All posts tagged: Flashback Friday

Banteay Srei, Cambodia

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I just realized that I never got around to continuing my posts on Siem Reap—and what’s worse is that I didn’t cover my favorite temple of them all. Since it’s about time that I revive my Flashback Friday series, I decided to give this gem the spotlight it deserves. So without further ado, I present to you the beautiful Citadel of Women, Banteay Srei. Banteay Srei is located in the Angkor Archaeological Park, but since it’s a long ways out from the main cluster of temples that includes the Angkor Wat, it’s often passed up for its more popular counterparts. But if you’re staying in Siem Reap for more than a weekend, you should definitely add this to your itinerary. You don’t even need to worry about the admission, since it’s covered by the Angkor Pass. The trip from town takes about an hour via remork, and it’s a great way to see more of the fields and small settlements housed in the park. It’s best to go here bright and early in the morning, so you can get the farthest destination …

The Demilitarized Zone, Korea

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It’s sad that most, if not all, countries have a history of violence that has defined, molded, and transformed them so completely. I haven’t gotten around to writing about my last three days in Korea, but I decided that what we visited on my final day deserved a post of its own. Before our trip, I didn’t really know much about the history of Korea (due in part to my propensity for sleeping in history class back in high school). I knew there was a North Korea and a South Korea…Yes, that was basically it. So when my brother mentioned that we include DMZ in our itinerary, I was clueless and just nodded along. It took us some maneuvering since my stay was much shorter than my siblings’, but we managed to allot my last day for our trip there. We booked a half day tour to give me enough time to prepare for my flight later that evening. Though our trip was quite short, I have to say that DMZ was one of my most memorable experiences …

Kayangan Lake, Philippines

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In anticipation of my beach escapade next week, I’d like to feature some photos of our family trip to Coron, Palawan. It was a first time for all of us, which made the New Year’s treat all the more memorable. Coron is one of the municipalities of Palawan, Philippines. It refers to the biggest town on Busuanga Island, and is also the name of a smaller island nearby. That island is very aptly differentiated as Coron Island, but the town and the island are part of the same municipality. Confusing, isn’t it? In general, though, when people go to Coron, they end up going to both — the town, because most of the accommodations and shops are located there, and the island, because it is home to beautiful beaches, lakes and popular diving sites. There’s much to see and do in Coron, but for now, I want to focus on one of the most unforgettable places we visited during our stay there: Kayangan Lake.

Chateau de Versailles, France

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Back in college, we had this class on the History of Art and Architecture. One of the stories that particularly interested me was of France’s Louis XIV, who hailed himself as “Le Roi Soleil” (The Sun King) and brought France into an international seat of power. Louis XIV was known to be a huge patron of the arts, and perhaps one of his greatest legacies is the Chateau de Versailles. What used to be the hunting lodge of his predecessor, Louis XIII, was transformed into a splendidly massive palace that would be the center of France’s monarchy for more than a hundred years. So when our tour brought us to Paris, I knew that we could not miss a visit to Versailles. We were the only ones in our group to venture out of the main city, but our tour guide was nice enough to give us directions on how to go Versailles. The bus dropped us off at Musee d’Orsay, where we caught the RER C train to Versailles Rive de Gauche. The ride took …

The Berlin Wall, Germany

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So this is where I feature photos of a specific place, event or experience that I find truly memorable. In keeping with my previous post wherein Berlin was mentioned, I’d like to start off this series with my visit to the Berlin Wall — particularly, the Berliner Mauer East Side Gallery. Throughout our short stay in Amsterdam, Berlin and Hamburg, Sheila and I adhered to several suggestions of our wise and most knowledgeable travel companion: Rick Steves. It was he who led us to Muhlenstrasse, home to a 1.3 km stretch of the historic Berlin Wall. Though there are several other remaining portions of the wall found throughout the city, we decided to make it a point to visit the East Side Gallery due to the main thing that sets it apart. While the other remnants of the Wall were left in their original condition, this particular length was transformed into a huge open air gallery commemorating the trials and triumphs that took place there. Back in 1990, artists from all over the world came …