Cambodia - A Destination For The Mindful Travellers

Cambodia stretches through the centre of the Indochinese peninsula with Laos to the north, Thailand to the west, Vietnam to the east and Gulf of Thailand to the South. The name Cambodia is perhaps an English iteration of the Sanskrit ‘Kamboja’ or Kambujadesa meaning Kingdom of the Khmer.

Much of Cambodia sits below sea level and is dominated by the Mekong river (Tonle Thom or the great river) and the Tonlé Sap (freshwater river). The Mekong River, also referred to as ‘mother of all rivers’ connects China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and has been extremely significant to the economy and livelihood of the entire region.

Cambodia is one of the world’s most homogenous countries, with over 90% of it’s population made up of Ethnic Khmers, the descendants of the great civilization of Angkor. One of the most striking piece of culture is the Apsara (dancing celestial nymph in Hindu mythology) and the music that originates from the Khmer culture that can still be witnessed today. Ethnic Vietnamese are the next big group, many of them descendants of those brought by the French as civil servants. Khmer Chen (Cambodians of Chinese or mixed Chinese and Cambodian decent) account for around 500,000 of the population. A significant number was persecuted by the Khmer Rouge.

To appreciate Cambodia, it is important to understand its story. If you are interested in knowing why Cambodia is what it is please read the History of Cambodia here. When you travel to Cambodia, you can still feel that sense of history lingering on- old stone temples and then French boulevards and yellow neoclassical buildings.

However considering the long turbulent past and the desire to catch up with today’s world may put some of these temples and heritage architecture at risk- Tourism has only just started in the late 1990’s but with little experience of preserving the centuries old monuments and managing visitor inflow, mass tourism and particularly insensitive tourists can cause the death of these priceless monuments that have seen history being created… we can only hope that they don’t trample over the fabric of the past to weave the new….

https://www.slow-coach.com/post/the-story-of-cambodia

10 Things You Need To Know Before You Travel To Jordan:

1. Visa and entry requirements: People from most countries can get a visa on arrival at Jordan from the immigration counter for a fee. However, if you have a passport from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and few other countries you will need to apply visa at your country of residence before travelling to Jordan. For more details visit the Jordanian consulate website at your respective countries. Visa application is quite straight forward and can be done online or in person for which all details are provided in the consulate website.

2. Jordan Pass: This is a very useful pass to buy in advance before travelling to Jordan. This will allow a single entry to almost all the historical sites and museums in Jordan. There are many options available. We recommend purchasing the pass with the option of 2 days entry into Petra as Petra cannot be covered in one day. You will need to buy the pass using your personal information and passport number, therefore once purchased the pass can only be used against the passport number it was bought. One of the main benefits of purchasing the Jordan pass is free visa on arrival. Please visit the website of Jordan pass (http://jordanpass.jo) for more details.

3. Entry fees for children: Most tourist attractions have free entry for children under the age of 12. Therefore you do not need to buy a Jordan pass for kids under 12.

4. Getting around in Jordan: Jordan is not a very big country and can be easily covered by road from north to south or east to west in a day. Though the public transportation system is very comfortable, reliable and convenient to use unless you are a local. In our opinion when you are in Jordan it’s best to hire/rent a car along with a driver for the entire trip from airport pickup to drop as it gives the flexibility of moving around within the country in a comfortable and safe way. We used the car rental service from Destination Jordan (http://destination-jordan.com/) for our trip. We recommended this to a few of our friends who travelled to Jordan and gave excellent feedback. Therefore we recommend Destination Jordan for their high quality and reliable service.

5. Safety: In spite being located in a conflict zone Jordan is reasonably safe to travel to. We travelled to Jordan in 2017 with our 4-year-old son and. did not feel concerned with safety. There is a heavy presence of ‘Tourist police’ (more like military) at every major tourist attractions for the safety and security of travellers. Initially for a day or two the presence of tourist police may stick out like a sore thumb, but soon it will fade away in the background!

6. Eating out: Jordan is a food lover’s paradise with a good selection of places to eat-from fine dining to street food. Street food is quite inexpensive but of good quality. We recommend eating at restaurants frequented by locals – it’s not a secret that you cannot go wrong with a place filled with locals! Find out more about our blog on Jordanian food here.

7. Taxi: In Amman local taxis are available within the city which are quite safe, though most don’t use the meter. We took taxis a couple of times during our first and last day in Jordan while going to or coming back from a restaurant in the evening. The fares are reasonable-we paid 2-3 US dollars for a 10 min ride. Though Jordan has it’s own currency which is stronger than USD, the taxis always ask you to pay in US dollars. Make sure you bargain and settle for a fair price. We found it quite easy and quick – the taxis want to earn a quick dollar too!

8. Supermarkets in Jordan: There are quite a few supermarket chains in Amman and in other towns of Jordan. These are the best places to buy local stuff like, coffee (try cardamom mixed coffee) and spices to take back from your travels. We visited Safeway and brought back lots of spices and coffee.

9. Currency: Jordanian Dinar can be purchased outside Jordan or while in Jordan as well. We recommend buying before travelling, but there are many official exchange bureaus at banks around Amman and other towns were you can easily exchange USD, GBP or Euros to Jordanian Dinar. In addition, credit cards can be used widely in Jordan as most superstores, restaurants and hotel accept credit cards.

10. Local people: Jordanian people are very friendly and welcoming. Kids get a warm welcome everywhere. As with Middle East, hospitality in their culture and it is enriching to try and interact with locals during your stay in Jordan…it is always the best part of any travel……

10 Things Not To Be Missed While In Bali

Bali has been a travellers paradise since a long long time and still continues to attract people from all over the world. This is a perfect tropical beach holiday with lots of other surprises thrown in good measure - lush green rice terraces, temples, lakes, beautiful countryside, and a unique culture with social customs and not to mention the mouthwatering food. So if can cover the length and breadth of the island you get the chance to experience it all. Here is our pick of the 10 things not to be missed in Bali!

Kecak dance at Uluwatu temple

1. Kecak Dance: Kecak dance and has become symbolic of Bali and something of a lifetime experience. Read here for details of our experience of Kecak dance. This is a live performance of a part of Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’ with the key characters and around 30 men who do the chanting. The dance itself has its roots in an old Balinese ritual called the ‘Sanghyang’ which was a way to communicate with God through trance caused by repetitive chanting and performed during sacred ceremonies to ward off epidemics. No musical instruments are used, only the repetitive chanting in different ways - after a while it feels like a background score and you forget that this is ‘chanting’ with no instruments! The performance is about an hour long. Read in details about our blog no Kecak dance here. 

Barong dance at Catur Eka Budhi

2. Barong Dance: Barong dance is traditional dances of Bali which depicts the eternal flight between the dragon like Barong (representing order, harmony and health) and his demonic counterpart Rangda (associated with chaos, sickness and harm). It is believed that the magical power of Barong and Rangda is in their masks, therefore these are kept in village temples and given offerings. In real life also they are ‘awakened’ from time to time to restore the spiritual balance in the village. This is done through a battle ritual.

Grilled fish and seafood at Jimbaran fish market

3. Jimbaran fish market: Located near Kedonganan beach, the Jimbaran area is famous for its many sea food restaurants, which come alive in the evening and buzz with tourists. The fish market itself is located at the end of a long stretch of road by the sea beach. The market is open every day from 6am to 3pm with fresh daily catch on display – the fish and seafood are also supplied to the popular restaurants. There are two options to eat- either head to a proper restaurant or wander through the market and buy what you want to eat- then give these to one of the local shops who can grill these for you and serve it with rice and sambal. Read here for the full experience.

Walking path and track around Jatiluwith rice terrace

4. Jatiluwith rice terrace: Located on the central-western part of the island, this vastly spread rice terrace is located on the slopes of Batukaru mountain range. Most tourists only visit Tegallalang rice terrace. Though in our opinion Jatiluwih rice terrace is equally beautiful, but less touristy. The sprawling fields require half or full day trip on different trekking routes, and you can choose what works for your time and energy levels. We opted for an ‘easy’ trekking route as we did not fancy carrying a 3-year-old on our way back! It took us around 2 hours to complete walk around the fields on mostly flat routes.

Coffee Luak tasting session experience

5. Coffee Luak experience: Coffee Luak is considered the most expensive coffee in the world. The beans are collected from the droppings of Indonesian palm civets, which are known to pick and eat the best coffee fruits. The coffee beans come out in the dropping undigested. After a few rounds of rigorous washing and processing the coffee beans are roasted and ready to be grounded. There are many coffee luak farms in the central and eastern part of the island where the process of coffee making is shown followed by tasting season. Weather you chose to go for a tasting session, a trip to luak farm is something you should not miss.

Balinese painting workshop and gallery

6. Visit a painting workshop: Balinese painting has its own unique style. Most common themes are nature- bamboo trees and birds and various dance forms, mythological figures and story-telling. There are many privately owned painting workshops and galleries in Dempasar and Ubud area that you can visit. You can see the artists in these workshops engrossed in their work of art. Some of these workshops are housed in beautiful vintage buildings with backyard ponds teeming with colourful koi fish.

Balinese wood caring - Garuda

7. Visit wood carving workshop: A nice way to see see artisans at work. The shops display everything from miniature figurines to intricately carved furniture sets. If you are serious about buying, do some research before you go so have some clarity on what you want to buy and how much you want to pay. As is always with such places, you need to make some quick decisions to avoid feeling ripped off. A lot of these workshops can also arrange to ship overseas if you are buying a bigger piece.

At the shore of lake Beratan

8. Relax by the lake Beratan near Ulun Danu temple: Lake (danu) Bratan in the northern region of the island is home to the temple complex of Ulun Danu. Though the seemingly ‘floating’ temple circled by Bedugul mountains is the reason you go there, but make sure you factor in some time to soak in the surreal surroundings by sitting by danu Bratan. The fresh air at this altitude and sun (if you are in luck) makes this an extremely relaxing place to take a break and just stare into the horizon.

9. Ubud craft market: Located in the heart of Ubud town – this art market houses hundreds of shops selling wood carvings, paintings, artifacts, clothes, handbags, food etc. It is quite a vibrant place and makes for a nice leisurely walk. If you proficient in haggling, this is your place! If are not- give it a go! Balinese people are usually kind and soft spoken and haggling is common here like most of south east Asia.

Padang Padang beach

10. Padang Padang beach: Tucked away in the southern part this little hidden gem was brought to the limelight by Julia Roberts’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. Roughly 5-minute walk from the car park and down some stiff stairs and through a hollow rock entrance- this small beach is popular among surfers as well as families. It’s a nice little place to spend a relaxing afternoon Living up to the true Bali style of unexpected sights- you may get greeted by monkeys or pop up shacks that offer massage!