largest religious monument in the world and something truly amazing to see. My previous post covered the walk from the carpark to the outer Libraries, while this post covers the remaining part of the journey to the innermost and uppermost parts of this amazing place. Along the way we were accomanied by our driver, guide and mate, Sophorn and our Angkor guide Kea Simon.

The Griswalds, Phil, Lori, Mikah, Mel and Ken, in front of the southern reflecting pool of Angkor Wat. These pools are normally a lot fuller than this, and are a very popular spot to shoot the sunrise over Angkor Wat. We decided to avoid that, as we preferred to go when there were less tourists around, not more.

The entrance to the western gallery of Angkor Wat, on the right of the shot you can see a bullet hole left behind after a shoot out between Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces as the Vietnamese pushed the Khmer Rouge west towards the Thai border.

Three Apsara depicted dancing on the walls of the western gallery of Angkor Wat.

The northwest corner of the five central towers of Angkor Wat, symbolizing the five peaked Mount Meru, mythical home of the gods in both Buddhist and Hindu lore.

The view from the upper gallery of Angkor Wat, looking out over the western gallery, down the Terrace of Honor that leads between the North and South Libraries to the horizon. This upper level is the most revered portion of Angkor Wat, where dress standards are more strictly enforced. This is where you will need your shoulders and knees covered and your head uncovered.

The central sanctuary tower of Angkor Wat, this is one the sun rises over on the Equinox.

Cambodia is still a deeply religious country and you will come across monks anywhere, all wearing those beautiful bright orange robes. I personally just love this shot, this part of Angkor Wat is quieter, harder to get to and a great spot for reflection, we all took time to take in the enormity of this site and it's history.

Mel, Mikah and Lori after climbing back down from the upper gallery at Angkor Wat. There are some pretty steep climbs in these temples, even after they've had new steps installed over the top to protect the originals and make them a little easier for tourists and pilgrims to climb. Here Mikah's having a little giggle and wondering if I'm going to trip myself up scooting backwards across the lava stone floor.

A passage way at Angkor Wat, with Sanskrit writing carved into the columns.

The five central sanctuary towers of Angkor Wat, seen from the north east. In the foreground is the northern of two reflecting pools, maintenance crews are taking advantage of the lower water levels at this time to perform some upkeep on the pools.

And that's a wrap for Angkor Wat this time around for us, this was our first visit, and I'm sure we will be back again. Like many of the great wonders of the world, this place draws you back to explore it more. Over several hundred metres of intricately carved walls telling epic tales from Hindu mythology and so much more detail we barely discovered deserve another look.

For now, however, Sophorns' air conditioned van awaits.

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Angkor Wat - Part 1

Angkor Wat. If this isn't one of the 7 wonders of the world, it sure should be. A truly amazing complex to experience, and although we barely scratched the surface today, something that must not be missed on any trip to Cambodia. A thousand years of living history around you and under your feet. We have more temples to explore over the coming days, but it's hard to imagine anything topping this.

The words above are what I wrote on social media after spending the day exploring Angkor Wat, I kept the photos to 10, as per Instagrams post limit, but for the blog, I'm going to make it into two posts and hopefully the captions will explain a bit more of what we saw during the day.

The five Griswalds, Ken, Mel, Mikah, Lori and myself, Phil, on the main entry terrace to Angkor Wat. This is about where the enormity of what you are about to experience starts to hit you. According to the Guinness Book of Records, this is the largest religous structure in the world.

The Naga (multi headed snake) and the lion are both protective elements used in a lot of stone work in Cambodia. The Naga is symbolic in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology as a guardian and also a sign of peace and prosperity, while the lions are the symbolic protectors of the Khmer kings. The lion seen here has been left unrestored, despite being one of the first statues that most visitors to Angkor Wat encounter and contrasts with the restored Naga beside it. As seen here, a lot of the statues had their heads removed by theives in the post Khmer Rouge period.

Our Angkor temple guide Kea Simon and Ken. Simon was a huge help to us over our three days in the Angkor Archaeological Park, which includes not only Angkor Wat, but a number of other temples around Siem Reap. We had a three day pass and Simon accompanied us on all three days.

Angkor Wat is well known for it's reflection photos, here's Mel grabbing one such shot across the moat surrounding the temple complex. To the left of shot is the Rainbow Bridge, the main entrance to Angkor Wat, which is currently closed for renovations, so we used a temporary floating bridge that is out of shot to the right.

This part of Angkor Wat is very popular with locals and tourists alike. It seemed more locals knew about it than tourists when we were there, so thanks to Simon for detouring us from the path all the other tourists were following to see it.

Myself, Lori and Mikah also getting that framed shot of Angkor Wat in the background.

There are so many amazing facets to these ancient temples. The detail in the columns and the walls is mind blowing, and then you look up at the ceilings and realise that they are works of art as well.

Lori and myself on the causeway leading to the central part of Angkor Wat.

Mel and Ken at the entrance to the Southern library of Angkor Wat. Built in the 12th Century, the texts are long since gone, but the buildings are quite well preserved.

Lori, Mikah and myself, also at the entrance to the Southern library of Angkor Wat. The famous reflecting pools are just the other side of the two libraries.

The next post will cover the inner part of Angkor Wat, past the libraries and reflecting pools and all the way up to the uppermost gallery that surrounds the central tower, the highest accessible point of Angkor Wat.

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Day 1 - We Made It!

I posted the following to my socials back on the 16th of September, just before we all crashed after a huge day of travelling, and quick look around Siem Reap to get our bearings.

"We made it! Out of bed at around 2am this morning, off to Perth International Airport, with access to the Aspire Lounge (courtesy of Mel) making things go a little more easily. Two flights, some pig trotter at Singapore Airport and well over half a day later and we were on the ground in Siem Reap. Stairs and a short walk across the tarmac sure brought back some familiar and so much missed memories of a time gone by. We checked into our hotel and headed down to Pub Street for a feed and a few drinks before a few big days exploring Siem Reap and the various temples around here, including Angkor Wat."

The bar at the Aspire Lounge happened to have the perfect view of our plane waiting to take us on to our first stop at Singapore Airport. We loved the Aspire Lounge, the staff were great, the only slight disappointment was that it was not open at the advertised '3 hours before boarding', instead opening at just after 4am leaving ourselves and a few other customers confused.

Mel is a confirmed Hard Rock Cafe addict, with a huge memorabilia collection to go with that addiction, and one of our goals on this trip was to get to all three of the Hard Rock Cafe locations in Cambodia (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Phnom Penh Airport). Here she is missing out on a fourth location at Singapores' Changi Airport by a couple of weeks.

During our Changi Airport we had just enough time to get ourselves over to the Straits Food Village, a Hawker style food court inside the airports T2 building, here I went for the Pork Trotters and a roti style dish on the side. The Straits Food Village sets a very high (yet quick cheap) bar for any other airport dining experience to match.

On the upper level of Singapore Changi Airports T2 building is a Sunflower Garden. Here are Lori and Mikah with some of the garden.

Our travel companions Mel and Ken, also posting with some sunflowers at Singapore Changi Airport. This really is one of the most layover friendly airports you'll find.

On the deck in Siem Reap. In just a couple of weeks, all international flights into Siem Reap will transition to the new Siem Reap Angkor International Airport and these old signs and buildings won't be popping up in photos anymore.

Disembarking in Siem Reap. There was a definite touch of nostalgia here, no airbridge, just that slap in the face from that wonderful tropical heat and humidity and a walk across the tarmac to the arrivals lounge. It's a rare experience that is getting rarer these days and I will certainly miss it when it's gone.

Mikah, Mel, Ken and Lori in Pub Street, Siem Reap. This is the traditional party area of Siem Reap, a couple of blocks of bars and restaurants (as well as a couple of laneways nearby) that have been home to Siem Reaps nightlife scene for several years, although as we found, there are other parts of town that have plenty to offer in that regard too.

The Angkor What? Bar in Siem Reap's Pub Street is one of the older bars here and claims to have been 'Promoting Irresponsible Drinking Since 1998' - so of course we had to stop in for a drink.

Myself, shot by Mikah at Angkor What? Bar on Siem Reap's Pub Street. Mikah would occasionally grab the camera and take a few shots during the trip, and I'm liking the way she's developing her photography.

We have been using the hashtag #GRSWLD2023 during the trip, so keep an eye out for that on social media while you're waiting for the next blog post.

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