Ta Som: Cambodia

Happy Monday Y'all 

I hope your weekend was amazing. I can't wait to start sharing Vietnam with you guys, but for now- a quick post on Ta Som Temple. 

Again- this was one of our temples from our second day of exploration. This temple was constructed in the end of the 12th century, and was destroyed in the 15th-16th centuries. In 1998, Cambodia started on the restoration project of this temple. The project is ongoing and today there is still scaffolding surrounding some parts of the temple.

Like every temple I've shared in the last couple of months- Ta Som- is just as amazing. Ta Som isn't as popular as the big 3, but I think it's worth walking around for a bit.

Banteay Prei: Cambodia

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

By the time this post is published, Matt and I will be cruising down Ha Long Bay sipping on a nice cold drink. Are you a little jealous? Hopefully it's as exciting as it sounds. 

So while we are cruising- I thought I would continue to share the never ending trip to Cambodia. 

On our second day of exploring the temples, we started with Banteay Prei. Some call Banteay Prei Wat Angkor since it shares a lot of the same characteristics. However, it is not as popular as Angkor Wat, but it really should be on your list because it is pretty amazing. 

As you can see- this temple hasn't been fully restored, but I think it just adds to the beauty of the temple. There was so much detail in every piece of the temple. It had been rainy so it made everything really green. 

I know you guys have been bombarded with temples these last couple of months, but I really wanted to give each temple we saw it's spotlight. 

So what did you think of Banteay Prei? 

Phare: The Cambodian Circus and The Green Star

Happy Monday Y'all! 

I hope your week is going well so far. Today I want to share a couple wonderful experiences we had while visiting Cambodia. On our second night, we decided to visit The Cambodian Circus. We weren't really sure what to expect, but we heard it was a non-profit group that worked in educating and training children that were living in poverty and begging on the streets. The performers learn their skills through Phare Ponleu Selpak (an arts education program), and the students learn to 'express and heal themselves through the arts.' 

The 3 goals of the organization are: 

1. Create a gainful career opportunity for our artists

2. Financially sustain our business and our parent organization (PPS)

3. Develop the artistic culture of Cambodia

The Cambodian Circus is marked by the big red tent that is set up right outside of town. The shows and performers rotate every week or so, and the students write and choreograph most of the performances. We watched the performance Proniap (Panic!) which was about a group of 7 circus artists that are given the opportunity to audition for a world famous circus-theater company. We absolutely loved the performance. It was amazing to watch and see how the students genuinely loved what they were doing. 

Matt and I bought 'Seat A' tickets which were $35 each, and we sat right in the front row. We were also given a complimentary water and a goodie bag at the end of the show. The venue is pretty small, so I would not be worried about being able to see if are in 'Seat B.' The tent is a bit hot, but they give you fans to use during the show. 

The show was not perfect. The performers made mistakes- including the fire dancer dropping his fire baton right under my skirt. Talk about an up close experience! But the show was amazing. It was put together well. The story was fun and watching what they could do was amazing. My favorite part was seeing how much the boys trusted each other. They were throwing each other in the air- balancing each other- throwing fire at each other- and there was always someone spotting them. You could tell they enjoyed what they were doing and that they trusted one another to get the job done. 

I really feel like this is one experience you can't pass up when you are in Siem Reap. For more information about The Cambodian Circus (including how to donate)- click here.

Here are a couple of videos from the end of the show.

And if you are interested for another non-profit opportunity while in Siem Reap- check out The Green Star (part of the Green Gecko project). The purpose is similar to The Cambodian Circus- to provide education and housing to children living on the streets. The Green Star is a restaurant that serves pretty darn wonderful food and excellent service. 

The fried corn is one of their specialities (above right) and it was delicious. We also had the onion rings, glass noodles, and the pork ribs. Everything was delicious. Just like the circus- I think The Green Star is not something you can pass up while in Siem Reap. For location and reviews- click here. 

I know this post was a bit long, but I'm really happy I finally got to these posts. Visiting these non-profit organizations and feeling like we were giving back some how was amazing. 

Prsat Kravan: Cambodia

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

The week is almost over, and this time next week I will be cruising down Ha Long Bay in the wonderfully hot Vietnam. I can't wait for this next adventure, but until then- I'll take you guys back to Cambodia. (The trip of never-ending posts.) 

The last stop on our small circuit tour was Prsat Kravan. This is a really small temple right past Ta Prohm. We didn't take a lot of pictures of this temple, but I still wanted to show it because it looks so different from the other temples. 

I love the color of the stone used to make it. And I love that it's a pretty simple design (at least compared to the other temples we had seen). 

So what do you think of Prsat Kravan? Worth a stop on the tour? 

{Believe it or not- I think I only have about 5 more Cambodia posts left!}

Ta Prohm: Cambodia

Happy Happy Tuesday Y'all! 

Today I want to share Ta Prohm with you guys. This was Matt's favorite temple, and a close second for myself. It is easy to see why it's an Angkor favorite. 

To see these massive trees that have somewhat taken over the temple remains is pretty impressive. If you are making the trip to Angkor- make sure Ta Prohm is on the top of your list. 

Isn't Ta Prohm AMAZING!?! 

We went around 11:00 am, and the temple was packed with people. It was really frustrating because there were so many people all trying to get the same pictures as you,  so it made it hard/ impossible to get pictures without people. But I guess that's what happens when you visit a high tourist area. 

If you want to explore Ta Prohm without all the other tourists I would recommend going there first thing in the morning. 

Regardless of all the people milling around, Ta Prohm was amazing. The trees were just unreal. It was truly one of my favorite stops along our circuit tour. 

I just have to end this post with the picture below. It cracks me up every time I look at it. We were trying to get a good picture of the tree in the background without getting in the mess of people in front of it. So we stood further away and zoomed in. We didn't realize till we got home that we had snapped this really awkward picture of this woman. 

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at Ta Prohm!

{Linking up for Travel Tuesday}