Bergen - Picturesque but rainy

I arrived into Bergen on the Rotterdam ship one Monday morning in July. The skies were overcast but I wasn't about to let rain deter me from the one day I had in this port.

Bergen is famous for its World Heritage Site of Bryggen, which is the fishing wharf with brightly painted buildings. However, there are other places of interest in this picturesque city, Immediately evident is the aesthetically pleasing Norwegian architecture throughout but nature is also on the doorstep, with the sea and mountains both surrounding this port city.

First stop was, predictably, the Bergenhus Fortress, situated as it is on the harbour. One of the oldest castles in Norway, it is remarkably well-preserved and the defensive tower from the 13th Century still stands proudly overlooking the water. The fortress is still used by the Royal Norwegian Navy however the buildings within at one point accommodated the royal family, a church and a bishop's residence. I was interested in learning about it and I always admire old buildings and ponder at what stories we aren't told.

I grabbed a hot tea from a roadside van to warm me up as a persistent mist threatened rain and I headed along the waterfront, with all it's pretty buildings. Many of these are souvenir shops, so I walked on, heading to the funicular to take me to the top of Mount Floyen. The funicular costs NOK 45 (approx EUR 4.80 or GBP 4.30) one way, although you can take a steep walk of over an hour to get up there. I love funiculars so I decided on this, particularly as the rain was now pouring out of the sky. The trip takes between 5 - 8 minutes so you quickly gain great views across the city. At the top, the views are quite breathtaking as you can take in the several mountains around and the different parts of the city. The rain obviously didn't deter many tourists, as it was pretty busy there.

Misty panorama of Bergen and me

I had heard that the coffeeshop/restaurant at the top were quite nice, although pretty expensive - like most things in Norway, but I wasn't hungry or needing a break yet. There's a playground with troll figures for kid's to enjoy and different scenic walks through the mountains that lead off from here. I decided on walking back towards the city. A couple hundred metres from the viewpoints, I came across some free-roaming goats, who are tagged with this new technology that prevents them from going outside certain areas. I'm not 100% that this is particularly animal-friendly, as it gives them an electric shock if they venture into prohibited areas, but I suppose at least they aren't penned in. Some of these goats were highly entertaining, with one parading around on a table top, posing for pictures. I also found it amusing that the only black goat was called Obama.

Off I wandered back down the mountain, through the forest and on a well-worn path. The views are quite nice on the way down too and I enjoyed being out in the fresh air. It took me around 40 minutes to get back to the city and I had worked up a bit of an appetite so I headed through the fish market to Trekroneran for a tasty, budget-friendly meal. This small stall has a variety of hot dog options around 50 - 60 NOK (Around GBP 5 - 6). I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm not normally a hot dog fan.

I wanted to visit Troldhaugen, the composer Edvard Grieg's house but I hadn't left enough time (the perils of drinking in the crew bar til 4am). The house is a living museum and concerts are held daily in the summer at lunchtime. It was now past that and I was worried if I took the bus that I wouldn't make it back to the boat on time. You can take a bus from the Visitor's Centre in Bryggen and please go if you're a music lover!

I wandered back through the wooden houses of Bryggen, visiting the shops and workshops that sell a myriad of tourist goods but also some beautiful handcrafts and clothing. All the staff have impeccable English and were really friendly. I bought a couple of affordable items for friends who may not make it this far North and headed back to the ship.

I definitely wished I had more time to spend in Bergen as it was somewhere that surprised and delighted me, with its' quirky streets and an abundance of cafés and restaurants that I'd be keen to try if feeling more flush.

We set sail in late afternoon, luckily getting some spectacular scenic cruising in before we left Norway. The sun came out a little, but my photos definitely would have benefitted from better light.

Sunrise Temple Tour

Rising at 4.15am is not something I do regularly; in fact I usually get into bed around that time. I am a complete night owl and I really like my sleep (when I can get some sleep - but that's another story). However I was excited to go back to Angkor Wat for sunrise as I'd heard it was really spectacular. April, Laura and I were fairly quiet as we got ready and got out, climbing into the tuk-tuk by 4.35am. Travelling through Siem Reap in the dark and cold, we were anticipating a beautiful sunrise.

As I mentioned in another post, we got ripped off for tea and sandwiches (USD6); the first stall open opposite Angkor Wat does a great trade but if you are there early it's probably best to bring your own food or wait til all the stalls are open. We did try to haggle but they were having none of it. When the others opened we could have gotten tea at a third of the price.

Tourists filed in through the gate in the dark and most seemed to take up a place on the right near the lake. We soon saw why this was - Beautiful pink flowers open in the dawn light. I have a photo but it really doesn't show you how amazing watching the petals unfurl is.

I think it may have been the wrong time of the year for sunrise (as it moves around the temple) and honestly I found sunset alot more rewarding. I'm not Hindu but there is an enormous sense of peace about this place, hard to believe in a war-torn land. If nothing else, you have to appreciate the architecture of the place, the craftsmanship  - sure we can build airplanes and fancy buildings, but without machinery - these temples were built. A testament to the men of that time (and women? Who knows?)

Afterwards most people headed back into town; we had booked our tuk-tuk to continue onto the other temples whilst they were quiet. You can walk it, but some are many kilometres apart so you won't get as many covered in a day so even for the fittest hikers I would recommend using a tuk-tuk or bicycle. We had also bought our ticket the evening before for sunset which included the following day (USD20) - and was enough to do the short tour circuit - (our hostel gave us a map - but this is also good)
http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/srtemples.htm

Guide books tell you to buy your ticket after 5pm but the office closes at 5pm so be there about 4.30!
So we continued forward to Bayon (the gates are extraordinary, I took my time looking at all the different faces, wondering what they were communicating!) We were approached by a little boy in Bayon who offered to show us around. He told us he was five, but he must have been more like ten. I asked why he wasn't at school but he didn't answer me. April indulged him and let him be her guide and of course afterwards he asked for money. He did have alot of facts and he was a darling but this really isn't encouraged - and he asked for more money after she gave him USD5. I'd imagine earning this money encourages them not to be at school so it isn't ideal. Families do live inside the grounds and have to make a living but this isn't the right way.

Some of the temples are more demanding than others  - since restoration work has been completed you can now climb to the top of Baphuon, but be careful and ensure you have excellent footwear - the steps are slippy and narrow (we went in rainy season) and people have been injured (apparently one died!) after falling off them. The only thing to break your fall is more rock - a little disconcerting!

There are other interesting sites within the walls of the city of Angkor Thom, such as the terrace of elephants, which I loved and the Wall of lepers. Also just before these there was a cafe area where we stopped for some pancakes and coconut milk. It was a little more expensive than town but really not too bad relative to Western pricing. The service was great - always with a smile! You can also buy big bottles of water along the way for USD2 (excessive price but handy when you're walking mid-morning in the sun).

There are alot of people selling their wares within Angkor Thom and around the site. Some are extraordinary. I had to travel light but one guy was painting large tile images outside Bayon and his work really was beautiful. He was charging something like USD15 for a piece. We went onward to Ta Keo and Ta Phrom, famous for portrayal in the first Tomb raider movie. It would be interesting to know if the Hollywood bigwigs contributed any money to the restoration of the temples? Much work is ongoing and most is credited to foreign investment, particularly from Japan. It is fascinating to see how the trees have uprooted rocks or grown around them - it brings another quality to the place and I hope they don't remove all of them.

We finished our tour around 12.45 (after arriving around 5am). You could get more done in the day, but it gets pretty hot around midday and we were rather fatigued (and temple-d) out. I'm really glad I did it, and I'll never forget either sunrise or sunset at Angkor Wat. I think sunrise wasn't quite so spectacular for me as I'd seen sunset first, but maybe different times of year bring different effects.

It's definitely worth reading up on the history beforehand, and also the layout so you have an idea of where you're going and what you're doing. It's also definitely worth continuing on after sunrise to beat the crowds, who seem to start arriving around 9am.