THE INDOCHINEEX BLOG
A Water Hyacinth Workout
A Water Hyacinth Workout Heang was waiting at the Maichrey Boat Station with what looked liked the oldest wooden boat Bo the owner could find. The Team sprang into action, had the kayaks out the car, inflated and up on the roof of the relic that was taking us into The...
The Story of Jayavarman VII as told by his temples
JVII (Aka Jayavarman VII) with apologies to The Angkorian Empire It gets confusing, 26 kings all ending in – varman, building thousands of temples and ruling for 500 years. So today’s story is going to concentrate on just one...
My Holiday
Land of a Thousand Hills – or was it lakes Drinking Tusker overlooking the valleys of Kigali City shrouded in wisps of dissipating cloud, the city appeared bottle green after flying across the brown plains of Africa. The Virunga Volcanoes The Embraer to Kigali was...
An Angkorian Paddle
An Angkorian Paddle Background The rise and fall of the Angkorian Empire, which lasted 500 years from the 9th to 14th century, was centered in what is now Siem Reap Province, around its greatest monument Angkor Wat. A population of a million in an area of 1000 km2...
A BeTreed Adventure
A BeTreed Adventure Waived away by the staff, who’ve sort of got used to my bizarre behavior. Legs aside my trusted steed. In this case a new 125cc Honda Dream. Gloves, scarf, helmet, a hat in the front basket and most importantly an incredibly complicated set of...
Prek Toal by way of Phnom Kraum
Prek Toal by Way of Phnom Kraum All adventures start with The Little Red Fox Coffee Shop and the morning crew; Jady this time with temple water management people and Darryl the Angkorian historian. Feathercraft on top of Dy’s electric blue Highlander. Our Solar...
The North West Passage
THE NORTH WEST PASSAGE Our mission to boldly go where no kayak had ever been before. As an avid reader of the Indochine Exploration Blogs you will be aware of my sexual fantasies around water management in Angkor. I am not alone and discovered over a latte at Little...
In Search of a White Elephant (or a Smiling Albino)
In Search of a White Elephant (or a Smiling Albino) Our quest for the day was Boeung P’Rieng, a lake in amidst flooded forests on the edge of The Great Tonle Sap that will be subsumed when the back flow begins and the water levels rise. Previous attempts had started...
The New Khmer Movement
NEW KHMER ARCHITECTURE (NKA) Architecture was part of a new exuberant and modernistic Khmer movement encouraged by King Sihanouk and expressed in music, dance, film and architecture, that was not seen in neighbouring parts of Indochina when they gained independence....
Hydrology Made Sexy
HYDROLOGY MADE SEXY Angkor is an amazing place. You can not fail to be impressed even stunned by the grandeur, detail and scale of the monuments. The true wonder of the Angkorian Empire and what it had achieved had only started to dawn on me in the last few years. It...
Temple Hunting with Zsu Zsa and Lors
The countryside surrounding Angkor is one of paddy fields and sugar palms. Dotted with small villages of traditional wooden houses built on stilts surrounded by fruit trees. Trapaeng or pools, vast ancient baray or reservoirs and the rivers and channels that still...
BUNTHA AND NICK’S SATURDAY MORNING KAYAKING EXPLORATION
BUNTHA AND NICK’S SATURDAY MORNING KAYAKING EXPLORATION A million miles from the dusty city centre and the tour buses jamming the road to Angkor lies the ancient lake of Boeung Ta Neue. Our mission that morning was to discover if this was a kayaking adventure or just...
Ngin and Nicola’s Temple Hunting Saturday Morning Adventure
Ngin and Nicola’s Temple Hunting Saturday Morning Adventure An essential Large Little Red Fox latte while Loklak snapped at a French lady then into Panya’s tuktuk for the journey to Phnom Bok. Panya had the unnecessary ability to find every pothole on the...
A Night on Kulen Mountain
A Kulen Mountain Adventure Our quest was to seek out the Silver Langur in the forests of Kulen Mountain and whatever other wildlife came our way. ‘Nick I’ve been to Corbett, Kana and Tadoba in India. The Serengeti, The Okavango, etc in Africa, but I don't expect...
The Indochine Exploration Water Festival
THE ICE (Indochine Exploration) WATER FESTIVAL ‘Nick I’ve got an amazing booking for you,’ said Christian the GM of Shinta Mani. ‘That’s great, what do they want to do?’ I replied a little apprehensive knowing Christian. ‘Kayak,’ ‘Ok how many?’ ‘120’ ‘We can't do it.’...
Lena and Sebastian’s Battambang Adventure Part 2
Back in the village by 9am our journey into the heart of darkness (actually lush, pastoral Battambang) began. The waterway was fringed by hyacinth and undulating green margins of scrub with the occasional hamlets of floating houses or shacks tied to trees. The first...
Lena and Sebastian’s Battambang Adventure. Part 1
The Floating Village of Prek Toal & The Core Bird Reserve. Vans, big motorboats, little motorboats, kayaks, bicycles, trains and taxis all had a part to play in our adventure from Siem Reap to Battambang. Overnight in the floating village of Prek Toal and the...
Puok River Recce
Puok River (that wasn't) Recce ‘To boldly go where most sane Khmer’s don’t.’ We knew the launch point beside the Angkor Crau Bridge, Sokun (tuktuk driver and Indochineex adventure guide) found it immensely funny that we hadn't a clue where we were going. We inflated...