Phum Baitang’s Siem Reap Oasis

 

Phum Baitang – Siem Reap

 

Spread out across eight hectares of lush gardens and rice paddy fields on the outskirts of the mystical Siem Reap, Phum Baitang is a place to behold. A collection of 45 wood and stilted villas inspired by traditional local architecture, the property showcases the village aesthetic, a green oasis ecologically built with indigenous materials and Cambodian wisdom gleaned from centuries of construction.  There are 20 villas that feature private swimming pools and gardens, with the remaining 25 villas offering large terraces as stunning vantage points from which to take in the green scene. Each villa is adorned with elegant, handmade Cambodian wooden furniture, rough stone sinks and bathtubs, antiques and lantern-style lighting that only uses eco-friendly bulbs.

In-house Rice Cultivation Experience

Designed to respect the land it sits on, Phum Baitang has a unique connection to the paddy fields that weave through the retreat. The high quality rice, Sen Kro Ob, is cultivated at the resort and is renowned for its superior taste and tenderness. Guests dining in either of Phum Baitang’s two restaurants—Bay Phsar and Hang Bay—can savour authentic Cambodian recipes with a bowl of the resort’s own rice harvest. The paddies of rice also allow for numerous authentic interactions between locals and guests, with the opportunity for visitors to experience rice planting or harvesting included in their stay. Seasonal planting starts from February and happens bimonthly while harvesting happens in the remaining months. Through this, you can learn directly from local farmers how the rice paddies are grown and harvested.

 

Your surroundings in Phum Baitang

 

We also love that sustainable practices are evident throughout the hotel. An autonomous water treatment facility provides clean drinking water in re-useable glass bottles that may be re-filled at several stations throughout the resort, and eradicates the need for plastic containers. Elsewhere, the use of electric buggies to transport guests and luggage is driven by an objective to eliminate the use of fueled vehicles around the property, while bicycles are proposed for local tours and available for guests to ride around the resort.

Gardens and Buffalo

Playing a part in preserving local endangered species, Phum Baitang has its own natively grown garden that uses a naturally produced mist to control pesticides, essentially reducing harm to the environment. The resort is also home to buffalo, which plough the rice paddies and keep the lawn areas trimmed, while their excrement—along with garden refuge—is used as fertilizer. Pretty neat, right?

And the perfect antidote to the hustle of Siem Reap…

The Spa Temple, inspired by the architecture of Angkor. In seven treatment rooms, a blend of Cambodian techniques and traditional products are incoporated to round out your natural Cambodian journey.  Finish up with a sauna, hammam, a visit to the fitness room, or a generous 50-metre swimming pool that overlooks paddy fields. You can’t really go wrong.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hitch a ride to Angkor.

Paddy fields never sounded so good.

www.designhotels.com/phum-baitang

The Dancing Nymphs of Angkor

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

This week, Will Ottley explores the Buddhist/Hindu temples of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex and discovers that ancient civilizations’ wisdom lives on in the treasure trove of temples and monuments they left behind.

What surprised me most about Siem Reap, Cambodia was not the grandeur and sophistication of the temple complexes. Walking among the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, I was struck by the overriding presence of the ‘feminine’. Carved into every wall of this vast complex are the images of Devata (goddesses) and playful Apsara (nymphs). This beautiful setting blends a rich history of Buddhist and Hindu influences that exude a feeling of peace and hint at the grandeurs of the lost Khmer civilisation.

Siem Reap, a Temple Base Camp

Siem Reap is a short (less than an hour) flight from the international airports of Bangkok, Phnom Pehn, and Ho Chi Minh City. It serves as the base for visiting the surrounding temples and caters for all travellers’ requirements. It can equally be enjoyed as a single traveller or a family. You can stay in a five-star luxury colonial style hotel that offers traditional afternoon tea, such as Raffles (+855 63 963 888), boutique alternatives such as Shinta Mani Club (+855 63 761 998) or mid-range options such as Tara Ankor hotel. (+855 63 966 661).

Shinta Mani

There is an array of excellent local restaurants easily reachable from your hotel by tuk-tuk (think horse and carriage, with a motorbike in place of the horse). They offer traditional Khmer and Asian cuisine, such as the local delicacy, Amok, a thick curry soup made with coconut cream. Two good options are the Khmer kitchen (+855 63 964 154) and the Chamkar Vegetarian Restaurant (+855 92 733 150).

Khmer Kitchen

There are traditional dance and dinner shows such as Apsara Theatre (+855 63 963 561). These can be quite touristic and you ideally need to book in advance. There are also luxury spas, such as Bodia spa that offer a full range of body treatments including the traditional Khmer massage (+855 63 761 593).

The Temples of Angkor

Visiting the wondrous temples of the UNESCO Archaeological Park, can, at times make you feel like Indiana Jones. From the 9th to 15th century Angkor, was the heart of the Khmer Kingdom. The most famous temples of Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm, exemplify changing periods of Khmer architecture. Mini-buses packed with tourists set off early to see Angkor Wat, on what is termed the inner-circuit route to see the main temples, followed by the outer circuit on subsequent days (it will make sense when you get there).

Bayon Temple

These package tours break for breakfast and lunch at the same time each day, leaving the temples virtually empty. My advice is to hire your own tuk-tuk or taxi, from as little as $15 a day, and to visit the temples in the opposite direction to the arranged tours, taking a later breakfast and lunch. By staying out later, you also get to watch the sunsets shimmering above the tree line. A 5am start to see the stately sunrise over Angkor, is also very popular.

Ta Prohm

You can hire a knowledgeable tour guide with good English from $45 per day, or just enjoy the experience of discovering the temples for yourself with a guide book. Each temple is unique. The complex of Bayon for example has amazing head carvings, whilst the complex of Ta Prohm was so overgrown when it was excavated that they had to leave trees in place to protect the structure from collapse. This haunting temple was used when filming Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and is a definite highlight.

Getting There and Around

You can travel to Siem Reap via Bangkok from London with British Airways (0844 493 0775; ba.com), and Air France (0207 660 0337) from under £500 per person return. Internal flights to Siem Reap from Bangkok with Air Asia from £70.

Cambodian visa information: www.cambodianembassy.org.uk

Will Ottley is a freelance travel writer and author of the inspirational fable, “Mountain Garden”, but does not work with or for any of the parties mentioned in this article.

Follow Will Ottley on: www.mountaingarden.co.uk

The Explorateur’s Exclusive Getaways

Friends, families, freewheelin’ babes and badasses… our swanky friends at The Explorateur – an insider travel concierge of sorts – wanted me to share some sweet news about a few very exclusive trips they’ve added to their repertoire for the Fall. Tell them our Editor-in-Chief, Layla Revis, sent you if you sign up to their newsletter. That way, they’ll treat you extra nice 😉

Just Chillin in Tanzania

A bit about The Explorateur. We heard about them when we were working with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and their Founder came highly regarded. We needed some tips on Croatia and we were told that he was the guy who made an art of arranging yacht trips around the Croatian coast. So what is The Explorateur? A unique forum filled with fabulous insider information (sorta like us). They also arrange exclusive offers at the world’s most unique and interesting hotels, shops, and restaurants around the world much like the travel agent you *wish* you had. Their ever-globetrotting editorial team blends their collective decades of experience in the travel industry with savvy insider knowledge of the world’s most eclectic finds. Stylish, yet unpretentious, they help guide travelers with a hint of wanderlust.  The team has the scoop on anything and everything a traveler needs to know. And, if they don’t know, like us, they’ll travel to find out.

TANZANIA-  6 Days, Stunning Explorations- starting at US $1500 per person, double occupancy

Itinerary includes:  Begin at Kilimanjaro for an overnight at Kia Lodge and option to explore the mountain, followed by  a drive the next day for a visit to Lake Manyara, game drive for phenomenal animal viewing + 1 night at Migunga Tented Camp including all meals, transfer to Serengeti for an early morning game drive and visit to Olduvai Gorge + 2 nights at Ikoma Tented Camp including all meals, transfer to Ngorongoro Crater for a gorgeous crater exporation tour and overnight at Crater Forest Lodge, all  meals, followed by early morning transfer back to Arusha.

My Chateau or Yours?

FRANCE – Spectacular New Years Experience at Chateau de la Barre- 1295 Euro per person, based on 12 sharing.

Mingle with royalty and get treated as such when you round up 12 friends to share the chateau as guests of Comte and Comtesse de Vanssay in their Loire Valley chateau.

30 Dec- Get treated to a champagne reception and visit of the chateau followed by cheese and vintage wine tasting supper in the billiard room in front o fthe monumental XIVth century fireplace- enjoy chocolate and port wine in your room.

31 Dec- Explore the remarkably restored old city of Le Mans, stage set to many films followed by festive New Year’s Eve dinner in the XVIIth centrury grand dinign room of the chateau with all the family silver and crystal- usher in the new year at midnignt with champagne in the Grand Drawing Room underneath the ancestral portraits

01 Jan- Renaissance day- visit famous Chenonceau castle with a new year’s day lunch feast at Leonardo da Vinci’s home served as if you were in 1530- or a private lunch in XVIIth century Chateau Chene de Coeur hosted by the owners

02 Jan- Depart with a special present from Chateau de la Barre

PLUS- Daily English breakfast and afternoon tea, fresh flowers in room, wine tasting at nearby winery built into a Xth century limestone cave

Kda-oo naH, pray-uhH 'euy (Translation: "Oh God, It's Hot")

CAMBODIA –  Hotel de la Paix – Siem Riep’s most stylish hotel set against some of the world’s most spectacular ancient sights

Explore this incredible land in the comfort of this stunning art deco hotel starting at US $275 per night- and receive the following lovely treats to enrich your stay:

– Welcome drink and cold towel on arrival
– Daily gourmet hot breakfast buffet
– Wireless Internet access in all guestrooms
– Daily turn-down service with treats
– Pre-loaded iPod with music and narratives on Cambodia, which may be taken on outside excursions
– Access to undercover Khmer inspired swimming pool
– Access to award winning Spa Indochine

So take a jaunt, check out The Explorateur, and let us know what you think (just don’t make us too jealous when you go on and on about that trip to Chateau de la Barre or Tanzania!

 The Explorateur 

Cambodian Recycled Tire Sandals

Cambodian Recycled Tire Sandals

It’s summer and you know what that means?

Time to break out the sandals and take care of those crunked footies. Recently, our Editor-in-Chief’s husband came across a group of Mexicans in the mountains of the Sierra Madre that made huaraches (sandals) out of recycled tires. They also ran about 100 miles in them. So, we thought we’d show our loyal Jaunt Magazine readers another off-the-hook idea for those travelin’ twinklin’ toesies.

Old Ho’s Rubber Tire Sandals

First of all, we thought the name was fun. Second of all, they’re hand-made in Cambodia from old tires. The sandals are snug and comfortable, making great footwear for going to the beach or backcountry travel.

The History of Tire Sandals
Rubber tire sandals were used extensively by the Viet Minh and Viet Cong during the war in Vietnam from the late 1940’s until the fall of Saigon in 1979. In the face of equipment shortages the guerilla army of Vietnam turned to using old truck tires as footwear and quickly saw the advantages of the resulting sandals compared to boots. The climate of jungle-Southeast Asia is harsh. During the war many American infantrymen suffered from “trench-foot” or fungal infections (yikes!) which resulted from wearing boots in the humid climate. Many looked with envy to the sandals worn by the enemy. Tragically, this footwear is also widely associated with the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Only the upper cadre of the Khmer Rouge wore these sandals and it was a sign of political power within the regime. They were seen as a good example of self-sufficiency and were very practical.

The sandals also have many benefits; they’re easy to clean, they stay snugly on your feet, they’re comfortable and they dry quickly.

Old Ho's Recycled Tire Sandals

Old Ho’s Rubber Tire Sandals are incredibly durable, as well, and it’s unlikely that you will damage the soles during normal use. They are, after all, made of truck tires! There is a possibility that the straps may loose elasticity after rugged use, but they’ll tell you how to replace them. Piece ‘a cake.

A Portion of the Profits Benefit HeritageWatch
HeritageWatch is an international Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to reducing the destruction of cultural heritage in Southeast Asia. The organisation is involved in a number of activities that are designed to raise awareness of the importance of cultural heritage and reduce the occurrence of looting. Granny’s Country Store purchases the sandals through Heritage Watch, helping to benefit their programs.

http://www.grannysstore.com/Green_Goods/Tire_Sandals.htm

$30/pair. Since they’re unable to restock on the larger sizes, they’re closing out the remaining stock of small sandals. Feel free to send them back for a bigger or smaller size if the first pair doesn’t fit right, but get ’em while it’s still summer.