In the tourism industry, the power of the brand and the image are super important. All participants in this complex chain contribute to painting traveling like a dream come true. An escape from miserable and boring lives.

Projecting luxury as a holy grail, the rare privilege of a few, is ubiquitous. From luxury travel blogs to Instagram accounts of aspiring starlets, the idea that “looks can deceive” is not unmasked, but exploited

There is something interesting going on here. In most industries, terrible providers and honest consumers would split apart. But in the world of travel, both sellers and buyers participate in this ‘rose-colored glasses’ game.

In the era of Instagram, travelers will close one eye on the weak spots of a doubtfully good travel experience and still paint it pink. Buyers become sellers, selling the lifestyle to their followers. And it seems they don’t even need to get paid to forward the deception.

Our ability to ignore negative details, and focus on what seems to be desirable, is an intriguing aspect of human psychology. In a world that counts value through ‘likes’, hearts, and thumbs-ups, selective reporting becomes a widespread strategy.

Projecting luxury as a holy grail, the rare privilege of a few, is ubiquitous. From luxury travel blogs to Instagram accounts of aspiring starlets, the idea that “looks can deceive” is not unmasked, but exploited.

Sometimes, the discrepancy between reality and created illusion is so large that you can wonder whether deception is an addiction we cannot control.

Social media changed the ways we travel and experience the world around us. From stupid selfies in Indonesia to Kanchanaburi sightseeing turning into a photo shoot on a graveyard, examples are unappealing. 

5 stories I skipped to tell

To some extent, all travel reporters are guilty of creating illusions. Myself included.

The journalist’s task is to do his/her job fairly. But avoiding certain details in certain articles, and possibly addressing them in others (such as this one) is legitimate too.

Ignoring negative aspects can be perfectly reasonable. And no, it wouldn’t necessarily equal lying.

Whatever the reason behind our actions might be, I felt the need to share examples that could demystify the perfect life of a travel blogger.

1. Floating breakfast in Bali I never ate

The idea for this article came to me when I posted Instagram pics of Aria Villas Ubud, the romantic hotel in Bali with a floating breakfast.

 

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Me standing in an infinity pool, with tropical vegetation in the background. I quoted John Lubbock, English scientist and politician: “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”

The word ‘lie’ can describe quite different things: assuming the horizontal position, as well as telling something untrue. Was I lying, or was I lying?

Well, I was certainly standing in that pool, shivering, and not disclosing how cold the morning water was. There was a delicious breakfast floating in the basket, served for two of course (as how can solitude be romantic?). Neither I nor my travel companion would eat it that morning.

My followers did not find out about the frequent night visits to the toilet. My poisoned stomach wanted to eject the dinner of the night before. That’s content nobody would like to see floating in that perfect pool.

I knew exactly where we got the infamous Bali Belly. It was some local restaurant that had no connection with the hotel we stayed in.

As it was a check-out day, this was the last opportunity to photograph Aria Villas’ floating breakfast. If we wanted to fairly address the hotel’s offer, it was now or never. Enter the pool, take a quick pic, and throw up later. Never mention it again. Well, until now.

Out of embarrassment, I took a spoon and wrecked the food servings, just so that the hotel’s chef wouldn’t take returned full plates as an offense.

Instagram’s alternative reality

One of my Instagram followers commented on the pic with a fire and applause emoji: “You have the best life. Ever.” On another similar image in the pool, a fellow travel blogger said: “Living the life!!”. Someone else commented: “You’ve shared so many amazing sites & sights of your travels, but I think this unexpected floating breakfast is now my favorite. It’s kind of simple, serene, soulful AND – superfluous – simultaneously.”

I was recovering from the food poisoning incident for a couple of days. It had nothing to do with the accommodation we stayed in, and I thought it was best not to address it. But feeling the need to throw up your guts and soul certainly did not resemble how I imagined “the best life”.

Coming back to Lubbock’s observation, rest might not be the waste of time, but ordering a breakfast you don’t plan to eat was certainly producing waste. I am quite conscious about the value of food, and in normal circumstances, I would never order something that I would know it would be thrown away. But these circumstances required staging and all dilemmas that come with it.

As for Aria Villas, I still believe they are one of the best places to stay in Ubud and provide the best massage on the island of gods! The hotel even got an honorable mention in my 2020 year review, not just for its impeccable room delivery service, but also as the winner of the most liked images on Pipeaway’s Instagram – four out of the top 9 pics in 2020 were taken in Aria Villas.

Are you a travel blogger experiencing anxiety related to your work? You are not alone. Check out how to deal with the burnout of blogxiety!

2. Diary of diarrhea in Cambodia

After testing many world cuisines, I can say that issues with digestion occur rather rarely to me. But when they do happen, I’d love to have an exorcist by my side!

Once in Siem Reap, I stayed in Sojourn Boutique Villas. Later I included them in my text about how well are the luxury escapes in Cambodia prepared for post-COVID tourism.

I was lucky to write this thematic piece instead of a full review of the hotel, as I don’t know how I would address the food poisoning, similar to the one I had in Bali.

How do you write about the hotel’s food if your stomach is churning? Can I pinpoint the exact cause of my problems in – the hotel’s restaurant? Or did I pick up my bug somewhere else?

Luckily, I didn’t feel well enough to attend the cooking class they offered. It would be rather hard to find an ethically correct way to report about it without addressing health issues that might or might not derive from the hotel’s restaurant.

But now you know, the “severe stomach problems” I mentioned in the article on Cambodia’s most famous temple, that Heritage Suites staff helped me deal with, started at my earlier stopover.

 

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Of course, as I skipped mentioning my digestive disorder, Instagram pics of Sojourn Boutique Villas were only getting comments such as “So incredible” and “Tropical paradise!”.

Only I knew that I didn’t sleep that night after the sickness made my bowels involuntarily give up, and I made a mess in the bedsheets. I know, incredible tropical paradise, right?

Out of embarrassment, I spent the night cleaning the bedding, as I didn’t want to be remembered as “the blogger who shat on us”. Obviously, I don’t try enough if I tell this unglamorous story now.

3. Temptation of the Ethiopian injera

I can thank Ethiopia for a couple of dietary anecdotes too. Many Westerners can. When I attended a conference in Addis Ababa, at least a third of us swapped round tables with 1-on-1 sessions with the loo.

The staple food of Ethiopia is injera, the spongy bread made of teff, the country’s native grain. This peculiar sour pancake is eaten by hand, and spreading germs around is therefore not a surprise.

However, on my last days in the country, I wanted to reward myself with some French pastries, as desserts are not that common in Ethiopian cuisine. And I got sick again! No matter how exclusive the restaurant you choose to visit seems to be, you never know what happens behind the closed doors of the kitchen.

 

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But my favorite episode with injera happened during the Danakil Depression tour. An Asian tourist had just arrived in Ethiopia and saw a fellow Italian traveler Walter eating the injera.

“Can I take a picture?”, she asked.

“No, but you can taste it”, Walter was playing it smart.

She tried the fermented flatbread, and she didn’t like it.

“Can I take a picture now?”, she asked.

You see, social media networks do not recognize flavors for now. Why not share images of food that we never liked, and get some ‘likes’ that we do like?

4. Stretching my capacities in Laos

Not all food experiences end up with explosive gastrointestinal problems. Sometimes, the food can be great, but there could just be too much of it.

I am aware this can sound like a first-world problem. But staying in a 5-star hotel with several restaurants and lounges, and with an expectation to try them all in two days, is different than it sounds. Delivering a proper review after a jam-packed program from early morning to late evening is still a challenging task.

This is exactly what I experienced at Crowne Plaza Vientiane in Laos. After months of physically active time in Southeast Asia (I had to make additional holes in my belt so I don’t lose my pants!), this hotel’s amazing food changed it all. The room-scale showed more than 70 kilos, for the first time in my life. I know that should be normal for my height, but certainly, it came after a regime of overeating that can hardly be described as pure pleasure. I admire people with such eating capacities!

 

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However, the full stomach was not my biggest problem while experiencing the massage treatment in Crowne Plaza Vientiane. My body was still full of wounds I got when I fell off a motorbike in Northern Laos!

You don’t see me mentioning it as one of Luang Prabang‘s tourist attractions, even if this is a particular reason why I will never forget my visit to Kuang Si Falls.

“You know how to enjoy life”, commented someone on a pic where I stand in turquoise (and, pssst, rather cold!) water. I said ‘thank you’ without revealing that the guy who “knows how to enjoy life” almost lost it on the road.

Read about my most dangerous travel situations here!

5. Too many hotels or no hotel?

Travel blogging does come with perks. I can see why having free accommodation for a month in Cambodia or Bali could look like a dream job to most people.

In my early blogging days, I was accepting one-night hotel stays in exchange for a full review. I’d rather not repeat that. Today, I feel even two-night stays are a stretch.

After checking in the first afternoon and checking out the last morning, this technically becomes one full day at a place you need to write about.

In between the golden hours of morning and evening for photography, one needs to explore the hotel’s offer, and hopefully some of the town. This transforms your ‘free stay’ into a sprint experience.

Traveling easily becomes an enemy of travel blogging, and you end up not having enough time to do your job – the writing.

After a run through hotels, back to back, one almost needs to take a vacation!

 

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For instance, in the beautiful Coron Island in the Philippines. I booked an Airbnb, only to find out the room was infested with ants. With a silent booking platform, I was on my own. Other affordable rooms were equally dodgy.

I literally spent an entire day in Coron Town trying to find a decent bed that would not break my budget. The hostel I finally booked (and paid for) via Booking.com, turned out to be sold out when I got there. So you cannot really trust booking platforms!

In the end, I took a room in some unlit street for the night, just so I wouldn’t sleep on the bench.

No part of my Instagram report on Coron revealed the stress behind staying at the ‘perfect island’. Followers’ comments were coming from the pool of words such as “incredible”, “inspiring”, “awesome” and “beautiful”.

To read about my experiences in staying with Jesus fans, nudists, and rats, read my Couchsurfing horror stories!

Untold stories on travel bloggers’ glamorous lifestyle – Conclusion

Some travel bloggers might lead a glamorous lifestyle, but it is not an undisputed rule. For instance, Pipeaway reviews extraordinary accommodations, no matter if they are luxury escapes for the rich or hostels for backpackers.

I am aware that any touristic image from an exotic location feeds the deception of beauty. Unless I really intend to photograph something ugly, the image will typically communicate the unique features of the place. We will attach value to these features mainly because they differ from what we are used to.

All of this doesn’t mean that travel reporting is a lie. But readers should be aware that what they see is always a fraction of an experience

When I decided to travel full-time four years ago, I actually googled “the cheapest places to travel in 2017”. Visiting Southeast Asia was not a way to rub anyone’s nose with luxury hotels or tropical paradise beaches. Paradoxically, I chose destinations through an economical filter! I wanted to save money I would otherwise spend in a pricier homeland.

Five-star hotels were surely a privilege that can potentially look misleading. While it was never my intention to trick anyone, I felt the urge to address the phenomenon of an illusionary perfect experience.

Life has its ups and downs wherever we are, at home or far away. What makes it different is only that travel writers dare to report about life elsewhere. In these reports, negative aspects fade into the background more often than they should.

That doesn’t mean that travel reporting is a lie. But readers should be aware that what they see is always a fraction of an experience.

As for Instagram, it bestifies everyone’s life. There are 24 frames in a second, 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day. That means there are at least 2.073.059 snapshots we are NOT posting. And I guess those might tell a different story.

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When the first rays of sunshine caress Angkor Wat and its silhouette dives into the reflection ponds in front of it, the morning magic stays an illusion. The reality hits you! Sunrise over Angkor Wat temple is not just one of those things to see before you die. It is, even more precise, a place to die before you see! Armed with selfie sticks, tripods, and elbows at least, these eager tourists claim their territory with a somewhat ferocious passion.

As if they are all hunting a vampire that will turn to dust at dawn, Angkor Wat tourists are fighting for their instalife

As if they are all hunting a vampire that will turn to dust at dawn, Angkor Wat tourists are fighting for their instalife. The largest religious monument on the planet will become a hashtag as the day progresses, with over 1,4 million #angkorwat images on Instagram.

In this blog post, discover if Angkor Wat sunrise is worth it! Find out what is the best way to see the temple complex, how many days to reserve for this iconic Khmer landmark, as well as where to stay when visiting Angkor Wat!

Bur first some essential Angkor Wat information!

Angkor Wat quick facts

What is Angkor Wat?

Angkor Wat is located in northwestern Cambodia, near the town of Siem Reap. It is the largest temple of the Angkor complex, one of the most important archeological sites in Southeast Asia. Angkor (meaning ‘city’) was the capital city of the Khmer Kingdom from the 9^th till the 15^th century. It spread over 400 square kilometers!

Angkor Wat is the masterpiece of Khmer religious architecture. Surrounded by a 200-meter-wide moat and the rectangular wall, the central Angkor temple has three floors with richly decorated galleries, ending up with five towers in the shape of lotus buds. It is a symbolic representation of ocean-surrounded Mount Meru, the mythical home of Hindu gods beyond the Himalayas.

As a source of national pride, Angkor Wat appears on the Cambodian flag and banknotes.

It is also a major touristic product. Angkor Wat is for Cambodia what is Machu Picchu for Peru, pyramids for Egypt, Taj Mahal for India, Borobudur for Indonesia, Bagan for Myanmar, My Son for Vietnam, or Ayutthaya for Thailand.

In 1992, Angkor Archeological Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

When was Angkor Wat built?

The Khmer Empire built Angkor Wat temple in the early 12^th century. King Suryavarman II ordered the construction of the Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, the state temple of the Khmer capital.

The legend says that a divine architect constructed Angkor Wat in one night. Those who did not believe that the technology of those times could build such marvel, even introduced an ancient alien intervention as an explanation.

However, the truth is that building Angkor Wat was just hard work. It required three decades, 300.000 workers, and 6.000 elephants!

Why does Angkor Wat face west?

While Hindu temples typically face east, Angkor Wat’s orientation defies the norm. One explanation says this is because of Vishnu, who is often associated with the west. The other idea associates the west with the sunset/death. It follows the theory that the mighty king wanted to use Angkor Wat as his mausoleum.

Why was Angkor Wat abandoned, and when?

In 1177, during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, Cham people sacked Angkor. It was thought Hindu gods deserted it, so the kingdom built the new capital of Angkor Thom nearby. They dedicated all temples to Buddhism at that moment.

In the early 15^th century, Ayutthaya kingdom and natural disasters hit Angkor. Climate change, intense monsoon rains and devastating floods started the final collapse. People abandoned Angkor, and the jungle took over. The capital of the Khmer kingdom moved to Phnom Penh.

Water was essential for the development of Angkor, as National Geographic suggests. Learn more about Angkor Wat in this Youtube video!

Angkor Wat discovery

A Portuguese friar Antonio da Madelena was one of the first western people who visited Angkor Wat. In 1589, he said it was like no other building in the world: “It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of.”

The credit for the discovery of “the lost city of Angkor” goes to the French naturalist Henri Mouhot. He visited the area in 1860, and his travel memoirs encouraged many archeologists to start digging the secrets of the ancient civilization.

Cambodian temple rush and overtourism

In the span of the last 25 years, Angkor Wat became the goose that lays the golden eggs in the Cambodian tourism basket. The site that was visited by several thousand visitors in the 1990s, reached 2,5 million foreign tourists in 2018!

In 2019, the tourist numbers in Siem Reap, the main gateway to Angkor Wat, started to decline. From January till November, they sold a bit less than 2 million Angkor Wat passes. That is a 14 percent drop when we compare it to the same period last year! The tourism ministry explains the decrease with the smaller economic power of middle-class Chinese tourists, while wealthier ones shifted to Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville as destinations.

Even with a formal number drop, a typical visitor will not experience the lesser pressure on the biggest attraction of Angkor Archeological Park – Angkor Wat at sunrise. All Angkor tours present visiting Angkor Wat temple as a must. Angkor Wat sunrise is mystified as an unmissable part of experiencing the most famous Cambodian temple.

The blinding golden eggs

When I first visited Cambodia in 2017, I toured the country for a month. My decision to skip Angkor Wat someone could see as shocking. The whole tourism of Cambodia is often perceived through the idea that there is nothing else of tourist interest besides Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields. In my month-long exploration, I’ve learned that Cambodia is a victim of its own promotion. The excellent tourism potential in underrated provinces doesn’t get the same chance as Angkor Wat tourism!

The result is that Cambodian tour arrangements often combine with visits to Vietnam or Thailand. Angkor Wat blessing becomes damnation. It is the only Cambodian touristic site with real promotional power. Therefore, Angkor Wat sunrise overshadows all other aurora experiences of Cambodia!

Never put all your eggs in one basket, especially when they are made of gold!

Angkor Wat may be one of the wonders of the world. But if one puts all eggs in one basket, no matter how gold these eggs are, there is no space for wondering why the rest of the yard is practically blinded.

On my return visit to Cambodia in 2019, I decided to check what this overtourism buzz is all about finally!

Cycling to Angkor Wat for sunrise

It was 4 am when I left Sleep Pod Hostel, the base for exploring Angkor Wat in my first days. I rented a bicycle for 3 dollars (2,7 Euros), grabbed a simple breakfast package at the front desk, and hit the dark roads of Siem Reap.

Riding a bike through the quiet town was a pleasant experience. The temperatures were far more pleasant than at noon, of course, and distances seemed shorter. There was no considerable traffic, only tuk tuks slowly picking up half-asleep tourists for temple hopping adventures.

Cycling to Angkor Wat for sunrise was easy, straightforward, and almost meditative. Crickets woke-up first. Later, the birds joined.

I bought my Angkor Wat ticket the day before, so I headed straight to ‘Rome’. At the check-point, an officer punctuated a hole in the admission ticket and offered tour guide services on the side. I proceeded alone. Yes, it is possible to visit Angkor Wat without a guide!

At the destination, the temple rush was already in full swing. Breakfasts, souvenirs, tours… The day might have been young, but the Cambodian market spirit was fully awake!

With a decent mass of people turning up, the first-time visitor could have easily mistaken the moat or the nearby pond for the places where those iconic Angkor Wat photographs came to life. If they didn’t check your Angkor Wat ticket yet (and that happens on the bridge), you probably arrived at the wrong spot!

One needed to cross the moat via the floating bridge (the original stone crossing was under renovation), enter through the outer wall, and follow the avenue adorned with naga-style balustrades to the central complex. This path would pass right in between the two small buildings called the libraries. And then, two pools of water, the favorite destination of the early risers.

Especially when we visit religious sites, we can easily overdo it with photography. Check out how I got in real trouble with the Chinese tourists when visiting the African Jerusalem!

Fight for territory

The image of hordes of tourists squeezing out the last bit of free space around the reflection ponds in front of Angkor Wat was probably the most potent illustration of overtourism at this Cambodian monument.

With sleep crust still in their eyes, and hands full of technical equipment, these sleepy visitors were manspreading, irrelevant to their gender or age. In the darkness before sunrise, they instinctively knew that more space guaranteed more flexibility in catching Angkor Wat’s iconic reflection in what was essentially – ditch water.

“Well, excuse me! No, you can’t sit in front of me!”, one lady raised her voice, introducing the territorial theory that one does not occupy only the space one is standing on. The young Frenchman’s face did not show much appreciation for the lady’s ladyness. She quickly approached the conflict with the promise of a future compromise: “Don’t worry! We will adjust!”

Once the Sun was up, adjustment or compromise disappeared from the memory. It was the power of the muscles that would decide the winner of the photo of the day.

People are willing to go far for Instagram! Check Pipeaway’s viral article on Indonesian girls who crossed the line to take a selfie!

Angkor Wat sunrise best spot

Various online resources are claiming that the northern reflection pond is the best Angkor Wat sunrise spot. Paradoxically, when I visited the temple, the sunrise crowd gathered in much more significant numbers around the southern reflection pond.

Do not believe the ultimate advice on how to catch the best sunrise at Angkor Wat! Do not follow blindly the tips on where to stand! The truth is that the temple is touristically exploited throughout the year, and the Sun will not be rising at the same spot in December and June. Also, levels of water in two pools may vary, and this will significantly affect your photograph! When I visited Angkor Wat, the “perfect” northern pond was full of lotuses, which were preventing you from taking the iconic reflection image.

I would advise you to pass by the temple on one of the mornings before your planned shooting day. That way, you could comprehend the momentary Sun’s orbit concerning the actual Angkor Wat architecture, as well as check the situation with the ponds flora. This way, you could decide for the best position in the particular moment of your visit by yourself!

Is Angkor Wat better at sunrise or sunset?

In the era of social media, it became fashionable to reenact famous images photographed before us. The social pressure relies on the premise that anyone can and has to deliver a professional level of photography.

Under these expectations, the idea of the golden hour was pushed into the foreground. In the first hour after sunrise, and the first hour before sunset, the light is much softer than in the middle of the day. To those who want to level up their photography, this provides the magic that no Instagram filter can mimic. Suddenly, we all became pros!

Angkor Wat sunrise craze is definitely a part of this phenomenon. Even if it sometimes doesn’t make sense at all. Especially in the times of the agricultural burning season (January-May), when even the Sun cannot penetrate the smoke curtain, and Angkor Wat air quality significantly drops too.

Still, hope dies last, and tourists gather at reflection ponds expecting that Angkor Wat photography archives will remember this day as the day of the ideal sunrise.

If you cannot handle sunrise crowd engaging in a stampede hunt for the perfect photo moment, I’d suggest visiting Angkor Wat at sunset instead. The whole day of temple hopping exhausts people, so they do not behave as hysterically at later hours!

Still, at any moment of the day, there will be people! Angkor Wat without crowds is an oxymoron.

Selfie rush

There is still selfie rush throughout the day, so prepare yourself! You will never see western tourists desecrating churches in Europe on the same level they are switching off their brains when visiting Asian temples! Girls tossing their hair in the tombs, influencers climbing to forbidden areas, monk-hunters pulling anyone in orange robe in front of their lens… Instafame comes in many forms!

On one late-afternoon visit to Angkor Wat, a young man approached me. He asked if I could take a photo of him in front of the temple.

When I saw ridiculous poses other visitors were taking in front of the largest religious monument in the world, I instinctively reacted with disgust. I even mumbled something about psychiatric disorder. To my surprise, I did not offend him at all and he still insisted I take his camera.

I took a photo and thought that was it. But then he wanted one with his palms joined in sampeah gesture! Then another one with his arms spread out wide! Then he turned his back and wanted the photograph of his back in front of the temple! I could only roll my eyes and conclude that influencers were influential indeed!

How many days do you need for Angkor Wat?

First of all, have in mind that Angkor Wat is often confused with the whole of Angkor Archeological Park. There are hundreds of Angkor remains worth visiting, and they are not always close to each other! Only your personal preferences and how quickly the temple fatigue would hit you, should determine the number of days you want to spend at this cultural site.

It is essential to know that Angkor Wat pass is not transferrable and includes the photograph of the visitor.

If you only wanted to visit Angkor Wat, the most famous temple of all, a one-day visit would certainly suffice. You would even be able to add a few more temples in your Angkor itinerary! Angkor Wat ticket for one day would cost 37 USD (33 Euros).

If you wished to see more of Angkor, be flexible with your time, and minimize the stress of the visit, you should choose the 3-days pass. The entrance fee for three days would be 63 USD (57 Euros), and it would be valid for ten days.

The most passionate archeology lovers could consider purchasing a seven-day Angkor pass. In that case, the admission fee would be 72 USD (65 Euros). One could use this ticket in a period of a month.

Multiple day tickets do not need to be used on consecutive days.

The Angkor Ticket Office is located on Road 60. It is the only place where one can purchase the entrance tickets. You can find more information on Angkor Wat official website.

The best way to see Angkor Wat and other Khmer temples

When taking into account the vastness of the site and the context of overtourism, I believe that the 3-day pass provides the best frame for visiting Angkor Wat and other relevant places of this famous Khmer archeological site. It will save the energy you would waste on a one-day temple hopping and give enough time to adjust your Angkor Wat itinerary according to your personal preferences.

There are two things I would recommend doing in the days before the planned visit to Angkor. One is purchasing your ticket, as its validity lasts ten days anyway. The second one is visiting the Angkor National Museum. This archeological museum in Siem Reap is a great quick introduction course to understanding the art and culture of Khmer civilization! The entrance to the museum costs 11 USD (10 Euros).

Another useful resource I used was the “Ancient Angkor” guidebook by Claude Jacques. Even if my copy of the book was the revised edition from 2003, which meant some of the info was outdated, it still provided an educational read when I needed to take a break at each site.

Proposed Angkor itinerary

Day 1 – Exploring Central Angkor

Morning at Angkor Wat temple

Start your temple adventure with Angkor Wat sunrise! Stay enough to take some lovely photographs, but don’t explore the central temple grounds just yet! You will come back to this place in the afternoon!

Head to Phnom Bakheng, the state temple of Yasodharapura, the first Angkor capital, in the late 9^th century! The pyramid of ascending square terraces might be in poor condition, but one can still see linga sculptures in a couple of sanctuaries. Enjoy your breakfast at the summit and then descend over the “elephant path”! In 2020, elephant rides are scheduled to be banned altogether, so their serpentine road will remain just a hiking path.

At the foot of the hill, take some photographs on Baksei Chamkrong, the only pyramid temple at Angkor that wasn’t a state temple! Spend some time observing the monkey troupes playing around the temple! Some of these macaque monkeys are severely obese, so don’t participate in feeding them!

Face-towers, ponds, and elephants of Angkor Thom

Spend the rest of your morning and afternoon in Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire! You will enter it through its southern gate, adorned with sculptures of Devas and Asuras, the traditional divine enemies in the Hindu mythology, and the stars of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, a reoccurring storyline in Khmer temples.

As announced by the face-towers at the city gates, a center of the Angkor Thom mini-universe is Bayon temple. This is one of the most popular tourist sites after Angkor Wat. Prepare yourself for throngs of tourists engaging in a crazy competition of taking profile-selfies! The temple’s architecture resembles a stone mountain made of face-towers! While selfie freaks are trying to align their nose with a nose of some sculpture, try to count the towers and faces! There is a constant dispute on their impressive number!

Besides being known as a temple with faces, Bayon also features unique bas-reliefs narrating Khmer’s daily life and history. See the fight between the Khmers and the Chams, find a tiger or crocodiles eating men, a woman giving birth, market scenes, cock and boar fights, wrestlers, and even circus performers doing balancing tricks or foot juggling!

Next, visit Bapuon, a massive temple-mountain which served as a state temple of Yasodharapura, and Phimeanakas, the state temple of Suryavarman I! In their vicinity, there are large ponds where local kids come for a refreshing swim on a hot day.

Elephant Terrace and Leper King Terrace both deserve a short visit. The Terrace of the Elephants is famous for carvings depicting these gorgeous animals in hunting scenes, as well as three-headed elephants, garudas and lion-headed figures “supporting” the wall. The Terrace of the Leper King offers hidden reliefs of deities on the 6-meter walls in the narrow zig-zag trench.

Haggle for your lunch

If you can still stand on your feet, finish your Angkor Thom exploration with a quick visit to Preah Palilay and Preah Pithu sanctuaries! Alternatively, head for lunch at one of the restaurants nearby! It will not be hard to find them. Their scouts will spot you instead! Do not just surrender to the first lady in a hat approaching you; prices are overblown! It’s good to know you can haggle, and pay your chicken amok four instead of 8 dollars, and your coconut one instead of 2 dollars!

Angkor Wat sunset

End your first day with the Angkor Wat tour! Start at the west entrance gopura where you can see the eight-armed statue of Vishnu, to whom the temple was initially dedicated.

There are almost 2000 apsaras, the dancing female spirits, depicted in Angkor Wat! One of them is unique, smiling with her teeth showing! Find it on the inner wall, just next to the main Angkor Wat entrance!

Follow lions and nagas, and head inside Angkor Wat! Explore the courtyards and galleries, see the balusters imitating wood, Buddha statues and depictions of hell, the extraordinary bas relief showing real and mythological battles… Angkor Wat carvings are simply remarkable!

For the uppermost level of Angkor Wat, there will probably be a long queue in front of the steep stairs. Do not wait for the last minutes of the daylight if you want to see the temple grounds from above!

Now that you have witnessed the fine details and proportions of this architectural masterpiece, you can surrender to the atmosphere of the dying day. Enjoy Angkor Wat temple washed in sunset colors!

If you wanted to see Angkor Wat from above, you could also take a balloon ride or fly out with your drone. However, drone permits could raise your expenses to 1000 Euros! Maybe it is easier to enjoy Angkor Wat aerial view provided by the filmmaker Max Seigal!

https://youtu.be/XCpAWH_1ttc

Day 2 – Exploring Eastern and Northeastern Angkor

Lake and jungle covering secrets

Start your day with a radically different alternative to Angkor Wat sunrise! At Srah Srang (Srassrang), you will find the tranquil experience that most Angkor visitors miss. More popular among dogs than humans, this large rectangular lake is a giant mirror in the morning hours, and it can make you meditate! Sit on the sandstone terrace decorated with lions and nagas, and imagine Khmer kings dipping in this royal bath measuring 700 by 350 meters!

After the sunrise meditation or even yoga at the banks of the lake, you have time to grab breakfast at some local eateries near Ta Prohm. Famous as a setting for “Tomb Raider” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, this Angkor temple opens at 7:30 am and crowds conquer it later in the day, so it’s better to visit it while other tourists attack Bayon.

Ta Prohm’s most famous feature are tree roots growing over the ruins. Entangled in strangler figs and silk-cotton trees, this site is a real jungle temple!

Most of Angkor looked like that when Henri Mouhot discovered it in the 19^th century. Jungle growth was the one to blame for the collapse of many temples, and Ta Prohm was chosen to stay in its “natural state”, maintained only enough to prevent further collapse.

Enjoy your Lara Croft / Angelina Jolie and Indiana Jones / Harrison Ford moment in this Cambodian temple overgrown by nature!

Archeology freaks should stay a little longer and look for the small carving on the wall resembling a dinosaur – actually, a stegosaurus! Of course, Cambodians have never seen these ancient animals, so can you figure out what does the carving represent?

Sacred homes of deities

After Ta Prohm, you can visit another temple of Jayavarman VII nearby hidden behind the walls guarded by face-towers! In enclosures of Banteay Kdei, the smaller version of Ta Prohm, find the seated Buddha or beautiful examples of devatas, Hindu deities carved in the walls.

On your way to the north, visit Ta Keo! This giant temple-mountain was built entirely of sandstone. As in the case of Angkor Wat, the five towers on the top of the pyramid represent the peaks of the sacred Mount Meru. Watch out when climbing the steep stairs that even the high priests refused to use! Yogisvara Pandita considered himself unworthy of the upper terrace!

On the Victory Way, just next to Siem Reap River, take a short stop at Spean Thma, which served as a bridge before the river was diverted! It is made of reused stones from earlier temples. Further up the road, two temples in Angkor Wat style are worthy of taking a quick look – Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda. Find some excellent devata carvings in the first one!

Temples as hospitals and universities

Preah Khan is another site hugged by trees, but with fewer tourist swarms than Ta Prohm. It served as a Buddhist university with over 1000 teachers! On this site, you can find an atypical two-storied building standing on round columns!

Just east of Preah Khan, in the middle of the large lake (3,5 x 1 kilometer), there is Neak Pean, an artificial island with five smaller ponds. The central pond has a circular island with a Buddhist temple. In the 12^th century, the site served as one of many hospitals built by Jayavarman VII. Khmer people believed the water had healing properties, just like the mythical lake Anavatapta in the Himalayas.

Day 3 – Roluos and Banteay Srei

Keep the third day of your 3-day Angkor pass for the sites further afield! If you only want to go to the Roluos group, tuk-tuk will be fine. If you’re going to include Banteay Srei, rent a car!

Thirteen kilometers east of Siem Reap, Roluos temples are dated to the late 9^th century.

Indravarman I built Preah Ko as the first temple in the capital city of Hariharalaya. Its six brick towers stand in front of the three kneeling bulls, hence another name to the temple – The Sacred Bull.

Bakong was the first Khmer temple-mountain. This five-tiered pyramid guarded by elephant statues was the state temple and dedicated to Shiva.

North of Siem Reap, some 35 kilometers, Banteay Srei is often described as the “Jewel of Khmer art”. The decoration at this small temple is rich, so reserve at least an hour to explore its beautiful carvings in pink sandstone. Andre Malraux, French minister of culture, couldn’t resist this beauty in his youth, so he tried to steal four apsaras in 1923!

Another 15 kilometers to the north, Kbal Spean is an archeological site where the artists carved the images of the gods directly into the river bed! There are also hundreds of lingas. The best time to visit is the end of the wet season when carvings are not entirely submerged.

What to wear when visiting Angkor temples?

Even if the behavior of some tourists suggests that they see Angkor Wat and other Angkor temples as just Instagrammable piles of rocks, Cambodians consider these grounds as sacred by Cambodians and we should treat them with respect. That includes following the dress code!

The rule of thumb says you should not visit temples if your shoulders and knees are not covered. Capri pants and T-shirts are fine!

If you want to be less hot when cycling around Angkor, you can always bring temple-appropriate clothes with you and put them on before entering the temple grounds. This way, you will obey Angkor Wat clothing rules, but also enjoy the bike ride in less formal attire.

When to travel to Angkor Wat?

Angkor temples are open every day, all year long. Angkor Wat, Srassrang, Phnom Bakheng and Pre Rup open their door at 5 am. All other temples start working at 7:30 am. Closing time is 5:30 pm, except for Phnom Bakheng and Pre Rup, which close at 7 pm.

The best time of the year to visit Angkor Wat and the rest of Angkor park is the dry season. The most pleasant weather is between November and March, but this is also a popular period among tourists. If you want to avoid the overtourism stress as a side-effect of Angkor Wat travel, shoot at the shoulder season!

Where to stay when visiting Angkor Wat?

Getting to Angkor Wat temple is a piece of cake if staying in Siem Reap. The accommodation of your preference will easily organize tuk-tuk, car, or bike rentals!

If you just started planning your Angkor Wat trip, it is good to know that we have already written about extraordinary Siem Reap hotels, such as Jaya House RiverPark or Rambutan Resort.

In this article, I draw your attention to some new answers to the ultimate question: where to stay in Siem Reap?

Heritage Suites Hotel – the luxurious sanctuary
Price per night: 191-311 Euros (Suite with private pool)

Heritage Suites Hotel was one of Cambodia’s first luxury boutique hotels. Located next to Wat Polanka, Siem Reap’s oldest pagoda, and only a 15-minute ride away from Angkor Wat, this five-star hotel was a perfect base to explore Khmer temples with no stress.

In 2018, the property went through a major refurbishment. The new look brought European-style luxury but still kept the authentically Khmer hospitality. They modernized the hotel but continued picking up guests at Siem Reap airport in charming vintage Mercedes from 1962.

The art of wellbeing

Heritage Suites put a strong focus on health. I’m not saying this just because they were very kind when I checked-in! After I arrived with severe stomach problems, the hotel staff immediately delivered a special tea and fruit basket to my room, to speed up my recovery. However, there was much more to their care than just being thoughtful.

Heritage Spa by Bodia was providing a wide range of wellness experiences! Their professional and relaxing massage, using 100 % natural local products, restored my balance once I got on my feet again!

One could surrender to decadent but healthy rituals in one’s room too! Heritage Suites Hotel was the only Siem Reap hotel that had private steam baths in every suite! My Colonial Suite (named Bird of Paradise) also had a private outdoor plunge pool where one could jump for immediate cooling after some good sauna sweat.

There was also a complimentary mini-bar with beer, Coke, and water. Alternatively, one could enjoy some Arabica espresso or premium tea – on the small terrace or at the seating area inside.

With floor-to-ceiling windows, the 80-square-meter room felt even more spacious. You could store your luggage in the walk-in closet, out of public view. King size bed was a treat to sleep in. The exposed large stone bathtub was inviting for even more indulging!

Committed to social responsibility, Heritage Suites Hotel made its amenities from organic and fully recyclable materials. Also, one needed to request them, which adhered to the best practices of eco-hotels.

Besides private pools and Jacuzzis, Heritage Suites also had a central swimming pool, with chemically not treated saltwater. It was available 24 hours a day!

Eating as an experience

If you swapped the day at the pool with the temple hopping day (and hotel’s in-house tour agency offered some off-the-beaten-path adventures!), you could at least count on diving into the gastronomic delights when you returned! The restaurant delivered Khmer and western specialties in the pleasant grand lobby; a lighter snack menu was available by the central pool.

Breakfast was generous in both options and quantities (highlights for me included Khmer noodle soup with shrimps, sticky rice with sesame and palm sugar, and a vegan section of the menu). I thought that dinner dishes could balance better the high artistic plate presentation with the substantiality of the meal.

I especially applauded the hotel’s dedication to broadening up the dining experiences in Siem Reap. Dinner in the Dark was one of those intriguing events that made you focus on food and nothing else, almost like a gastronomic meditation!

Switching the nostalgia on

Member of Secret Retreats, Heritage Suites Hotel delivered nostalgia for times when switching off was much more natural, times when technology was not distracting us.

In the spirit of electronic-free rooms, TV entertainment at this hotel was made available only on request.

Socializing at the large pewter bar while sipping a glass of martini or just hanging by the pool with Angkor beer in hand was a preferred version of colonial retreat Heritage wanted to promote.

Providing their guests with an always-available personal assistant and thoughtful turndown service, or expressing welcome with a small gift from local artisans, Heritage Suites Hotel was much more than just another boutique hotel. It was a window into the past when human touch meant much more than the price tag.

If you are considering staying here, check the best prices at the Heritage Suites Hotel on Booking.com!

Sleep Pod Hostel – affordable nap nook
Price per night: 3-22 Euros

Siem Reap provided accommodation for every pocket. So if you wanted to find something more economical, but still decent enough, there was a solution for that as well!

Sleep Pod Hostel opened in 2018, just south of the town center. It was not the closest accommodation to Angkor Wat, but with the money you would’ve saved on the room price, you could’ve easily rented a tuk-tuk for a day!

Space for rest

Rooms at Sleep Pod Hostel came in standard dormitory form, with bunk beds fitting four or six persons (and one of them was reserved for female visitors only). On the other hand, there was also an option of a superior double room!

Even if dorms felt spacious enough, I had the privilege to stay in a private room, and had all the space in the world! The room size was 28 square meters! Quite a lot for a hostel! If I wanted to, I could have easily trained yoga, maybe even group acrobatics, in this room!

The room had a TV, small fridge, kettle, large bed, and a working desk. The private bathroom came with a shower, and they provided the towels free of charge. If one wanted to wash some clothes, that was possible by purchasing a token for the machine. An excellent thing for longterm-traveling backpackers!

Any downside? There’s some space for improving the quality of housekeeping, as some guests might object to spider webs on the room walls. A technical disadvantage of the location was that there was no particularly lovely view from the room window. Metal bars on the second floor certainly didn’t help that either. But if one just needed the place to rest in an air-conditioned space, Sleep Pod Hostel delivered.

Bean bags and scrambled eggs

In the common areas of the hostel, there were bean bags to rest on or read a book. One could play board games or guitar in the lobby. There was also a small swimming pool with a sundeck. Pools are always an excellent addition to hostel-level accommodation! Being able to take a refreshing dip at the end of a long and tiring day was an opportunity that most guests didn’t consider skipping.

One could order simple brekkie and eat it on the terrace, adjoining the pool. Whether you chose the standard continental breakfast option with scrambled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, sausage, and toast, or the local favorite beef lok lak, the restaurant provided the elemental energy for the temple exploring day. For early risers, a lunch package was available!

If local specialties increased your interest in Khmer cuisine, Sleep Pod Hostel had a cooking class in the offer. Also, if you wanted to improve the technique of your magic hands, massage class was available!

The name of Sleep Pod Hostel suggested it was just a place to crash for the night. However, it showed the potential and ambition to offer more. The attention to detail was already seen in blue color, branding everything from the walls and room keys to staff T-shirts. At the moment, it is undoubtedly an affordable nap nook, and with additional care, it could firm its position as one of Siem Reap’s most excellent premium quality hostels!

If you are considering staying here, check the best prices at Sleep Pod Hostel on Booking.com!

Did you like this article about Angkor Wat sunrise? Pin it for later!

Disclosure: My stay at the Heritage Suites Hotel, as well as Sleep Pod Hostel, was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Thanks to HotelierIQ, for facilitating the stay at Heritage Suites Hotel!

Also, this post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, Pipeaway might make a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work!

The post Angkor Wat Sunrise as a Nightmare: Cambodian Temple Rush appeared first on Pipeaway.

Sounds of Asia

At the moment, I am in my hometown of Zagreb, proclaimed as the best European Advent destination for the third year in a row. But I am not here for the Christmas market, nor for the patriotism. I returned to the Croatian capital to finish the editing of one of the travelogues I’ve been engaged to make for Croatian Radio. It is one of the side jobs I accepted to do, to support my big adventure. The radio documentary will air in April (I will certainly inform you about this in time), but the edits had to be done these days, so I am spending my winter days browsing through the sounds of Asia, the continent that occupied the first half of Pipeaway’s 2017 big adventure.

My current travel score (if we should ever express experience in the language of mathematics) is five continents and 35 countries

Mathematics of travel

Planes, trains, buses, cars, and ferries brought me this year to Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, France, Sweden, Romania, and of course – Croatia. This means that my current score (if we should ever express this kind of experience in mathematics) is five continents and 35 countries!­­­ Exploring the unknown regions of the world, as well as the familiar Croatian places such as Istria, Split, or Dubrovnik, was enriching in many ways. I am looking forward to extending my personal world map of extraordinary places in 2018 even further!

This blog is indeed trying to map not only extraordinary places but also remarkable people and passions. Moving to so many destinations in one year has been a bit overwhelming, I admit, and that means that the people and passions categories of my website were slightly out of focus. This did not stop you from bringing an interview with one denuded traveler and several unusual festivals in Europe and Asia to the top of the best-read pages!

Pipeaway’s top 10 articles of 2017

Here is the top list of the articles you have visited the most in 2017! I challenge you to read those that may have missed your attention earlier!

1. Selfies as Declaration of Stupidity: #Instaidiots Raping Art Galleries

Two girls visited Galeri Nasional Indonesia and decided to interact with the exhibition physically, for the sake of taking selfies! The article went viral in Indonesia, and attracted more than 35.000 pageviews and 3,7k shares on Facebook!

2. Naked hiking: When I am Nude, All My Fears Disappear

The interview with Erik, the Australian naked hiker, was one of the first articles published at the official launching of the Pipeaway website, on March 28^th, 2017. It also remains one of the most intriguing materials to read until today!

3. Selecting a Plane Seat: 5 Reasons Why Last Row Should be First Choice

The flight seat should never be assigned to you by pure chance! This article, in which I explain why do I prefer the last row over any other (OK, I might reconsider it if they would offer me the business class seat as an alternative), has attracted thousands of your eyes.

4. Kanamara Matsuri Penis Love: Leave Your Inhibitions, Suck it In!

Japan is full of fantastic traditional festivals, and Kanamara Matsuri in Kawasaki is undoubtedly one of those! This Shinto feast includes the street procession with giant phalluses and different penis-shaped delicacies for your mouth to enjoy!

5. Sayonara, Nara Dreamland: Ghostly Amusement Park Exists No More

The article which debunked the myth perpetuated even by the giants such as Lonely Planet, discovered that the abandoned amusement park in Nara, Japan, has been totally demolished. The exclusive images from my urbex inbreak into the site showed that even ghosts abandoned the legendary ruin.

6. Top 3 Artsy Hostels in Tokyo: Reinventing the Dormitory

In May I also took you to some unique hostels the bustling Japanese capital is offering! Blending art and accommodation provides some great solutions for the dilemma of where to stay in Tokyo.

7. Jaya House RiverPark Hotel Review: Luxury You Don’t Feel Guilty About

Cambodia may provide a cultural shock to the Western traveler, but this 5-star hotel offers both comfort and responsibility, luxury and sustainability! Very soon Jaya House in Siem Reap might become the world leader in the hotel industry. Remember where you first read about it!

8. Folsom Europe: Party for Pigs, Ponies, Puppies and Perverts Alike

Folsom Europe Street Fair is one of the largest gay fetish events on the old continent. Many of you wanted to check why this kinky event attracts more than 20 thousand tourists to Berlin every September!

9. Thaipusam’s Extreme Devotion: Piercing Yourself for Devotion

My Malaysian visit started off with attending the Hindu’s Thaipusam Festival. Its extreme body rituals are still embedded in my memory and make me want to return to Batu Caves, or other temples celebrating Lord Murugan.

10. Picking the Easy Target: #Instabullies Raping the Selfie Girl

Wrapping this top 10 list of the most-read articles in 2017 is the follow-up to the overall winner. The Selfie Girl speaks up in this one, while I uncover the aftermath of the virality that the original article experienced in the social networks in Indonesia.

Social channels as Pipeaway’s potential strength

While direct arrival brought 38,9 % of the visitors and the organic search 18,1 %, Pipeaway’s top channel in 2017 has been the social one – 41,8 % of you have been arriving at these pages from some social link! What does it concretely mean in numbers? Pipeaway’s Facebook page has 12.588 fans. Our Instagram account grew organically from zero to almost two thousand in nine months. There are 551 followers on Pipeaway’s Pinterest account, while the Twitter account, for now, has only 276 of them. I have also launched Pipeaway’s YouTube channel, but mainly for embedding videos on the website. While I would love to grow the following there as well, it sadly cannot be my focus at the moment.

The big adventure daily on Instagram

On the other hand, Instagram account @pipeaway.project is the tool I use every day, for publishing new photographs and accompanying short stories. Those might be attached to the articles I post on the blog, but can also be on something I will not post, or not post soon. So it is a great way to stay in touch with my piping away process!

Prizes and acknowledgment

A few of my pics were shared on other Instagram accounts as well, but none of them had such success as my photograph of an unusually colorful sunset in the beautiful Croatian town of Dubrovnik! The image gained the most attraction on the official profile of the Croatian National Tourist Board – more than 20 thousand likes! It made it the second most-liked picture in 2017, which brought me a prize. I still have to find out what it is!

The dog ate my shoe

This was not the only prize I unexpectedly won this year! In Kampot, Cambodia, a dog ate one of my Startas shoes – even the camouflage design did not help it to hide from its jaws! When I returned to Croatia, I found out that Startas saw my little story shared on Facebook and sent a birthday present! Three brand new pairs of their signature shoes were waiting for me!

Water splashing from Cambodia to Serbia

There was another image of mine that attracted some significant attention in the past year! Ladies on the scooter being splashed with water during the Khmer New Year celebration in Battambang, Cambodia, ended up competing in the PICKS Balkan Edition 4 / Travel Photo of the Year 2017 Contest. The art photography festival Fotorama had to choose between 2.000 images, and my photograph entered the top 30 to be exhibited in the National Museum of Kragujevac, Serbia!

Instagram’s top 10

Besides attracting the attention of Dubrovnik lovers on other Instagram accounts (this was the first time anyone asked me to buy my photo print!), the sunset in King’s Landing ended up on the top of my own account’s most liked and commented images as well! The sunrise on the other side of the world, at Ijen Volcano, in Java, Indonesia, ended up in second place. So who can say that golden hour isn’t truly the best time to shoot?

The other of my top 10 images I posted on Instagram in 2017 include photos from Penang Island in Malaysia, three amazing hotels (Jaya House RiverPark and Rambutan Resort in Siem Reap and Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta on Java island), two images from Bali (Ubud Palace and Munduk waterfall) and another view of Dubrovnik’s amazing fort walls!

By making seemingly ordinary steps, we can build an extraordinary road

Thank you

There are so many people and organizations I could thank for helping me make all of this and much more to come – possible! The list would be very long, and I know they did not do it for the laurels! What makes me truly happy is the fact that, in this short period, I have managed to meet the minds that think or at least dream alike. And that by doing seemingly ordinary daily steps we can build an extraordinary road.

Before the 2017 big adventure, my travels to thirty world countries mainly included business trips (be it for my jobs as a cultural producer or journalist) OR rare holidays (when I would be removing myself away from the stress of home-based work). When I decided that the matter of stress could be taken under my control, approaching the sustainability of the long-term traveling, that supports the work one enjoys, became an easier task. Believing in one’s own capacities provides the security that any path one decides to explore, even if it might be utterly unknown, will have to be rewarding. Or at least educational. And that is already a reward!

Where next?

After I finish my radio documentary in January, I will probably fly shortly to Rome. I have never visited the Italian capital before, but this time my primary motivation is obtaining a visa for Ethiopia. I plan to fly there in February and explore it for several months. It will be my first trip to Africa, and I am really looking forward to it!

On my way back to Europe, I imagine exploring Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, and getting back to Croatia in August, when the Mediterranean is truly blooming. In September, I have an invitation to visit Norway, and afterward, I plan to fly towards Asia again, with South Korea first on my list. I plan to stay eight months in Asia in the 2018/2019 season.

If you have ideas on where my Pipeaway trip should bring me (on this route, or some other one), I would really like to hear and consider them. Please post them in the comments; I would certainly appreciate it! I am always open to suggestions and ideas for collaboration!

May you all have a great 2018!

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The post 2017 Year in Review: 3 Continents, 14 Countries and One Big Adventure appeared first on Pipeaway.

As art becomes a trendy thing to talk about mainly if there is some scandal involved, the Selfie Girl, who ran over Saraswati’s artwork just for the photograph, actually made quite a good promotion for the art and its issues.

Professional circles are aware of how Indonesian visitors need education, as this is not the first time the alarm clock went on. So the incident obviously helped new discussions.

However, in social media, instead of aiming the arrows toward the gallery which obviously didn’t organize the exhibition according to the professional standards one would expect from such a famous institution, some Internet bullies directed their anger mainly toward the Selfie Girl.

Like in an unfair box match, this girl not only experienced the lesson she will remember every time she decides to visit art galleries in the future. Her bleeding head continued to be pounded while she was already gasping for air in the middle of the ring floor, in this dangerous underground fight club that social media has become.

There are other places in Asia where selfie taking has gone too far. For instance, during the Kanchanaburi sightseeing.

Selfie Girl: “I am sorry”

“I’m sorry and I regret that my behavior at the gallery was inappropriate, inconsiderate, idiotic, and ignorant”, said the Selfie Girl who contacted Pipeaway after her photos on social media reached the kind of popularity she was certainly not expecting to get.

“That morning, I woke up with a message from my friend sending me the link to your article, asking if it was me in your photos. I was shocked. But what else can I do? I answered her ‘yes’. Do I feel guilty? Very.”

I regret that my behavior at the gallery was inappropriate, inconsiderate, idiotic, and ignorantSelfie Girl

The Selfie Girl wrote me from her personal e-mail, clearly exposing her full name, but in the continuation of this article, I will refer to her as to the Selfie Girl.

I will confirm that in the meantime I blurred her face additionally. Even if Selfie Girl is 22 years old, so certainly not a teen anymore, I felt that further exposing her identity would be the similar kind of rape she practiced in the National Gallery on International Museum Day.

After her apology, her behavior should stay as an example we can discuss, but I don’t think her identity (nominal and visual) is crucial for the issues raised.

Also, the circle of violence doesn’t lead anywhere if we don’t provide ways to exit it.

Figurative language

I feel I have to bring the discussion back on track, as by reading comments on the web, it seems to me that many readers who reacted to the original article, are not used to metaphorical discourse or hyperboles.

The clearest example here is my use of the word rape when referring to what Selfie Girls did that day in the gallery.

Some sensitive person thought I was a moron as I was “equating this to rape”. I didn’t say the Selfie Girls raped the security guard or a little kid that lost his mummy. Raping the artwork does not involve sexual organs – I used the term ‘rape’ in the sense of violating something that cannot give its consent or defend. So if the dictionaries say that rape is not just an unlawful sexual activity, but also define it as “an outrageous violation” (Merriam-Webster), we might say that etymologically there was even no metaphor!

I understand readers have associations with the word ‘rape’ – but that is exactly why I used it. I wasn’t trying to impair the context of the sexual abuse. Hey, I wasn’t even talking about it!

So about what DID I talk?

First of all, what is an idiot? Sure, an idiot is a foolish or stupid person (Merriam-Webster says again). But the original English meaning was “ignorant person”.

Even more important, the idiot is an automatic digital camera without manual functions. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to be able to use the idiot camera – it’s so easy.

I never wanted to call Selfie Girls intellectually disabled! That is why I coined the term ‘instaidiot’, or more specifically – ‘#instaidiot’ (instaidiot with hashtag). It wanted to compress different linguistic tools in describing the phenomenon when the person does ignorant, clueless, or not-thought-through things for the sake of instant Internet fame (such as exposing one’s selfie on the web).

There… I wasn’t really thinking I would be explaining something that had to stay in the domain of figurative language, but when I saw that many comments, which made the original story viral, focused on the real stupidity of the Selfie Girls, I felt the discussion went the wrong way.

There were also some defending the Selfie Girls from my “bullying” attack. But the thing is – nobody went to defend the National Gallery of Indonesia, the only institution my text was about, and the only object of my “bullying” if you want to call it that.

Galleries are responsible for the artwork

The article raised the discussion, but it also enabled many to cross the line. They did the same thing Selfie Girls did but now focused on raping the rapist.

Internet comments questioning Selfie Girls’ intelligence, and origins, or just slapping them with ugly insults, overshadowed the call for the responsibility of the Galeri Nasional, the only official entity towards which the users should have actually focused their rage.

A piece of artwork made of soap was broken in half because some visitor sat on it just to take picturesTasya Nuarta

Some local artists I talked to say that this is not the first time Galeri Nasional is experiencing vandalism by the audience. Supposedly, a number of artworks have been broken during the exhibitions there. It is not an exclusive Galeri Nasional problem, but they should prove they are doing more than they actually do at the moment (exhibition with no guard in sight).

An official from a gallery in Bandung reached out to Pipeaway explaining how their gallery has sitters who are walking throughout the gallery space, but they still experience unfortunate events.

“A piece of artwork made of soap was broken in half because some visitor sat on it just to take pictures”, Tasya Nuarta­ shares.

I strongly advise you to read the comments below the original article, as many interesting thoughts have been shared there.

Does the artist approve of the interaction?

So why the interaction of Selfie Girls with the artwork escalated all the way to touching, manipulating, and treading the artwork?

The key lies in an unclear set of rules displayed by the gallery and the lack of human resources which would make sure the rules are followed.

Some noticed that Monica Hapsari’s work “Antara” had a written encouragement for visitors to sit in the sand and watch the rotating ball as a part of immersing in the artwork. But it certainly didn’t instruct the visitors to enjoy her artwork as the instant photo studio for selfie shots.

There is the interpretation that this permission to sit in Hapsari’s sand might have encouraged visitors to cross the line in front of the other artworks, which didn’t have this kind of instruction.

The Selfie Girl, who reached out to apologize to Pipeaway’s editor, obviously declares her confusion: “I don’t know if apologizing to you is the right thing to do, since it wasn’t you I hurt the most, it’s those artists whose works I walked and jumped over. Hey, it was allowed – there were no white lines!”

Lost in translation

It seems that the most (inter)active visitors are keen to read the instructions. So if they see white lines protecting one work, and not the other, they will come to a conclusion of their own.

Obviously, we cannot leave the responsibility of consuming the art on the piece of white tape on the floor. There will always be people who will not be able to understand the instructions (if they exist). That is why the translator (Figurative language again! Usually a gallery guard) can make sure that the rules are being followed.

The minimal protection of the gallery space would be to print “Please do not touch” signs, where it may happen that visitors could get confused by the display. If the Selfie Girls would have read it in front of Saraswati’s work “I Beg I Promise”, maybe they would have never even thought about running over it.

Some people are there just to bully. For me, it’s just the price that the selfie kid has to pay. It’s hard, but it really sets a good examplelocal artist

One of the local artists I talked to, but who wished to stay anonymous, agrees with the word ‘raping’ when we address these actions. It is escalating out of proportion, and only speaking about it can help us realize how the exhibition standards need improvement.

“Thank you so much for your article that literally saves artists’ work”, he says.

The fact is that the outcome of Pipeaway’s viral article is an increased interest of the audience for the exhibition. Supposedly visitors are queuing just to get inside!

Criticism of the public towards the gallery, as I can hear, has pushed Galeri Nasional to improve its practice. However, we are still waiting for the public statement, as clear and prompt communication with the audience is crucial for crisis management.

Democracy of exchanging opinions in Indonesia could also be improved, as my interlocutor notes: “Here, sadly, a lot of people are quite easily provoked, they tend to have this anger and rage that I don’t know where it is coming from. Pipeaway’s article did a great job of making people aware of this issue, and making that kid finally realize her mistake. But I’m just afraid not all people have educational intentions. Some are there just to bully. For me, it’s just the price that the selfie kid has to pay. It’s hard, but it really sets a good example.”

Snow White lesson: Deleting the selfies

Selfie Girl’s Instagram account is set to private mode. I wondered if any of her selfies got online in the end. Or all the hassle of running over the artwork was in vain.

“I did post some of the pictures/videos taken at the Gallery to my Instagram stories, which mostly showed just the works (well, I admit that, with no intention to disrespect, I joked a bit on the caption). From there, I got feedback from some friends merely asking what and where the event was. I only uploaded one short video of me inside the I. Christianto’s Persepsi installation (the circular mirror), I enclosed the official hashtags, title, and the author’s name in the caption… But I decided to delete it right after I read your article, purely because… I was panicking.“

Some of the other girls whose Instagram selfies were linked at the end of the original article also removed them or changed their Instagram settings to private. One was upset enough to reach out and ask why did we “steal” her picture: “Don’t you know many people judge on my Instagram?” (original quote).

It certainly does seem we are using social networks to reaffirm our position in social circles. We use them to get liked, and not judged.

It is a modern tool of beautifying our personas, both physically, culturally, intellectually… We like this mirror to show better, flawless versions of ourselves. We believe in this social media fairytale, like the queen from the Snow White story. And want to break the mirror if it actually tells us the truth.

Note: The author of the featured illustration is Adhimyr Rifky Rahman Putra (rainbow_capsule on Instagram). Check his other works here. 

The post Picking an Easy Target: #Instabullies Raping the Selfie Girl appeared first on Pipeaway.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, I have even witnessed visitors walking through the galleries with their mobile phones recording the whole experience of looking around. Is it reporting live on Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat? Or is that postponing the pleasure for later viewing? Do we not have time to stop and enjoy the art? Why do we have time to stop in front of the painting and pose for selfies? Why do we have time to retake the photograph, in case our firstly shot facial expression didn’t turn out the way we wanted? Does this kind of behavior raise our social profile of supposed art lovers or art connoisseurs?

You might think this proof of our tragic sadness ends here. But what I witnessed at the Galeri Nasional Indonesia, on the day when museums should be celebrated, was a true escalation of art raping for the sake of our egoistic need for public attention. Even if this surely is not a single example, I was genuinely shocked.

Hunger for likes

Evelyn Huang and Shila Ghaisani have curated 15 young Jakarta artists who have previously participated at EXI(S)T, the mentoring program affirming their presence in the Indonesian art landscape, by showcasing their latest works under the umbrella theme of “Tomorrow As We Know It”. Fransisca Retno was one of these perspective artistic forces; at Galeri Nasional Indonesia she exhibited a very self-explanatory work. The table was set, as for some dinner, with a flower arrangement and a bottle of wine. Yet, on the plates – Instagram photos of the food were served. How do you like your dinner? Actually, the dinner with the Instagram menu can only be loved, not liked; this social network recognizes and counts only hearts! On the walls of the gallery, more Instagram photos with numbered hearts decorated the dining room.

Fransisca Retno literally served Instagram likes as dinner, and this clueless visitor greedily jumped on the hook

The two young girls visiting the gallery on the free-visits day understood they were invited to join this dinner. Even if there was only a chair at the head of the table, even if there were “do not cross” demarcation lines on the floor, one of these two girls decided to, literally, cross the line. She concluded that the chair is meant for her to sit on, and take selfies. So she sat and posed like that in front of her friend’s camera. For probably the same heart-shaped signs of appreciation that Fransisca Retno has served as the main course.

Selfies in interaction with the art

I know, interaction with the art might be the response the artist could have only hoped for. However, there is something substantially wrong when one decides to appropriate decision about the interaction, without the consent or invitation of the author. These two young art-in-social-media lovers entered the next room and lowered the bar of politeness even more.

Ratu R. Saraswati‘s work was named “I Beg I Promise”. The durational performance in which the artist wanted to translate the feeling of burden, self-punishment, helplessness, and hope, left on the floor of the gallery three jute sacks, shredded kapok, and a dress on a hanger. The interactive girl picked up the hanger with the dress as if being in a self-service supermarket. She took off, running over the jute sacks, trying to get the dress to fly as if it was a kite, while her camera-operating friend was shooting the scene. They repeated the jogging over the artwork several times so that they could choose the best moment later. They were not even slightly disturbed by the presence of my clicking camera. I guess they were thinking “The more, the merrier”? One could never overdo internet fame?

Selfies out of control

To appreciate the art, one needs to look at it from an appropriate distance. Entering the artwork’s space doesn’t allow us to perceive the context. And the context in which these two girls readily jumped in was very clear. The artist even wrote it on the wall if they would have wanted to read it: our beliefs in the existence of sin, guilt, and shame affect our seeing of the self-image. Those feelings can influence our ability to stop actions that are contrary to moral and civilized, explained Saraswati.

The thing is that our selfies-driven interaction with the art that never asked us for such a response doesn’t only make us look stupid. It actually confirms we are. Otherwise, we would do the wrong thing and hide the evidence, and not promote it on social media.

Lines should not be crossed

Monica Hapsari‘s work “Antara” was also provoking the interaction (when using the word ‘provoke’, we should immediately remind ourselves of the rapists defending their actions with arguments of how the raped girl dressed provocatively). The big black sphere was rotating on the top of the pyramid, placed in the corner of the room. The rectangular carpet of sand was covering the floor, with concentrating circles drawn in the sand. Probably the first visitor’s foot that crossed the line invited others to follow in his/her footsteps. The sand rings were now only looming. The interactive girl stepped courageously from sandless to a sandfull area, put her sunglasses on, sat down, and posed as if she was on the beach.

We can witness this kind of brainless behavior invading many world museums and galleries, or cultural spaces in general. Art is becoming merely a decorative background of the truly remarkable content: our own image. If we didn’t record ourselves, our selfies, in front of the “Mona Lisa”, it is as if we have never been in front of it! Likes and loves and pins prove our existence; they comfort our experiences. Without our selfies, we are not ourselves.

Selfies in the shadow of small and busy personnel

I was curious about Galeri Nasional’s intentions for this exhibition – was I missing something? These were clearly not the only visitors crossing the lines of artwork and good manners. The only official person working in this part of the complex was a young man at the entrance who was making sure that all visitors leave their bags there.

“No, it is not allowed to touch those artworks“, he answered my question and added: “I think.” The instructions on how to treat the art are not clear even to the gallery’s employees! “There had to be another colleague of mine here, but he couldn’t come today…”, the young man started to apologize, as if I was trying to find the guilty person. I stopped his excuse delivering and explained how I only wish to understand the gallery’s policy, which results in the actions I find shocking.

What is the purpose of NOT being allowed to take your bag in the gallery? If on the other hand, you can walk over the artwork, jump on it, dance with it, handle it in any way you can think of?

Counterproductive restrictions of the old age

Obviously, many galleries have completely outdated restrictions. I am telling you: what is the purpose of NOT being allowed to take your bag inside? If on the other hand, you can walk over the artwork, jump on it, dance with it, handle it in any way you can think of? The dress from Saraswati’s work you could even put on and leave the gallery dressed in the art piece! But bags are being demonized?! What is the purpose of the restriction for not using flash photography in the gallery, if all other kinds of photography are allowed?!

It seems to me as if the restrictions we blindly follow were once printed on the entrance doors of our institutions, and now we actually believe that bringing a bag, French fries, or an ice cream inside the gallery is the most probable way of making the damage. Damage is always the product of unavoidable circumstances or human behavior. This means we should be applying common sense, and instead of requesting our rare personnel to guard the visitors’ bags, relocate them to sit in the galleries and secure the artworks from ever-growing social media aggression, led by selfies.

Flood in the shadow of the selfies

Finally, I would like to add that it was I who first noticed the big puddle of water in between the artworks on the first floor and informed the staff. The broken air conditioning system created the little lake two meters wide, without any personnel noticing it. I guess they were all occupied by protecting the artworks from the dangerous attacks of bags and purses.

If you are interested in the follow-up on this story, read Picking the Easy Target: #Instabullies Raping the Selfie Girl. In an exclusive statement to Pipeaway, Selfie Girl apologizes for her behavior. 

The post Stupid Selfies: #Instaidiots Raping Art Galleries appeared first on Pipeaway.

This photo contest lets you choose your prize!

Choose one of the European airports in the offer: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Pristina, Prague, Rome, St Petersburg, Sarajevo, Skopje, Vienna.

Choose one of the Croatian airports in the offer: Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, and Zagreb.

The return flight between these two airports is the prize you will get if you win the competition!

European airports available for the prize: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Pristina, Prague, Rome, St Petersburg, Sarajevo, Skopje, Vienna

What do you need to do to win this photo contest?

To enter this Instagram photo contest, you need to:

1. Follow our Instagram account @pipeaway.project!
2. Post a picture on your Instagram account representing your version of the #mappingtheextraordinary idea. Is it a picture from your travels? An image from your home? Feel free to get creative, but don’t forget to use the hashtag #MyPipeAway!
3. Mention @pipeaway.project in your picture description!

That’s it. As simple as that! Now you just need to wait for the photo contest to finish! We will be rewarding the free European flight to the most creative entry! Send us your best-quality photograph with the best idea! To other valuable entries, we will be providing a shoutout on our Instagram profile! So what’s there to lose?

Photo Contest period: 5.3.-31.3.2017.

Travel time: 1.4.-30.4.2017.

We will be announcing the winner of the #MyPipeAway Instagram photo contest on April 1st. This person needs to inform us about the prize choice (airports and dates) as soon as possible, and no later than April 7th. If the winner does not obey this rule, we will offer the main prize to the runner-up.

Croatian airports available for the prize: Dubrovnik, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, Zagreb

The award includes the return flight ticket with one checked-in bag between the European and Croatian destinations (subject to airline availability). Airport taxes, extra baggage, and any other costs related to the trip should be covered by the traveler.

There is no restriction on the number of entries one Instagram user can participate with in the #MyPipeAway Instagram photo contest.

The minors are not eligible for the main prize.

Pipeaway’s decision is final.

This giveaway is not sponsored by any airline, tourist board, Instagram, or other enterprises. Pipeaway is providing this prize solely for the promotion of traveling between Europe and Croatia, and for the promotion of the @pipeaway.project Instagram account.

However, the cover photograph of this Instagram contest has been provided by the Croatian Tourist Board – its author is the photographer Renco Kosinozic. The shot shows the fish-shaped Croatian island of Gaz, Brijuni. If you wish to visit it during your Croatian visit, the closest airport is the one in Pula!

UPDATE: WINNER CHOSEN!

The post Instagram photo contest: Win a return flight to or from Croatia! appeared first on Pipeaway.