Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Taj Mahal in India

* Week 1

+Day 1-3: Angkor Wat(Cambodia)

You know, I'm interested in Angkor Wat because Cambodia is a my country neighbour's and we're nearly the same culture (eg: religions, transports and cuisine). If you're read anything at all about Angkor Wat, you'll probably know at least 3 things : Angkor is one of the most beautiful and suggestive place on the planet, the Angkor Wat Temples area is much bigger than the Angkor Temple alone, and last, nothing is homogeneous, being the temples built in different times, during a four centuries process.

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia , built for the king Suryavarmanin 2 the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. We can find someting mystical and massive in the stone temples stretching up like fingers to the sky. And so they keep coming to Angkor Wat.

+Day 4-6: Siem Reap

In my opinion, if you visit the Angkor Wat temple I think you should be visit Siem Reap because The city of Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor Wat.

Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market. In the city, there are traditional Apsara dance performances, craft shops, silk farms, rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.

*Week 2

+Day 1-4: Taj Mahal(India)

When I was in high school, I always wonder about the history and architecture of Taj Mahal. It's really attracted me. The Taj Mahal crown of buildings also "the Taj"
is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures.

The Taj has some wonderful specimens of polychrome inlay art both in the interior and exterior on the dados, on cenotaphs and on the marble jhajjhari (jali-screen) around them.

Recipe of Vietnam (Thao)

* Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo)

Cuisine: Vietnamese
Prep Time: 40 min(s)
Cook Time: 10 min(s)

*Ingredients
200g rice noodles
100g bean sprouts
200g beef fillet - sliced
4tsp vegetable stock powder
2tsp sugar
2tsp sesame oil
1tsp chilli paste
1tbsp vegetable oil
1tbsp dry coriander leaf
1 star anise (cinnamon/ginger/lemongrass)
600ml boiling water
20g fresh mint 4 tsp lemon/lime juice
2 cloves garlic

*Preparation: Beef Marinade
Mix 2 tsp vegetable stock powder, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp chilli. Mix in the beef and leave to stand for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Once the beef has marinated place the rice noodles in the hot water for 10 seconds then drain and place on top of the bean sprouts in a bowl.
Heat the vegetable oil to medium heat (when small bubbles form around your chop sticks placed into the oil you have medium heat). Add the garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add the beef and stir for 1 minute . Place the beef on top of the noodles in the bowl.
Add water to the pan with star anise, dry coriander, remaining vegetable stock powder, sugar, sesame oil and chilli. Bring to boil, place with noodles in the bowl and garnish with mint and lemon juice.
Enjoy! :)

Tour of Vietnam (Thao)

Hi Chris! How are you? Last week, you told me you want to travel in Asia, so I'm inviting you to visit my country, that's Vietnam :).

Day 1 - 4: Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh is a busy city with lots of beautiful places to go sightseeing. We'll visit Duc Ba church, it's the biggest church in Vietnam. It was built between 1877 and 1880 by France. The architecture looks Roman and if you come there, you'll find out about their history. Then we'll go to a Vietnamese restaurant to enjoy the local food. I think we should order ''Pho'', one of the types of traditional food.  It has got noodle, beef and vegetable in it.

Duc Ba Church

After that, we'll go to visit The Thong Nhat Reunification Place.  It's a place where there was a negotiation between France and Vietnam in 1954. It also has many documentaries of the war. This fascinating goverment building, significant for its role in the Vietnam conflict, is preserved almost exactly as it was in 1966.

Thong Nhat Reunification Place

Finally, we''ll go to the Ben Thanh market, that's a big market in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in district 1. The building was build in 17th century and it has become one of the symbols of Ho Chi Minh City, popular with tourist seeking local handicrafts, textiles, ao dai, souvenirs and as well as local cuisine.

Ben Thanh Market

*Day 4 -6 : Ha Noi Capital

Ha Noi is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It was the most important political centre of Vietnam. I recommend you visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It's a large memorial to the Vietnam leader in Vietnam. It is located in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, which is the place where Ho read the Declaration of Independent on September 2, 1945.

And then we'll go sighseeing at Hoan Kiem Lake, known as Sword Lake. It's a really beautiful place in Ha Noi.  You can take many photos.

After that we'll go to eat local food in the north of Vietnam (because Ha Noi Capital is a part of North).

Uhm...after that I think you will also want to know the culture in Vietnam, and I'll take you to Tran Quoc Pagoga.  You know most of Vietnamese are Buddhism, so we really like to go to pagoda on special days (New Year festival and Mid-Autumn festival)!

Tran Quoc Pagoga in Ha Noi

*Day 6 - 8: Ha Long Bay

And we'll stop at Ha Long Bay, I think many people know about Ha Long Bay because it was listed by UNESCO in 1994. It's a really romantic place, almost like paradise :)! A good place for couples who want to have a perfect honeymoon.

Welcome to Vietnam :)!

Thao

Hi everyone! My name's Thao. I'm come from Vietnam and I'm 21[snack (chinese zodiac)]. I've been in Sydney nearly once and haft year ago.
Firstly, I studied English at Kaplan for 8 months and then I transferred to studied Certificate 4 in Business for 6 months. It was in Kaplan also. However, when I finished Certificate 4 I felt I wasn't interested in a Business, sometimes I couldn't understand when my teacher was spoking. It was a terrible with me. After that, I decided to return to improving my English because I hope my English will getting better by the time.
Hopefully, when I finish an English course I can get an IELTS score of 6.5. I would like to study an Interpreting and Translating, that's my wish when I was in high school. I want to become a Proffessional Translator :).
My hobbies is go shopping, reading comics, travelling, eating out with my friends and watching TV. I wish I can study and live in US. Because in my country is very difficult to get a visa to go to the United State.
But I also like the life in Sydney, it's a fantastic country for study, travelling and working.