food

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The romance is still alive and well- a private lunch in Banteay Srei

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The previous post in this series is here..

Our hotel had said that we were allowed a packed breakfast if we left very early to sightsee and were also allowed one packed complimentary lunch if we gave them enough notice. Given we were going to be spending 7AM to 7PM on our first day, we had asked for lunch.

Our driver had asked us to hold on for another 45 miinutes after we came back from the 1000 linga waterfall. My clothes were still drying on the way. We made it to a cliff site in Banteay Srei area. Apparently most folks came here in the morning on the way to see the falls in the other direction. They make it one way till Noon. Hence his request. When we made it to the place it was amazing. San called it the grand canyon of Cambodia.

we spent some time taking pictures with our photographer driver giving us creative ideas. He did forbid me from doing any more dangerous yoga stunts after what happened at the falls. I promised to be a good boy and not go near any cliff edge.

After this he told us that if we walk 5 minutes along a path we could get to a private ledge to have our lunch with no one around. We said okay and walked to the spot. No one in sight. Had lunch.. well, San had lunch and I had her smile as my lunch. Somehow did not feel hungry watching her be so happy.

A video highlight reel..

We took some more photos and started towards our next stop.. we were coming down the hill to a big temple.. will pick it up tomorrow..

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Finally a live temple- Wat Preah Ang Thom Buddha

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Previous post in this Thanksgiving 2025 trip is here..

We had driven more than 75km from our hotel to get to the Kulen mountain area. This area was an old settlement from which the kings came down to set up Angkor Wat.

Our first stop in this hill was the reclining buddha temple, the largest such buddha in Cambodia. The head of VIshnu may have been replaced with a head of Buddha. The temple on the rock on top of a hill is impressive and it was good that there are still prayers going on.

A note about this drive. Kulen mountain is where the buddha is and it is a long drive up a windy road and cars drive slowly to be safe. One good thing about Cambodia compared to India is that the temples may be in ruins, but the restrooms near the ticket counters are extremely well maintained. Clean and constantly cleaned. So use the restrooms in the Angkor wat complex before driving up!

They are continuing to piece together history at this site. The steps to go up are beautiful as are the stores. We got to pray, make wishes by ringing the bell and also eat some kuzhi paniyaaram. Here are the photos.. on the way to this area we did stop by to see the place where they quarried the stones to build temples. We also got to see how the villagers were drying the rice to store.. they had just started the harvest! The first photo is from the quarry! There were some interesting cats. GIven our little one loves cats, I am now taking “Catraits” wherever we go..

More photos..

and a video highlights reel..

Again we beat the buses. We walked out when two big buses showed up! It was time to drive to the next stop..

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Trang An in Ninh Binh, Vietnam - a unique experience

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The previous post in this trip blog is here..

We woke up bright and early on day 2. It was a San’s birthday. On any given day she has me wrapped around her finger.. that morning she just woke up happy and was radient. I was just happy to capture the day with my cameras.. Swear to god, had no idea she picked that dress for the day. Matched her completely by accident and saw that as a sign of good things to come!

San did not want to miss out of eating Pho in Vietnam. She got her wish first thing in the morning at breakfast. The La Nueva Boutique hotel had a fantastic breakfast spread! The yoghurt made it special for me. We started our trip for the day at 7 AM. The same driver who had scared us with his texting and driving showed up. We used google translate to tell him that we were scared everytime he took his eyes off the road. He said he will try not to text but it is hard as they get calls and next trip plans (like Uber) and they have to talk to the agency and other drivers during the day! He was a nice kid and a driver who managed to get us from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and back to the airport in time. For day 2 he got an A.

It took us two hours to go to Ninh Binh from Hanoi. For a Saturday morning there was just too much traffic just to get out of Hanoi city. We crossed the most expensive villa in Vietnam that belonged to a Cement mogul.. 300M $ villa that had gold plated domes! Then we went to the Trang An area. We got tickets for the 3 hour boat ride. It was 4 people to a boat and a group guide somehow counted the two of us to fill his party but once we got through the ticket area told us we are on our own.

Luckily we were welcomed by another couple. They had done their homework and picked route 2 (there are three routes for the boat). They said “if you don’t have a preference you can join us in this boat!”. We were glad to be included and hopped in. This couple Moshe and Ikka were great role models for us when it comes to traveling and enjoying each other’s company. Moshe regaled us with stories of his time in India.. he had traveled the world, taught yoga and had been the head of the martial arts foundation in Israel. it was like we got a ride wtih Yoda. They made the entire 3 hours enjoyable. Moshe may have been a very knowledgeable big shot but his wife quietly showed us who called the shots.. San obviously took notes as though she needed them!

No pictures or videos will do justice to the beauty of this place or how beautiful my wife looked thorughout that day. A cover photo for the blog..

and the rest in these two collections.. Trang An is amazing. The place is organized well at that scale. Hundreds of boats at any time. Women and men who row the boats are also expert photographers and know how to steer the boats to the perfect locations. There are three stops where we go through caves for upto 300 meters and enter areas of water where there are temples built 800 years ago. In some of these complexes there are 3-4 temples, immaculate gardens and well kept courtyards. When we are in the water there is wild lotus and fishes an aquatic plants that give the landscape a unique feel. Then there are the limestone rock formations towering over us. The only weird thing was that there were no birds or animals in sight anywhere!

Portrait format photos..

After the three hour boat ride we made our way to the car and our driver asked us if we are okay with Indian food as there was a good vegetarian Indian food place right near Trang An. We told him okay given the time crunch. The place did not disappoint. Fantastic food and great service. We really needed that chai after sitting in the boat with the sun being up in the last hour. The second photo of San is from the breakfast.. shows two happy people side by side.. one tasting local cuisine and the other tasting Indian food for every meal..

After this we raced to the Hanoi airport.. well raced is not the right word. The traffic crossing the new city was horrible. We were crawling. At one point we were worried about making it on time but our driver told us he will get us there and he did. We thought he was 22-23 year old kid. Turns out he was 30 and had two kids! We told him to keep his eyes on the road at all times when driving for the sake of his family. He smiled. He was a good guy. Hopefully he gets a touch free interface on his next car and picks up more English so he doesn’t have to rely on google translate that much! Here is a pic of him I clicked in Ha Long bay the previous day..

Trang An was so beautiful. Had 120 video clips from the day till our flight. Have compiled all of those 30 minutes of clips into this ~15 minute video. Cannot exactly call it short but it is highlights reel!

We thanked our driver and said bye and were off to our next stop.. Siem Riep in Cambodia.. Angkor wat was beckoning.. the day was not over..

Copyright © 2012, Sundar Narayanan. All rights reserved.