Tag Archives: architecture

Heraklion and the Surrounding Areas

The Palace of Knossos and the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

Tourists come to Heraklion to see mainly two attractions: the Palace of Knossos (http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2369) and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum (http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/1/eh151.jsp?obj_id=3327). Internet is full of information about these two sites so I will focus on sharing my impressions and some practical information.

Knossos is exactly 7km away from the Old Harbour. Guide books tell you to arrive before 10am in order to avoid the crowds but we arrived at 11am and it was not yet crowded (well, the last time we visited a site like this it was the Angkor Temples in Cambodia and it was VERY busy, so nothing will probably ever feel the same afterwards!) But please notice that we were visiting Knossos outside the peak season.

Prior to visiting Knossos we had heard quite a bit of criticism about the site’s excavation and restoration efforts but we thought everything was pretty well done and clear. The Fresco Gallery was my favorite. It was interesting to hear that the Minoans had taken a special liking to the nature and animals, and beautiful and colorful birds, as well as monkeys, were brought from Egypt to Crete. Many exotic-looking animals are therefore featured on the frescoes and clay jars.

Lonely Planet Crete (2012) provides you with an itinerary how to visit Knossos (starting by the West and the North Court), but the signs at the site tell you to do the opposite. I don’t have an opinion on this; both seem to work. Knossos costs 6€ per person and for 10€ you can buy a ticket that includes the Museum (it is valid during one week), but it is not necessary because the museum ticket brought separately costs 4€ (there is no discount).

We visited first Knossos and the Museum the next day but it is totally feasible to visit Knossos and the Museum the same day. However, I would recommend to keep this order: first Knossos, then the Museum. The Museum wraps up nicely everything that you saw and read in Knossos.

The museum is under renovation and at the moment there are only three areas open to the public: around the corner from the main building you have the main collection with excellent explanations and in the main building there are two room: one for statues and one for the famous frescoes. I was told there will be more rooms open this summer but no details were shared.

I do not consider myself as someone crazy about museums but I fell in love with the Heraklion Archaeological Museum and the history of Knossos. Knowing that this is where the first European city was developing almost 4000 years ago really struck me.

Good morning the rooftops of Paris!

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This is the view from our bedroom this morning around 10 o’clock. There is no denying it, the summer is almost here. Like any real or wanna-be Parisienne, I will head to the market now: either to Le Marché Bastille (http://equipement.paris.fr/marche-bastille-5477) or to Le Marche d’Aligre (http://marchedaligre.free.fr/). Muskmelons (also called cantaloupe) and strawberries are waiting for me!

Paradise in colors: Temple Tree at Bon Ton

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We were in Koh Lipe, Thailand, and our return flight back to Paris from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was only few days away. When you look at the map, you see that Koh Lipe is one of the closest Thai islands to Malaysia. If you are on your way to Kuala Lumpur, it makes a lot of sense to stop in Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s prime beach destinations. We took a speedboat from Koh Lipe to Langkawi and in just over one hour we crossed the border and were welcomed by a customs officer who drove us to a customs building and then to our hotel (these services came with the speed boat ticket). And I had thought it is easy to cross borders in Europe!

Our brief stay at Temple Tree at Bon Ton (http://www.templetree.com.my) was truly delightful. If you have been to India, you may know the Neemrana group of hotels (http://neemranahotels.com)? Every Neemrana hotel is a heritage building and rooms are decorated with local textiles, objects of art and antique furniture. Well, this is what Temple Tree is about, too. Temple Tree consists of eight villas; colorful, wooden heritage buildings that originate from different parts of Malaysia, representing different eras and aspects of Malaysian history. “Bon Ton” in the name refers to Temple Tree’s sister hotel, which is a short walk away (http://www.bontonresort.com.my).

Upon arrival, we were welcomed like royalties with excellent Australian Chardonnay and an upgrade to Colonial House, usually reserved for honeymooners. After a dip in the pool and a walk around the estate, we enjoyed a sample platter of Malay cuisine and char-grilled lamb racks. Just one word: excellent. The next evening we flew with Air Asia back to Kuala Lumpur (there is a flight almost at every hour!), very pleased with the idea to stop in Langkawi. I would recommend Temple Tree to anyone looking for an original hotel with a soul.

We had nothing to complain about our stay, but some words of advice may become handy. First of all, there is no beach. Both Temple Tree and Bon Ton face a lagoon (see the photo above). It is very idyllic with birds and butterflies, and very green, but should you want the beach, you can take a short cab ride (costs about 2USD one way) to Cenang Beach. Secondly, the owner loves animals and she is a proud owner of an animal shelter. There is a dog at the reception (a very quiet one, it seemed) and many, many cats at both hotels. If these two points do not bother you, then this your pearl in the middle of otherwise rather tourist island of Langkawi.

Chong Kneas and other floating villages around the Tonlé Sap lake

The Sleeping Beauty: Vientiane (part 2)

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I decided to label Vientiane The Sleeping Beauty, but I may have as well called it The World’s Cutest Capital. This tiny capital is very quiet and traffic jams are unheard of. Instead you hear birds and see butterflies. You see monks wondering around the temples and some tourists, mainly independent it seemed, and you are pretty much without hassle while visiting the town. My first impression on Vientiane was “what a cute capital”!

My second impression was that the future and the past of Laos use Vientiane as a playground. It felt and looked very Chinese and Communist. At the same time the devoted monks were seen with iPhones and other devices for listening music. It also became obvious very soon that there is plenty of money in the capital (or was it remittances sent into Vientiane by Laotians living abroad?). We saw an abundance of expensive four wheels and white seemed to be the color à la mode. There was at least one white-colored four-wheeled Porsche and an Englishman we met said he had seen a yellow Lamborghini! Furthermore, Russian influence was present in the streets and a cellular phone operator Beeline seemed to be advertising everywhere. But Russia was not the only country present. France had left its legacy, too, and there are many lovely and good-valued cafes in Vientiane serving all types of coffees and croissants. An interesting battle field of influences I reckon!

After a cup of Lao coffee (filtered coffee mixed with condensed milk) we started our walking tour. The itinerary we did followed the Lonely Planet “Monument to Mekong Cycling Tour” except that we did it by walking and chose a different restaurant to eat lunch at. Note: If you are interested in visiting the temples, do remember that most of them close between midday and 1pm, and close again 4pm. Of all wats (temples) on this route, we liked particularly Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan and Wat Si Saket. Our lunch stop was Makphet, the famous non profit restaurant run by an NGO called Friends International (http://www.friends-international.org/) and where former street youth are trained to wait and cook.

We chose two main dishes: Lemongrass Spiced Chicken, Young Bamboo & Mushroom Stir Fry and Grilled Beef Salad with Apple Eggplant & Young Lemongrass. Both were excellent, but the beef salad was divine. I find it very interesting that they had added dill in it -dill is very much used in my home country Finland and also in the Eastern Europe and Russia, but I have not associated it with Asian dishes. Will need to do some research on the origin of dill once I get back home.

After the lunch we had two more important places to go to: we hired a tuc tuc to take us to Pha That Luang before its closing, also at 4pm. This is considered to be the most important monument in Laos and legends of the site’s origin vary (http://www.laos-guide-999.com/pha-that-luang.html). The second place we wanted to go to is Wat Si Muang (open until 7pm), where the spirit of Vientiane is supposed to reside. This temple felt very much alive and we could see people praying and asking for help. In fact there is a Buddha made of stone and locals believe that by lifting it three times from its pillow, while at the same time asking for something, your wish will come true. We saw an elderly woman doing this and the statue seemed very heavy. Outside the temple there were many stands where on could buy offerings –something you are supposed to do if your wish comes true.

For the dinner we could not resist the temptation and returned to Chokdee Cafe (read yesterday’s The Sleeping Beauty: Vientiane (part 1) to hear more about this restaurant). I still believe their duck breast laap is one of the best in the entire world! I keep looking for a better one, but in vain…

We spent two full days in Vientiane and could have stayed a bit longer. It really is a pleasant town and in my humble opinion much of its charm lies (in addition to dozens of sacred temples) in Chokdee Cafe and interesting stories you hear there (not forgetting their laap!)…

The Sleeping Beauty: Vientiane (part 1)

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(A more detailed story about Siem Reap and visiting the temples will follow at the latest from from Paris, if not before. The connection was so bad in Siem Reap that I could not do any writing and uploading).

After five full days it felt like it was time to move forward from Siem Reap. We had seen the main temples and even hired a car for a day to visit the sites further away. We appreciated the temples and the transformation they had made from Hinduism to Buddhism. We also loved having a morning coffee in the center of Siem Reap at Le Grand Cafe, but in the evening the center became a Western Drinking Factory and this is not why we came to Asia… We had looked into Siem Reap – Vientiane airplane tickets from Paris and the price seemed stable: around 200USD per person one way. On Saturday afternoon we visited one of the Siem Reap travel agencies (www.europe-asiatours.com) and found out that we could buy a one-way ticket for 157USD including taxes and all fees (payment only in cash). Unfortunately the flight was full for the next day, Sunday, so we returned to the hotel to do some googling hoping to find something for Sunday. On http://www.lastminute.com we found a bit more expensive tickets for the next day, and the decision was quickly made: it is time to leave Cambodia for Laos.

During the flight from Siem Reap to Pakse we met a lovely couple from Finland (if Pirjo & Teuvo from Jyväskylä are reading this, all our best greetings to you and thanks for those nice discussions!). In Pakse, where everyone had to go through the visa and passport control, we were supposed to wait for two hours for the connecting flight, but as soon as we arrived we asked if there is a possibility to get onto the next flight, leaving in just 30 minutes. After some waiting around they said yes, and without any extra payment we checked onto Pakse – Vientiane flight. Our first contact to Lao people was very sweet. They seemed shy and reserved, but a smile was never very far away. We also found out that they like sweets: during the flight we were served two different types of cakes, one of them in the picture with some green filling… (not bad!).

Upon arrival in Vientiane we shared a taxi with Pirjo and Teuvo (7USD a car to the center). Our stop, Vayakorn House, was full but eventually we found something near by and closer to the Mekong River, Douang Deuane Hotel (25USD). Later on the day we read some reviews on http://www.tripadvisor.com and agreed with them: our fifth-floor room was very clean, the bed was comfortable, and we even had a small balcony looking over temple roofs on the right and the Mekong River on the left. The quality of the bathroom was slightly inferior to the room, but it was still clean.

After checking in at the hotel it was time for a late lunch. Our dear friend who had been to Vientiane last year had recommended Tintin-inspired Chokdee Cafe (http://www.chokdeecafe.com), which turned out to be around the corner from our hotel. I do have to admit that I can be quite reluctant about the touristy bars and restaurants, but I immediately fell in love with this restaurant that has a huge selection of Belgium beers (and even mussels on the weekend!!) and Western as well as Lao dishes. Chokdee Cafe is not your usual touristy bar, it is an expat hang out place where you are sure to meet very interesting people. During our first visit we talked to a European man learning Lao language and explaining the pronunciation difficulties to us, while we overheard a discussion on how to invest in Laos. All this happened while a nice Dutchman (in the picture) was singing old French and English songs, and some songs composed by himself about living an expat life and going to Embassy parties… During our second visit we met an Englishman who had just bought an apartment in Thailand and his new Scottish friend, met on a Luang Prabang-Vientiane bus.

The food at Chokdee Cafe was delicious, too. Papaya salad was a bit too spicy and it is rare we cannot finish a dish… However, my favorite was the Laap Phet: the minced duck breast mixed with mint leaves and chili. DELICIOUS!!! (As I am writing this, it is the best Laap I have had in Laos so far!).

We could have stayed an entire evening at Chokdee Cafe but once our mouths were burning from the chillies and stomachs full from excellent BeerLao we headed back to the streets. Walking by the Mekong is walking on a border: Thailand is just on the other side of the river and this is why you get messages “welcome to Thailand” on your cellular phone. (However, if you curious about crossing the border by the river on your own, do not try. A local guide told us that the Thai soldiers/customs officers are quite corrupted and will fine you very heftily should they catch you…). We also realized that the Lao people are very sportive: there were many skate boarding and jogging along the river, and we even saw an outdoor gym by the river.

Eventually the sun set, but we continued walking. The temples looked very different from the ones we had seen in the center of Siem Reap and against the dark sky they for sure held special magical power.

The Lao people dine early and many places close at 9pm. In addition there is this sort of unofficial curfew at 11pm, so the dining hours have nothing to do with the Mediterranean way of life… The restaurant (Makphet) where we had wanted to go was closed but we found a food court on Th Chao Anou Street.

My husband had some pork sausage (I don’t eat pork) and he said it was a bit sweet but good and interesting. Together we shared grilled squid and a grilled fish (see the photo) that they call “panin” (at least this is what it sounded like to me). They stick a lemongrass inside the fish but if you do not know what it is, you may mistake it for a big spider or something! Panin was clearly a river fish, but the meat was consistent and tasted good.