1 PICTURE STORY # 4

SIMPLE STORY OF A SIMPLE MAN

This picture tells a story of a simple man who wakes up early hours in the morning and prepare sticky rice in bamboo vessels to sell the local tourists. He carries all the sticky rice vessels on his shoulders and brings them to the Angkor Wat complex to sell them.

He finish his job by 2 PM and go back to his house to take his meal, rest and reunite with his family after a long day of work.

ANGKOR PARK : A MYSTERY

Angkor park is magical and you loose yourself completely to this place which is full of stories.

So many temples and each has so many stories. A place to loose yourself into imaginations.

ANGKOR WAT IN PICTURES

Ladies and Gentlemen!! I present you biggest Hindu temple complex in the World.

ANGKOR WAT

GRRRRRRR!!!!! 5 $

ANGKOR WAT

Its very beautiful and the jewel of Angkor national park. However there is a big tourist influx and the locals involved in the tourism business are bit spoilt sometimes.

While I was walking between the temple complex, I had to cross a group of locals dressed as the Apsaras and Demons. They charge 5 $ to have a picture with them.

But I did not want a picture with them. So I thought I will wait to cross the steps until they finish their picture with the big chinese group. Not sure why, the guy with the Tiger head started to frown at me like I am making their picture.

I told him that I am not making their picture and when he continued to frown at me, I actually made his picture.

AN EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE BEST WORM!

It was 4:30 AM we left hotel to see the Angkor WAT for the Sunrise. And we thought that we will be the first ones to be in a good spot and we will witness the best sunrise.

But to our surprise as soon we reached the Angkor National park to get our Pass we saw big queues. Although the queue cleared very fast and we were inside the park. Trust my words there were already a thousand tourists before us at the spot. But luckily Chan took us to a very good spot with our guide Mr San for the Sunrise.

It was less crowded and less flashing lights from the cameras. We had a great view at a much quieter side of the Angkor Wat.

So indeed, "An Early bird catches the best Worm."

MR SAN WANTS A BEER!

If you like my service get me a beer :)

Our tour guide for the Angkor national park was Mr San. A local Cambodian with abundance of knowledge about the Angkor Park and its history.

He walked us around the Angkor Wat temple, Angkor Thom, Bayon temple, Phreah Kan, Elephant Terrace etc and shared so many interesting stories about hindu mythology. Some facts which I knew already being a Hindu and some which I learnt from him. I also realised that the facts of Hindu mythology are bit different from what we know in India as they have changed for the distance they traveled or over the time.

Every time me or my guests would say, Wow! thats interesting!! Mr San would say, if you like my service then buy me a beer.

So much that towards the end of the tour we were teasing him, buy me a beer. He is a fun and jovial  guide to be with and I recommend Mr San to everyone visiting Angkor.

Contacts details :
Mr San
+85512483986
Siem Reap, Cambodia

ANGKOR WAT : A STAR!!

While I was waiting for the sun to rise at Angkor Wat, I was not alone.
There were many tourists around. It was quite dark still and people were ready waiting with there special cameras, recorder, tripods.

I had a feeling that Angkor Wat is a celebrity which will rise at the sunrise and will come to say hello to the press, cameras, fans etc.

Every second you could see 100s of flash lights.

Really Angkor Wat is a Star.

SELFIE # 3

This selfie is from the Angkor Wat temple complex.
 It is the result of my excitement. I was thrilled by the beautiful sunrise I witnessed.

MY DATE WITH ANGKOR WAT!

It was my third time at Angkor war temple. I have seen it in many shades i.e for sunrise, sunset. Seen it many weathers. The colour changes every minute. Every single minute its a different view. Yet it is always stunning.

I must say my third date with my dear ANGKOR WAT was simply spectacular. <3

PERKS OF BEING A TOUR ORGANISER.

So, I arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. My friend Chan drove me to my hotel where I had to check in and look after all the arrangements for my guests.

I had approached the hotel in advance, if they have a cheaper accommodation for the Tour leader and they agreed to make a great discount for me at a price of 30 dollars per night with breakfast.

It was amazing they had organised a nice room for me, welcomed me with ginger lemon tea. The moment I checked - in my room I was awestruck.

CAMBODIA, I ARRIVED.

So, here I am in Cambodia, yet again to take a small group for tour around the country. Mr Chan will be driving all around the country in his Car. 

Our route map :

Siem Reap > Phnom Penh > Sihanouk ville > Koh Rong

Wohooooo! here I am again. 

IS IT AN AIRPORT OR A RUNWAY?

So it was time to depart from Bangkok to Siem reap. I took an hour flight and it was full of turbulence, but was dot on time.

Thats the good thing about Airasia flights. They are always on time.
But its not about flying to Siem Reap or the Airasia flight. It is the Siem Reap International Airport which surprised me.

It was my third time in this airport and I was very surprised for the renovation. The airport had a very traditional look of a Monastery. It is now exchanged for chic shopping mall look. Its huge and full of differences from the previous one.

The one before was always very chaotic, big queues although very well handled, no good shops for tourists which are normally loaded in the new airports.

This new airport looks like a shopping mall, with all signs in Khmer, English and French. It has all modern amenities. It looks like chic runway with all disco lights. May be the government of Cambodia wants its tourists to feel like a run way model :P

BREAKFAST AT ANGKOR PARK

We had a great place to sit by the pond and have breakfast from the Hotel. Thanks to Mr Chan.

This is traveling indeed :)

KAO SAN ROAD BY NIGHT :)

A walk around Kao San Road by night.

MY OFFICE !

May be I shared it several times. Or may be not. To be honest, I am not very sure.
Its been quite some time that I work from home. I use my computer as my office. I can operate from anyplace or any corner of the world. That gives me the benefit to be anywhere and still deliver to my work.

Be it online consulting, online selling or making tours in both Indian and International destinations; my work always gives me a privilege or keeps me on the move.

My office can be anywhere. My bedroom or a coffee shop. My terrace or a park. It could be a free wi fi zone. It could also be the flight I take or the train I travel. It could be a ferry boat or just my hotel room.

I could travel anywhere, see new places, meet people from another country, explore their culture. I could live a local's life.

Really, its true. If to work from home feels good, then being global citizen feels so much better.

SURPRISE TO OVERWHELM.

Its true while traveling, there is rapid shift of one's feeling. 

One could be surprised, shocked, Happy, excited, disappointed, Overwhelmed etc. 

So it was for me, In the very first moment, I was surprised when I arrived at the new airport of Siem reap which looks like a run way. The very next moment, I am outside the gates and I feel so overwhelm. 

Yes, I was so overwhelmed when I see my friend Chan whom I met in my previous visit to Cambodia in 2012 was waiting to pick me up at the airport. 

NOSTALGIC FROM MY WINDOW :)

Neither the views nor the weather is new. It's simply the nostalgia.

I have seen these views in many weathers. I have seen the road, the river, the balconies, the monasteries, the trees etc. I have seen them all with the sun, with the winds and with the clouds. I had lived here many beautiful memories.Yet I want to see them again. I wanted to feel the freshness and cherish those beautiful times. I wanted smile.

Good times are the best and the moment you think of them, you simply smile.

VIEWS FROM MY HOTEL :)

It is 11 AM and yet feels like 6 AM as its the clouds colouring the sky.
I had some good sleep and yet need some more. But I have so much more to work. I have finish a lot before I hit Siem Reap, Cambodia.

I slide the window and still love these views with the dark clouds because there is so much more to these views. The place, the hotel Mango Lagoon Place and this room with views is not new.

There is so much more to these breath taking views.

7 ELEVEN NOSTALGIA !

So my room was all set and I went down to bring some to drink and some snacks to munch. It was 4:30 am. Where could I go to buy water? Which shop would be open now?

Its 7Eleven. It is one of the biggest international retail chain in 17 countries around the world to sell some of the basic needs to customers.

There is one 7Eleven right next to the Mango Lagoon Place. So I just stepped in and there comes the sound; Tinnnngggg Tinnnn. The stores all over have automated sliding doors and the moment you step near by the door it makes the noise. Its a sound which rings many memories in seconds. It reminds the belongingness you have which this retail chain. The thousand times you must have heard this sound. It leaves you in a state of nostalgia. The good old memories.

In the whole one day of my stay in Thailand, I must have stepped in to many of these 7Elevens while I ran for my errands. Great feeling and waiting to go back to one of them again.

Tinnngggg Tinnnnn!

HOTEL HOTEL :)

Every time I fly somewhere other than Thailand in South east Asia, I tend to break up my journey either in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia or Bangkok, Thailand.

So this time in Thailand, I had one whole day to run all my errands before starting my work in Cambodia. But the point is not my errands. I do not even want to talk about errands.

I want to talk about my hotel. Every time I am in Bangkok, I stay in this hotel called Mango Lagoon Place. It is a well equipped property with restaurant and bar. It has rooms for everyone.

I always ask for a small room in the terrace floor for good views. If at the terrace floor you can still see a tiny bit of the Chao Phraya river and the Monasteries in the Kao San Road.

So arrived in the hotel at 4 AM and it was already pre booked for me. I like the room and the hot shower in this hotel. After which I organise my clothes, shoes etc. Every time I am here I organise things in the hotel like its my room in my house.

I play it like a game. A sweet game called HOTEL HOTEL :)

HERE I GO AGAIN!! ANOTHER MARATHON!!

Every time I have fly out of my hometown to some international destination, its the same story.
Its always a combination of flights, trains and taxis.

This time it was to Cambodia. Forget my hometown, Cambodia does not have any direct flights to any of the metros in India.

So I took a train from my hometown Bhubaneswar to Howrah -> then a ferry to cross the river and reach Esplanade in Calcutta -> then took a taxi to Netaji Bose International airport -> then I took a flight to Bangkok -> a taxi to my hotel -> flight to Siem Reap international airport.

But its all worth it once I am in Siem Reap.