My Bangkok,Siem Riep,Golden Triangle, Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara Trip Report
Apr 5th, 2006, 08:07 PM
#21
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hawaii, about Izusen: My daughter is vegetarian, so can I assume this would be a good place for us to dine? Is it all vegetarian or is the menu in English enough for us to order something without meat or fish for her? I am currently trying to line up vegetarian places to eat in Kyoto w/her (I know, I know, I only have 36 hrs before we leave, I am running late on this part of the planning).
Also, glad you liked Disney Sea. We are spending a day and a half/two nights there at Mira Costa hotel.
Also, glad you liked Disney Sea. We are spending a day and a half/two nights there at Mira Costa hotel.
Apr 6th, 2006, 09:32 AM
#23
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emd:
You should really try to get to Izusen as it is a real special treat. They do have some fish dishes as I remember but no other meat. They adhere to the strict Buddhist strictures against eating meat so almost all of the vegan dishes use tofu as the meat. You can sit on the tables or as we did on the tatami mats with a beautiful view of the gardens of a temple next door. They serve you in those red laquered bowls and have English menus.They also have those plastic images of the finished dish so you can see what it looks like. They only open for lunch...give it a try!
Aloha!
You should really try to get to Izusen as it is a real special treat. They do have some fish dishes as I remember but no other meat. They adhere to the strict Buddhist strictures against eating meat so almost all of the vegan dishes use tofu as the meat. You can sit on the tables or as we did on the tatami mats with a beautiful view of the gardens of a temple next door. They serve you in those red laquered bowls and have English menus.They also have those plastic images of the finished dish so you can see what it looks like. They only open for lunch...give it a try!
Aloha!
Apr 6th, 2006, 11:01 AM
#24
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Another Tokyo note:
Right outside of the JR Ueno stations central exit is the Ameyoko street market. What a place! You can but anything from second hand clothes to brand new Rolex watches here. They also have alot of fresh and packaged Japanese foods to go. I had the largest and juiciest fresh strawberries on a stick for 200 yen that I have ever had. There is a myriad of fresh and packaged seafood here. I wish that I had picked up the packaged seafood here but I thought we would see it again in Kyoto, we didn't. Worth the trip but you muct take the JR Yamanote line to get here.
Aloha!
Right outside of the JR Ueno stations central exit is the Ameyoko street market. What a place! You can but anything from second hand clothes to brand new Rolex watches here. They also have alot of fresh and packaged Japanese foods to go. I had the largest and juiciest fresh strawberries on a stick for 200 yen that I have ever had. There is a myriad of fresh and packaged seafood here. I wish that I had picked up the packaged seafood here but I thought we would see it again in Kyoto, we didn't. Worth the trip but you muct take the JR Yamanote line to get here.
Aloha!
Apr 7th, 2006, 04:29 PM
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Nara
We took a day trip to Nara one day from Kyoto. We caught the JR local down to Nara which was a mistake. We should have taken the express down and back but live and learn. We did manage to take the express back.
From the Nara JR station we walked to Nara Park. A short ten minute walk through the main shopping street in town so it ended up taking us almost an hour as we popped in and out of a lot of stores.
We visited the Todaji Temple with its Daibustu. Impressive! Also saw the Kasuga Grand Shrine, fed the deer some deer cookies we bought from the local vendors for 150 yen. Finally took a ride in a rickshaw and met an interesting young man who gave us his views of Nara. He dropped us off by the Kintetsu station but I had already bought r/t tickets from JR so we hiked another ten minutes back to the JR station seeing most of downtown Nara in the two walks we had. The cherry blossoms were just starting to blossom in Nara Park so we got some real nice pictures. Beautiful town, lovely park and sights the quintessential little Japanese town.
Aloha!
We took a day trip to Nara one day from Kyoto. We caught the JR local down to Nara which was a mistake. We should have taken the express down and back but live and learn. We did manage to take the express back.
From the Nara JR station we walked to Nara Park. A short ten minute walk through the main shopping street in town so it ended up taking us almost an hour as we popped in and out of a lot of stores.
We visited the Todaji Temple with its Daibustu. Impressive! Also saw the Kasuga Grand Shrine, fed the deer some deer cookies we bought from the local vendors for 150 yen. Finally took a ride in a rickshaw and met an interesting young man who gave us his views of Nara. He dropped us off by the Kintetsu station but I had already bought r/t tickets from JR so we hiked another ten minutes back to the JR station seeing most of downtown Nara in the two walks we had. The cherry blossoms were just starting to blossom in Nara Park so we got some real nice pictures. Beautiful town, lovely park and sights the quintessential little Japanese town.
Aloha!
Apr 7th, 2006, 07:11 PM
#27
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ht, great report. seems like you covered alot of ground.
i love the marketplace across from the ueno station. didn't know the name was ameyoko). did you see how much a can of our beloved spam cost? last time there, it was going for nearly $12. my favorite cd shop where i buy my japanese cds in located in the heart of the market. the owner now recognizes me, and he is friendly to me, but not friendly enough to warrant a discount. lol.
i love the marketplace across from the ueno station. didn't know the name was ameyoko). did you see how much a can of our beloved spam cost? last time there, it was going for nearly $12. my favorite cd shop where i buy my japanese cds in located in the heart of the market. the owner now recognizes me, and he is friendly to me, but not friendly enough to warrant a discount. lol.
Apr 8th, 2006, 01:30 AM
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Spam is a riot here. An elementary school aged girl just told me today that she was so excited for ensoku (field trip with picnic)...not because they were going anywhere neat, but because her mom makes her Spam onigiri as a special treat and she just LOVES it. Too funny.
Apr 10th, 2006, 12:33 PM
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continued:
Siem Riep
Jumping back in sequence…we flew to SR from BKK via Bangkok Air. We had a pleasant flight 1 hour and ten minute flight and landed in SR about 40 minutes late as we were late leaving because our plane was late coming in from it’s previous city.
There was a ten minute wait for immigrations and customs and we were there to pick up our baggage as it was being deposited on the baggage counter. Glad we did not spend the extra money to send our passports away for a visa as we luckily did not need it that day.
There is also a ATM machine right there in between immigrations and customs which I noted several people using and making withdrawals in US 20 bills as I could see. This is one of four ATM machines that I saw in Siem Riep. The others are at a gas station, a bank outside a market and at the airport departure lounge. All of them took foreign cards and dispensed cash in US dollars. I was told by Ponheary that there was one more but I forget where she said it was, sorry.
Ah, about Ponheary…I know it’s been said before….I know some Fordorites have very strong feelings about her. This is our adventure with her.
Ponheary Ly and Mr. Hong, our driver met us right outside the door of the arrival lounge of the brand new Siem Riep airport. Both of them had big bright smiles as they greeted us and welcomed us to their country. I felt at once at ease with them both and they seemed also to relax after that first greeting. They loaded us in their late model Toyota Camry with great a/c and we headed off to Angkor Wat to catch the sunset as we had a late 4:30 arrival. The sunset couldn’t have been better as the clouds were almost non existent and the red and purple colors were very prominent that evening. It was the best sunset we had in our 3 nights there. We noticed right away that Ponheary was trying to size us up and see if we wanted the lot of info or not too much info kind of tour so I got very blunt and told her exactly what we wanted. A huge smile came to her face and with a sigh of relief she got into telling us the story of Angkor while showing us the best locations to take pictures as the sunlight was at it’s most colorful.
As most of you know Ponheary is a very knowledgeable guide who can look at a building and actually read the stories that are told along the walls. She can do them in four languages, English, French, Cambodian and Russian. Her brother Dara is also a guide along with her sister (who owns the Toyota) who only speaks French and Cambodian, no English. Dara of course speaks English. A former school teacher Ponheary has been guiding people for the last 10 years. She has gone on her own the past couple of years as she used to work for a tour agency in SR doing large group tours but couldn’t handle chasing 30 to 40 people around the temples. Ponheary told us many funny stories about her tour groups as I am an inquisitive fellow and she is a good teacher. She uses her connections with the tour agency to secure hotels reservations for her clients and when she has no clients the agency is always calling to hire her as they always can use a good tour guide with her talents. Plus I think she said one of her cousins or aunties owns the agency…so that’s how she gets the discounts for her clients on the hotel rooms.
Be aware that Ponheary will always recommend the Cambodian owned hotels first to her clients. She can get a discount thru the agency on any hotel in SR. She just honestly believes in Cambodia First. She wants to help rebuild her country and knows that they need to keep the money in Cambodia rather than export the profits. She however does not mind or object to booking another hotel and will do it happily but if you ask for her opinion it will always be a Cambodian hotel or restaurant that she will recommend first.
The last night we were there I asked her for a restaurant recommendation, she laughed and started telling me about a new Cambodian restaurant when I looked at her and we both started laughing uncontrollably. She then said “well if one would want to get a good non Cambodian owned meal I guess one could try the Café Indochine across the street from your hotel. I’ve heard that the food is very good there…order the shrimp it’s excellent”. I asked her how she knew. She said “it was excellent the last time I went there”. We all laughed and I did make reservations that night for dinner. The place is fabulous. Linda had the shrimp which was fabulous while I had a lamb dish which was divine. They have a mixed menu of French, Vietnamese and Thai food. Try the dessert special as it comes to you with sparklers and all the fanfare. They have a balcony overlooking the street so if you want to sit up there you have to get there before 7:00.
Café Indochine Sivuath Avenue. Near Mekong Bank, Siem Riep Ph# 012 804 952
Across the street from out hotel Prince d Angkor.
After our sunset at Angkor Mr. Hong drove us to our hotel the Prince d Angkor.
A nice 4 star hotel in the middle of town we had let Ponheary pick this hotel for us. I had originally asked her for a quote on the Shinta Mani. She gave us a better quote on the SM than any other site we had tried but also quoted us prices at this Cambodian owned, brand new hotel at $85.00 US superior room/95.00 deluxe and 125.00 junior suites. Breakfast for 2 was included as was all taxes.
At check in they take your passports from you and a visa card imprint if you want to charge anything to your room. Ponheary’s agency takes care of payment as you must settle with Ponheary in cash before you leave. They ask you to wait in the main lobby where they serve you a large chilled fruit punch with cold towels. The check in takes 5 minutes and you are given your room key and off to the rooms you go.
To be continued…..sorry for the long and segmented story but there is never enough time in the day to do all you want to do
.
Aloha!
Siem Riep
Jumping back in sequence…we flew to SR from BKK via Bangkok Air. We had a pleasant flight 1 hour and ten minute flight and landed in SR about 40 minutes late as we were late leaving because our plane was late coming in from it’s previous city.
There was a ten minute wait for immigrations and customs and we were there to pick up our baggage as it was being deposited on the baggage counter. Glad we did not spend the extra money to send our passports away for a visa as we luckily did not need it that day.
There is also a ATM machine right there in between immigrations and customs which I noted several people using and making withdrawals in US 20 bills as I could see. This is one of four ATM machines that I saw in Siem Riep. The others are at a gas station, a bank outside a market and at the airport departure lounge. All of them took foreign cards and dispensed cash in US dollars. I was told by Ponheary that there was one more but I forget where she said it was, sorry.
Ah, about Ponheary…I know it’s been said before….I know some Fordorites have very strong feelings about her. This is our adventure with her.
Ponheary Ly and Mr. Hong, our driver met us right outside the door of the arrival lounge of the brand new Siem Riep airport. Both of them had big bright smiles as they greeted us and welcomed us to their country. I felt at once at ease with them both and they seemed also to relax after that first greeting. They loaded us in their late model Toyota Camry with great a/c and we headed off to Angkor Wat to catch the sunset as we had a late 4:30 arrival. The sunset couldn’t have been better as the clouds were almost non existent and the red and purple colors were very prominent that evening. It was the best sunset we had in our 3 nights there. We noticed right away that Ponheary was trying to size us up and see if we wanted the lot of info or not too much info kind of tour so I got very blunt and told her exactly what we wanted. A huge smile came to her face and with a sigh of relief she got into telling us the story of Angkor while showing us the best locations to take pictures as the sunlight was at it’s most colorful.
As most of you know Ponheary is a very knowledgeable guide who can look at a building and actually read the stories that are told along the walls. She can do them in four languages, English, French, Cambodian and Russian. Her brother Dara is also a guide along with her sister (who owns the Toyota) who only speaks French and Cambodian, no English. Dara of course speaks English. A former school teacher Ponheary has been guiding people for the last 10 years. She has gone on her own the past couple of years as she used to work for a tour agency in SR doing large group tours but couldn’t handle chasing 30 to 40 people around the temples. Ponheary told us many funny stories about her tour groups as I am an inquisitive fellow and she is a good teacher. She uses her connections with the tour agency to secure hotels reservations for her clients and when she has no clients the agency is always calling to hire her as they always can use a good tour guide with her talents. Plus I think she said one of her cousins or aunties owns the agency…so that’s how she gets the discounts for her clients on the hotel rooms.
Be aware that Ponheary will always recommend the Cambodian owned hotels first to her clients. She can get a discount thru the agency on any hotel in SR. She just honestly believes in Cambodia First. She wants to help rebuild her country and knows that they need to keep the money in Cambodia rather than export the profits. She however does not mind or object to booking another hotel and will do it happily but if you ask for her opinion it will always be a Cambodian hotel or restaurant that she will recommend first.
The last night we were there I asked her for a restaurant recommendation, she laughed and started telling me about a new Cambodian restaurant when I looked at her and we both started laughing uncontrollably. She then said “well if one would want to get a good non Cambodian owned meal I guess one could try the Café Indochine across the street from your hotel. I’ve heard that the food is very good there…order the shrimp it’s excellent”. I asked her how she knew. She said “it was excellent the last time I went there”. We all laughed and I did make reservations that night for dinner. The place is fabulous. Linda had the shrimp which was fabulous while I had a lamb dish which was divine. They have a mixed menu of French, Vietnamese and Thai food. Try the dessert special as it comes to you with sparklers and all the fanfare. They have a balcony overlooking the street so if you want to sit up there you have to get there before 7:00.
Café Indochine Sivuath Avenue. Near Mekong Bank, Siem Riep Ph# 012 804 952
Across the street from out hotel Prince d Angkor.
After our sunset at Angkor Mr. Hong drove us to our hotel the Prince d Angkor.
A nice 4 star hotel in the middle of town we had let Ponheary pick this hotel for us. I had originally asked her for a quote on the Shinta Mani. She gave us a better quote on the SM than any other site we had tried but also quoted us prices at this Cambodian owned, brand new hotel at $85.00 US superior room/95.00 deluxe and 125.00 junior suites. Breakfast for 2 was included as was all taxes.
At check in they take your passports from you and a visa card imprint if you want to charge anything to your room. Ponheary’s agency takes care of payment as you must settle with Ponheary in cash before you leave. They ask you to wait in the main lobby where they serve you a large chilled fruit punch with cold towels. The check in takes 5 minutes and you are given your room key and off to the rooms you go.
To be continued…..sorry for the long and segmented story but there is never enough time in the day to do all you want to do
.Aloha!
Apr 10th, 2006, 05:25 PM
#38
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Continued:
We woke early the next morning, had breakfast and met Ponheary in the lobby at 7:00. She was two minutes late blaming the traffic as she had to drop off her nieces and nephews to school. I laughed when she said traffic as from what here in the US are used to traffic in Siem Riep is a piece of cake but to each there own. We went to the opposite entrance to Angkor Wat in the morning as Ponheary had said that everyone would be at the front and we can enjoy some peace and quiet as we tour for the first couple of hours. She was right. We saw no one else for the first hour then it seemed everyone was there. We exited the opposite entrance where Mr. Hong was waiting with the car and a cooler with cold water and cold towels. We soon left for another site. We would view two sites in the morning, then be dropped off wherever we wanted for lunch and they would pick us back up at 3:00 for another 2 or three temples before dropping us off for the evening.
It was at the ending of the second day on the Terrace of the Leper King that we sat in the shade of some trees that I started asking the questions about donating to her schools and asking exactly what she was doing and how we could help. She had never brought up anything about donating or her earlier life on the run from the Khmer Rouge and I could see from the look in her eyes that I had caught her completely off guard with these series of questions. She explained all about her teaching and donating work that she has been doing and started to tell me about a very generous couple that she had had a few days ago and what they had done and the school they had visited. Where their names Craig and Jean I asked? Her mouth dropped open as she tried to figure out how I new. I laughed and explained the Fodors website and the internet in general to her as she claimed she only checks her email on the web and is still pretty naïve about what is happening out there in cyberworld. She also set up a school meeting for us the next day on our way out to Bantrei Seay. We made a nice donation to the school, teachers, children and principal. It was really heartbreaking to see the conditions of these places but others have already given you an insight into all the help that is needed.
We also heard after many of the stories already told by others about the genocide, her family, life in Cambodia and more as she really took a genuine liking to us calling Linda her Hawaiian sister and genuine tears were shed the day we left….again heartbreaking but reality. I can still here her voice “We waited 3 years 10 months and 20 days before anyone helped us….it seemed a lifetime”. I won’t go into detail, but all that I have to say is ….wow, what a women and she is a top notch guide to boot. We gained a lot from the experience and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ponheary as a guide. She won’t overwhelm you with unwanted info or burden you with her problems…only if you ask her to.
If anyone is interested she also will guide you into Phnom Penn and the surrounding areas and if interested and I told her I might take her up on it if we do return.
More a little later..
Aloha!
We woke early the next morning, had breakfast and met Ponheary in the lobby at 7:00. She was two minutes late blaming the traffic as she had to drop off her nieces and nephews to school. I laughed when she said traffic as from what here in the US are used to traffic in Siem Riep is a piece of cake but to each there own. We went to the opposite entrance to Angkor Wat in the morning as Ponheary had said that everyone would be at the front and we can enjoy some peace and quiet as we tour for the first couple of hours. She was right. We saw no one else for the first hour then it seemed everyone was there. We exited the opposite entrance where Mr. Hong was waiting with the car and a cooler with cold water and cold towels. We soon left for another site. We would view two sites in the morning, then be dropped off wherever we wanted for lunch and they would pick us back up at 3:00 for another 2 or three temples before dropping us off for the evening.
It was at the ending of the second day on the Terrace of the Leper King that we sat in the shade of some trees that I started asking the questions about donating to her schools and asking exactly what she was doing and how we could help. She had never brought up anything about donating or her earlier life on the run from the Khmer Rouge and I could see from the look in her eyes that I had caught her completely off guard with these series of questions. She explained all about her teaching and donating work that she has been doing and started to tell me about a very generous couple that she had had a few days ago and what they had done and the school they had visited. Where their names Craig and Jean I asked? Her mouth dropped open as she tried to figure out how I new. I laughed and explained the Fodors website and the internet in general to her as she claimed she only checks her email on the web and is still pretty naïve about what is happening out there in cyberworld. She also set up a school meeting for us the next day on our way out to Bantrei Seay. We made a nice donation to the school, teachers, children and principal. It was really heartbreaking to see the conditions of these places but others have already given you an insight into all the help that is needed.
We also heard after many of the stories already told by others about the genocide, her family, life in Cambodia and more as she really took a genuine liking to us calling Linda her Hawaiian sister and genuine tears were shed the day we left….again heartbreaking but reality. I can still here her voice “We waited 3 years 10 months and 20 days before anyone helped us….it seemed a lifetime”. I won’t go into detail, but all that I have to say is ….wow, what a women and she is a top notch guide to boot. We gained a lot from the experience and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Ponheary as a guide. She won’t overwhelm you with unwanted info or burden you with her problems…only if you ask her to.
If anyone is interested she also will guide you into Phnom Penn and the surrounding areas and if interested and I told her I might take her up on it if we do return.
More a little later..
Aloha!
Apr 10th, 2006, 05:50 PM
#39
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Cont:
Almost forgot to rate the Prince d’Angkor Hotel.
A true 4 star hotel. Large impressive teakwood lobby with a jewelry shop that sells fake rubies, sapphires and diamond for real cheap. Their real, their real the saleslady kept telling me, lol. They have one restaurant in the hotel that is mediocre at best. The Cambodian owned restaurant in the hotel parking lot was very good as we ate a late dinner there one night on Ponheary’s recommendation of course. I forgot the name but I think it was Mr. Somebodys Soup House or something similar. Of course Somebodys name was oriental which is why it escapes me. We also went to The FCC Angkor one night for dinner. It was just ok in my estimation. I had read rave reviews on other forms but frankly it’s not that great. Seemed like a menu that expats or journalists would go for with no real theme to the place. I would rate them a 6 ½ out of ten, nothing special but not a total waste of money.
Aloha!
Almost forgot to rate the Prince d’Angkor Hotel.
A true 4 star hotel. Large impressive teakwood lobby with a jewelry shop that sells fake rubies, sapphires and diamond for real cheap. Their real, their real the saleslady kept telling me, lol. They have one restaurant in the hotel that is mediocre at best. The Cambodian owned restaurant in the hotel parking lot was very good as we ate a late dinner there one night on Ponheary’s recommendation of course. I forgot the name but I think it was Mr. Somebodys Soup House or something similar. Of course Somebodys name was oriental which is why it escapes me. We also went to The FCC Angkor one night for dinner. It was just ok in my estimation. I had read rave reviews on other forms but frankly it’s not that great. Seemed like a menu that expats or journalists would go for with no real theme to the place. I would rate them a 6 ½ out of ten, nothing special but not a total waste of money.
Aloha!
