Battambang

To get another perspective, leave the caves a little early and head back to Battambang. Ask your tuk tuk driver to stop as soon as you hit the main road after the caves and watch the spiral of bats snaking into the distance from afar.

It’s well worth heading to Phnom Sampeou in the early afternoon and spending some time exploring the site before hitting the bat caves. From the base of the mountain, you can either climb 700 steep steps to the top, or pay one of the moto drivers waiting at the bottom to take you up for $1 – tuk tuks are not allowed.

At the peak sits a delicately-decorated pagoda that affords unparalleled views of the surrounding countryside. Dubbed Cambodia’s rice bowl, Battambang is home to shimmering paddies studded with palm trees that stretch to the horizon.

The mountain – more a large hill – is also sacred to locals as it features in the legend of Neang Rumsay Sok. According to Khmer folk lore, she was a jilted by her lover, going on to battle a vengeful crocodile. She managed to defeat the beast by letting her hair down into the water causing the water the reptile was swimming in to dry up.

The site also pays tribute to those who lost their lives in Cambodia’s more recent history. Under the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975 to 1979, some of the caves – dubbed the Killing Caves – were used by soldiers who pushed their victims to death from a hole in the roof. A small monument containing some of the skulls and bones of those who died sits inside the main caves.

The pagoda also served as a prison and torture centre during the Pol Pot-led era, and up until the mid-1990s, government troops camped out on the mountain, with Khmer Rouge soldiers occupying nearby Phnom Krapeu.

With an intriguing history, stunning views and the chance to watch nature work her magic, a visit to Phnom Sampeou and the bat caves is a must on all Battambang visitors’ itineraries.

The Battambang Bat Caves, Cambodia

A crowd gathers at the base of historic Phnom Sampeou, which sits about 12km from Battambang [pronounced Battam-bong] city. Street sellers flog drinks to the crowd from their orange coolers, while the scent of barbecued chicken and pork floats from the food carts that dot the site.

A mounting sense of excitement sits in the air as the light is slowly teased from the sky. And then suddenly a gasp, followed by a chorus of gasps as out of one of the larger caves that scar the mountainside, a sudden stream of black snakes into the sky.

For the next 30 to 40 minutes, this spectacle continues as the bats rise from their slumber and burst from the network of caves to hit the surrounding countryside for a night of hunting.

The best spot to catch this is obviously at the entrance to the caves, which is where you’ll find the most people, with the spectacle kicking off from about 5.30pm.

Thankfully, Battambang isn’t yet teaming with tourists so the crowds remain relatively small and finding a viewing spot is still easy without having to arrive hours ahead of time. Plus, stallholders put out a handful of plastic chairs for punters to kick back on.

It’s also easy to avoid any crowds at all – if you can cope with a bit of a climb. Ask your tuk tuk to take the first left on the track leaving the bat caves. Soon you’ll hit a huddle of tuk tuks at the side of the road, marking where a small path leads up the mountains. A short climb up affords a great spot to enjoy the sunset to one side and the bats to the other.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

In combination with the TV Tower, the World Clock on Alexanderplatz have become popular motifs for Berlin visitors and an easy-to-spot meeting point for both tourists and Berliners. Though popularly known only as The World Clock, its complete name is actually Urania World Clock. The name is rooted in an Urania column which was found in 1966 during demolition work on Alexanderplatz. It was an old street clock with a built-in weather station – which was built by the former clock factory “Urania”. The clock mechanism is actually a Trabant (dabbed affectionately as ‘Trabi’) automobile gearbox located a few meters below ground in a separate room.

This memorial, which is also known as the Holocaust Memorial, is an ensemble of 2,711 concrete slabs erected in a 19,000 m² site, a block away from the Brandendurg Gate in Berlin. Based on a design by the Jewish architect Peter Eisenman, the memorial has both evoked criticism and sparked outrage in various circles. While many decry its seemingly too-abstract presentation of the monstrosities inflicted on Jews in Europe, the artist himself has largely refrained from providing any clues into the significance of the giant slabs. One popular interpretation however signals out the resemblance of the site to a cemetery where the uneven ground is the result of years and years of stacking up of the corpses in a small surface area.

Though this Soviet memorial is not as central as the one in Tiergarten, it still attracts a good number of visitors, especially on Victory in Europe Day (V Day) when thousands flow to the memorial to pay respect to the fallen Russian soldiers in the Battle of Berlin and lay wreaths at the foot of its central monument. This 12m tall statue depicts a Russian soldier holding a German child standing over a broken swastika and commemorates the heroism of Sergeant of Guards Nikolai Masalov who risked his life under heavy German machine-gun fire to rescue a three-year-old German girl.

The Reichstag

The Berliner Fernsehturm attracts over one million visitors every year, who often stand in long lines to get a chance to access its 360° panoramic deck to view Berlin from a 207m height. Many though are oblivious to the fact that the Tower was constructed to symbolize the German Democratic Republic (GDR)’s ‘alleged’ glory and prosperity. Having been built to serve the original purpose of broadcasting television signals, the Tower’s globe was intended to be colored the crimson red of the Communist Party.

The oldest and the best-known zoo in Germany is now home to more than 1,500 animal species, resulting in a staggering number of nearly 21,000 animals held in captivity. Like many of Berlin sites, the Zoo fell victim to bombing by the Allies during World War Two and out of its 3,715 animals at the time, only 91 remained by the end of the war. Though many had died during the bombardment, a good number were plundered and eaten by Berliners themselves when a serious shortage of supplies had struck the war and famine-ravished city.

The seat of Germany’s parliament, the Reichstag building fell victim to an ‘alleged’ arson attack four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn into office. Serving as an incentive for the Nazi Party to push out the Communist delegates out of the picture, the fire became the source of many conspiracy theories for the years to come. A popular one indicates the arson as a false flag operation masterminded by the Nazis themselves to solidify their power status. The building became functional as the seat of the Bundestag only in 1999, well after the Reunification in 1990.

Behind Berlin's Most Famous Landmarks

Everywhere you look, Berlin is full of landmarks and historical sites. Many incite wonder and amazement as well as an urge to reach into one’s pocket, pull out a smartphone and try to capture the next cooler and crazier selfie, where history or the back story is essentially pushed into the background. Berlin’s stories need to be heard because there is no shortage of wonder in the pages of history. Join us as we explore the lesser-known stories of some of Berlin’s most popular landmarks.

The Wall enclosed West Berlin which stood like an island in East Germany until its collapse in 1989. Parts of the remains are still visible in the form of The East Side Gallery, a 1.3 kilometer stretch of the Wall that brought together as many as 102 artists from 21 countries which transformed the bleak remains to a colorful display of humanity and affection. The East Side Gallery now attracts millions of visitors every year who are seldom aware of the stories of terror the Wall had seen during its existence from 1961 to 1989. As many as 140 people died or were killed trying to cross the Wall escaping into West Berlin.

The Deeper Meaning Behind Berlin's Brass Cobblestones

While walking the Berlin streets you will have no doubt come across a Stolperstein, or ‘stumbling stone’, a concrete and brass cube inscribed with a family name and dates, that now forms part of the pavement. These little cubes are actually memorials to the Jewish lives lost during the Nazi extermination. However, there is much more to the memorial than meets the eye.

These cobblestone plaques that bear a tragic chapter of German history are the open-ended project first initiated in 1996 by the German artist Gunter Demnig. Not only is their message one of remembrance and of personalising the victims by honouring their names, but their purpose is also thought-provoking, aiming to initiate discussion and stimulate thought.

Each Stolperstein that is embedded into the pavement is ten by ten centimetres, and their position is not random. The plaques are laid in front of would-be homes of the Nazi victims, so instead of being one big memorial erected in a location known by everybody, these small and scattered plaques pierce the memory when they are literally ‘stumbled upon.’

Their presence takes on an even deeper meaning when the connotations of the name Stolperstein are considered. Metaphorically speaking, the German term can be interpreted to mean ‘potential problem’, while ‘to stumble across something’ in both German and English means to ‘to find out by chance’. Therefore, the anti-Semitic ‘Jewish problem’ of the past is presented in such a way as to stimulate thought and discussion around these issues in the present. According to the artist, because the Stolpersteine are embedded into ordinary, everyday life, stumbling upon them cannot be bypassed or avoided.

The inscriptions on the handmade brass plaques begin with ‘Here lived…’, followed by the name and date of birth of the resident, followed by the name of the concentration camp to which they were taken. At the bottom of the plaque is their date of death. The plaques are financed by private donors, and the decision to make one each by hand is deliberate.

Fondation Cartier Pour l’Art Contemporain

Unlike other corporately-sponsored exhibition spaces, the Fondation Cartier is an unique example of corporate philanthropy gone right. Exhibitions here are not only expertly curated but also cover a range of interests from Patti Smith (2008) to the most recent Beauté Congo (2015). Each exhibition creates a striking melange of different artistic media; music, dance, photography, and art are successfully organized in order to create a complete image of whatever subject is on display at that moment. This center for contemporary art is on a fast track to great success, as evidenced by the enthusiasm of the Paris public for its most recent exhibits.

The Grande Galerie de l’Evolution is a must see for anyone traveling with children. Created in 1889 and re-opened in 1994 this museum is a modern testament to our pre-historic roots. It includes simulated rain and thunder-storms, interactive lessons and a breathtakingly life-like inventory of the animal kingdom. Any visit to the Galerie must also include some time in the Jardin des Plantes: a veritable splendor of botany and landscaping. This garden also has a little playground and benches to enjoy lunch or a snack. Furthermore, just across the street is the Grande Mosquée de Paris where for two euros patrons can sip authentic mint tea and enjoy some heartwarmingly splendid baklava.