• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • ABOUT
    • All About Grantourismo
    • Work With Us
    • Meet Lara and Terence
    • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
    • Media Coverage
    • Contacts
  • SLOW
  • LOCAL
  • EXPERIENTIAL
  • RECIPES
Grantourismo Travels Logo

Grantourismo Travels

The website of globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter

Grantourismo Travels Logo
  • AFRICA
        • KENYA
          • Masai Mara
          • Mombasa
          • Tsavo West
        • MOROCCO
          • Essaouira
          • Marrakech
        • SOUTH AFRICA
          • Cape Town
  • ASIA
        • CAMBODIA
          • Battambang
          • Phnom Penh
          • Siem Reap
        • INDONESIA
          • Bali
        • JAPAN
          • Tokyo
        • LAOS
          • Luang Prabang
        • MALAYSIA
          • Borneo
          • Kuala Lumpur
          • Penang
        • MEKONG RIVER
        • SINGAPORE
        • MYANMAR
        • THAILAND
          • Bangkok
          • Chiang Mai
          • Isaan
          • Phuket
        • VIETNAM
          • Dalat
          • Hanoi
          • Hoi An
          • Saigon
          • Sapa
  • AMERICAS
        • ARGENTINA
          • Buenos Aires
        • BRAZIL
          • Rio de Janeiro
        • COSTA RICA
          • Manuel Antonio
        • MEXICO
          • Mexico City
          • San Miguel de Allende
        • UNITED STATES
          • Austin
          • New York City
  • AUSTRALASIA
        • AUSTRALIA
          • Adelaide
          • Darwin
          • Gold Coast
          • Melbourne
          • Perth
          • Sydney
  • EUROPE
        • AUSTRIA
          • Vienna
          • Zell Am See
        • ENGLAND
          • London
        • FRANCE
          • Céret
          • Paris
          • Perpignan
        • GERMANY
          • Berlin
        • HUNGARY
          • Budapest
        • ITALY
          • Alberobello
          • Calabria
          • Italian Lakes
          • Sardinia
          • Venice
        • MONTENEGRO
          • Kotor
        • POLAND
          • Krakow
          • Zakopane
        • PORTUGAL
          • Porto
          • Portugal Wine Regions
        • SCOTLAND
          • Edinburgh
        • SPAIN
          • Barcelona
          • Jerez
          • Mallorca
        • TURKEY
          • Istanbul
  • MIDDLE EAST
        • JORDAN
          • Desert Areas
        • QATAR
          • Doha
        • UAE
          • Dubai
Sights on the Yangon-Mandalay train. Myanmar. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Yangon to Mandalay By Train – The Slow (Rail) Road to Mandalay, Myanmar

Yangon to Mandalay by train will go down as one of the most memorable journeys of our lives. We loved it so much that ever since we did it we’ve been looking for an opportunity to do it all over again. It’s most definitely the slow road to Mandalay, so see our tips for travelling from Yangon to Mandalay by train and go be prepared.

We’re nearing the end of a month in Myanmar updating a guidebook – a month filled with the sort of travelling experiences we relish that are increasingly rare in a rapidly developing Southeast Asia. We’ll be sorry to see it come to an end.

One of the highlights of our epic Myanmar adventure has undoubtedly been travelling from Yangon to Mandalay by train. It’s a very slow road to Mandalay but it’s worth it. Here’s what to expect riding the rails from Yangon to Mandalay with tips to making it as comfortable as possible.

Yangon to Mandalay by Train – Our Slow Road to Mandalay

We kicked off our Myanmar adventure almost four weeks ago with a long travelling day on the train to Mandalay. That leisurely 647 kilometre journey from Yangon to Mandalay by train has remained one of the most memorable experiences of our trip.

Our slow day of travel from Yangon to Mandalay by train began with a 6am departure and ended as we pulled into the station soon after 9.30pm.

We had read that the train to Mandalay was one of the most memorable train trips in Myanmar so instead of taking a flight – with a total air time of one hour and ten minutes – we decided to spend almost 16 hours bumping along the old British-built colonial-era railway, watching the passing countryside at a pace a snail would scoff at.

We really couldn’t afford the time to do this. We had come to Myanmar to update a guidebook and our schedule was already tight as it was. For various reasons we had to postpone another rail adventure due to follow the Myanmar trip. Ironically, a luxury train journey.

But we also couldn’t afford to keep travelling the way we had been recently. Lara had begun the Thailand part of the guidebook update while I was in Vietnam for two weeks on a photography assignment for a travel magazine that involved seven flights in two weeks. That’s right, one flight every couple of days.

I’d only been home in Siem Reap for 24 hours before I was back on a plane to Chiang Mai via Bangkok. That hectic pace, which is not at all how we like to travel, didn’t stop during our time in Northern Thailand where we took on even more work.

Arriving in Myanmar, where nothing is rushed, provided the perfect opportunity to recharge our wanderlust batteries while still getting work done. A long, slow train journey seemed the ticket.

Some of my fondest travelling memories feature train travel. Relaxed rail journeys trundling through whitewashed seaside towns and russet desert landscapes in Morocco. The opulent Eastern and Oriental Express clickety-clacking through the rice paddies and jungles of Northern Thailand’s Isaan region and Lanna kingdom. The brilliant Swiss and Scandinavian trains with their enormous picture windows offering breathtaking mountain and lake vistas. The sleek Spanish train that sped us from Jerez to Madrid with a great bottle of wine and outstanding food.

But one train trip that will always stick with me is our first train adventure many years ago in Italy. We were on our way from Genoa to Rome, when our train pulled into Pisa. We had not planned on getting off at Pisa, with its cheesy photo-ops of the leaning tower. But Lara and I both looked at each other at the exact same time and thought the very same thing – how could we not visit Pisa! – and we grabbed our backpacks and jumped off the train just before the doors closed.

While the luxury of having the time that enables that sort of spontaneity is not possible on a guidebook updating trip, we decided to take the Yangon to Mandalay train as much for research for the guidebook we’re working on, as for the chance to see more of Myanmar than we would if we were just covering the ‘must-do’ destinations of the book we’re working on.

It was still a working day for me, but it was the closest thing to having a day off as we were going to get on this trip. It was impossible to work on my laptop because it was so bumpy. A guide later in the trip likened it to riding a horse for 16 hours. And there was no reason to use my iPhone because we had not yet purchased local SIMs. Reading a book was also difficult because of the rough ride. So I just settled in with a camera and a few lenses and snapped the day away.

For a photographer, it was pure bliss. Out the window, the often-stark countryside was periodically enlivened by green irrigated fields, while dust plumes rose regularly from bovine-powered wooden carts tilling the soil.

On our frequent stops at tiny train stations, masses of people awaited our arrival, quickly clambering aboard to settle into seats or sell Burmese street food snacks and drinks. The day surprisingly passed quite quickly.

If I missed a photo opportunity because the train had actually managed to outpace the afore-mentioned bovine-powered wooden carts, the next sequence of countryside/village/train station afforded another opportunity to try it again.

I quickly got a handle on the series of events that would unfold with each train stop.

There was the initial flow of people disembarking with children and shopping and gifts and goods they’d brought to take home to give away or sell. There was the flurry of activity of those struggling to get on board with their troupe of family and friends and helpers passing bags through windows and doors.

And there was the hurried salesmanship of the hawkers moving quickly through the breezy carriages, selling everything from boiled chicken and quails eggs to curry and rice that they combined with their hands on the spot, to tea and coffee made to order from giant flasks of water.

That we were the only foreign tourists on the train was a source of continual fascination and amusement to the local travellers. Vendors with baskets of samosas and pots of curries and rice would walk right by us, thinking that foreigners would be too scared to sample the local food, however hawkers with a few beers in their cold-drinks bucket quickly zeroed in on us. Clearly 9am was the traditional cocktail hour for foreigners on this day-long journey!

It was about this time, as the train cut through another languid village, that Lara turned to me and smiled and said: “If we’d have flown, we’d be at our hotel in Mandalay by now.” She didn’t appear at all concerned. After way too many short-haul flights in recent weeks (eleven, but who was counting), I didn’t care either.

Travelling from Yangon to Mandalay by train was exactly what we had needed to remind us how much we loved rail travel and what a joy it could be just to look out the window and not at a phone or laptop screen.

Tips for Travelling from Yangon to Mandalay by Train

Where to stay before catching the Yangon to Mandalay train

We stayed at The Strand hotel, and staff there bought our train tickets for us and arranged our early morning taxi to the train station. The PARKROYAL is very close to the train station, although probably too close as you’re unlikely to find a taxi to drive you the short distance; The Loft is a bit further down the road that runs beside it and could organise a taxi for you. These are our picks of the best Yangon hotels.

How to buy tickets for the Yangon to Mandalay train

Tickets can only be bought three days in advance of your journey, directly from the main Yangon railway station and travel agents in Yangon. Good hotels will also buy tickets for you. Tickets could not by bought online at the time of writing this post.

Ticket fares for the Yangon to Mandalay train

At the time of travel (April 2015), tickets cost US$25 / 25,000 kyat (pronounced ‘chat’) per person for reserved soft seats in the Upper Class carriages; US$10 / 10,000 kyat for hard bench seats in the Ordinary carriages, which can’t be reserved; and US$50 / 50,000 kyat for Sleepers. Although a Sleeper service was offered, there were no Sleeper carriages on our train. This was apparently due to it being low season, even though we traveled during the very busy New Year water festival period.

What to expect on the Yangon to Mandalay train

The carriages on our Yangon to Mandalay train, the popular 6am, were grungy old carriages with grubby floors and grimy walls. The broken seats were permanently in the reclining position. The ceiling fans didn’t work and the only air was from the open windows. The rustic toilets (Western-style sit-downs at one end, Asian squats at the other) were clean at the start of the trip but quickly deteriorated. Our train was not as nice nor clean as the trains in the photos on the The Man in Seat 61‘s site, nor did it have a restaurant car. The trip was wonderful all the same.

Go prepared!

Take toilet paper/tissues/damp wipes, sunblock, a longyi (the sarongs worn by men in Myanmar) to put on the window to block out the blistering sun, water, a thermos of coffee/tea, plenty of snacks in case you don’t like what’s being sold on board or you’re fearful of getting sick, and insect repellant for the few hours after the sun sets. Hawkers also sell water, hot and cold drinks and food on the train, however, there are long periods at times when nothing is sold, so stock up when you can.

Use a porter if you have heavy bags

Porters will greet you at the train on the station in Mandalay. We recommend using one if you have weighty luggage as it’s a long hike up the stairs and then back down the stairs. A tip of US$1 / 1000 kyat per piece of luggage is appreciated.

Organise a taxi in advance

Ask your hotel to organise a taxi to meet you at the train station in Mandalay and know the fare up front. There will be some taxis at the station but they will most certainly try to over-charge you.

For more information, see the Man in Seat 61 for lots of good detail about travelling by train in Myanmar.

What to do in Mandalay when you get there

See our Weekend in Mandalay itinerary for plenty of things to do over two days in Mandalay, from things to see and do, to places to eat and drink. We’ll be posting our Mandalay hotel guide soon, however, in the meantime there are some hotel recommendations in that post.

Postscript: a note on our use of Myanmar over Burma

The country is officially called the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, yet many prefer to use ‘Burma’, the English translation of ‘Myanmar’, which came into popular usage during British colonial rule. The military government rejected the use of all English translations in 1989, reinstating the original names, however, many foreign countries refused to use these simply because they were reintroduced by the government.

During our month in Myanmar, the vast majority of locals we met, everywhere from Yangon to the Shan states, called their country ‘Myanmar’. We found that only those with connections to the colonial past (eg. British educated or Anglo-Burmese) used ‘Burma’. They explained to us that the name ‘Myanmar’ was more inclusive; whereas ‘Burma’ suggests that it is the the country of the Bamar/Burmans or Burmese-speaking people, who comprise around 68% of the population, ‘Myanmar’ includes everyone.

While the government identifies only eight main ethnic groups, including the Bamar, Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Mon, Kayah, and Kachin, there are actually well over a hundred ethnic groups, including Burmese Indians, Burmese Chinese, Anglo Burmese; a long list of hill tribe groups such as the Lisu, Naga, Padaung, etc; and let’s not forget the Rohingya people, who the government claims are recent ‘Bengalis’ or Bangladeshi refugees, although historians argue their presence in Rakhine state dates back centuries.

Book a Myanmar Activity or Tour

Powered by GetYourGuide. Become a partner.

While Myanmar remains off-limits to tourists, we hope to return as soon as a stable government is formed and it’s safe to travel there again.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Share16
Tweet
Pin
Yum
16 Shares

SUBSCRIBE TO THE GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS NEWSLETTER

Sign up below to receive our monthly newsletter to your In Box for special subscriber-only content, travel deals, tips, recipes, and inspiration.

100% Privacy. We hate spam too and will never give your email address away.

Share16
Tweet
Pin
Yum
16 Shares

Related Posts You Might Like

Shop for related products

About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beirutibrit says

    May 11, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Sounds great! Will have to do it one day.

  2. Terence Carter says

    May 11, 2015 at 8:05 pm

    Cheers,

    Pack a hip flask and do try the food of the vendors that the conductors/security/police eat ;-)

    T

  3. Gale Criswell says

    May 21, 2015 at 1:10 pm

    Hi Terence, Great article! I’d love to see your photos. I’ll see you in Siem Reap 22 May for tour.

  4. Terence Carter says

    May 21, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Hi Gale, sure thing. See you tomorrow!

  5. Karen says

    May 28, 2015 at 12:08 am

    Enjoyed your article. Leaving for Burma/Myanmar in October. Sadly, no train but Viking tour. Thanks

  6. Lara Dunston says

    May 31, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Hi Karen, ah, that’s a shame. However, I think Myanmar is one of those places that inspire you to plan a return trip before you’ve even left. So you can do the train on your second trip :) We’ll be posting lots more stories here on the country, so do drop back.

  7. Heather says

    June 13, 2015 at 9:37 am

    Good to know about how to travel by train in Myanmar … heading back to Asia in 2016, so this post will come in handy!

  8. Lara Dunston says

    June 21, 2015 at 2:18 pm

    Hi Heather – pleased to have been of assistance. I hope you enjoy the train trip. We just loved it.

  9. Bernard Tan says

    February 19, 2016 at 11:59 pm

    Very interesting! it makes me wanna go to Myanmar!

  10. Lara Dunston says

    February 22, 2016 at 11:59 am

    Thanks, Bernard! You should go! It’s a wonderful country.

  11. Stephen says

    September 7, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    Thanks for the post i really liked it!

  12. Terence Carter says

    September 7, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    Thanks, appreciate it!

  13. charlie says

    September 10, 2017 at 6:26 pm

    Thank you for wonderful post. It will be a slow ride to Mandalay for me next week.

  14. Terence Carter says

    September 13, 2017 at 9:32 pm

    Enjoy!

  15. Lara Dunston says

    September 15, 2017 at 1:26 pm

    Hi Charlie – enjoy! Take plenty of small change to buy drinks/snacks. Are you on social media? We’d love to see your pics!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
READ MORE…

Featured Posts

Barcelona – Just My Type. Museu del Ferrocarril de Catalunya, Vilanova I El Geltrú, Spain. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Barcelona – Just My Type

Best Cafes in Siem Reap – Where to Drink the Best Coffee in Temple Town. Pages Cafe, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Best Cafes in Siem Reap – Where to Drink the Best Coffee in Temple Town

Our Home Away From Home Holiday rental apartment in buzzy Barcelona, Spain. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Our Home Away From Home In Barcelona

Footer

ABOUT GRANTOURISMO

  • All About Grantourismo
  • Meet Lara and Terence
  • Work With Us
  • Itineraries, Tours & Retreats
  • Media & Advertising
  • Media Coverage
  • Contacts

THE GRANTOURISMO SHOP ON SOCIETY6

The Grantourismo Shop on Society6

GET THE BEST MANAGED WORDPRESS HOSTING

Get the Best Managed Wordpress Website Hosting with Flywheel

IMPORTANT DETAILS

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments Policy
  • Advertising
  • Privacy Policy

AMAZON AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Grantourismo Travels is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program.

GRANTOURISMO AFFILIATES/SUPPORT

Grantourismo is reader-supported. Posts contain various affiliate links. If you click through and purchase something, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That income supports the work we do to create content. Here are more ways to support Grantourismo.

SUBSCRIBE

SOCIALLY CONNECTED

  • 6,048 Followers
  • 2,580 Likes
  • 1,841 followers
  • 19,055 Followers

INSTAGRAM FEED

Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

SAFETY WING INSURANCE

Safety Wing Insurance

Images Protected By Pixsy

Protected By Pixsy

Footer Widget Header

WEB LOVE

As Seen in The Guardian As Seen on NineMSN As Seen on Tnooz
As Seen In The Independent As Seen on Frommers As seen on Viator
As Seen in Afar As seen on Gadling As seen on Context
As Seen in Fathom As Seen on Matador As seen on Inspirato with American Express
As seen on the Daily Mail website As seen on the Forbes website Grantourismo on the SilverKris website

ALL MEDIA COPYRIGHT © 2009–2023 GRANTOURISMO | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESIGNED IN APARTMENT RENTALS, HOTELS AND RESORTS AROUND THE WORLD BY GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.
ASSEMBLED IN SOUTH-EAST-ASIA.
GRANTOURISMO TRAVELS AND ‘MAKING TRAVEL MORE MEANINGFUL AND MEMORABLE’ ARE ™ TO GRANTOURISMO MEDIA.