Siem Reap
5 August 2024
Siem Reap is home to the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, one of the largest and most iconic religious monuments in the world. This UNESCO World Heritage site, originally built in the 12th century, is a breathtaking example of classical Khmer architecture. Angkor Wat was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me that I would recommend to anyone.
Día 1
- Arrival in Siem Reap
- Pub Street
Arrival in Siem Reap
We woke up in Chiang Mai and needed to return our scooter before getting a taxi to the airport. We arrived in Bangkok for a connection and got food at McDonald’s. The chicken sandwich I bought was suprisingly good. The plane was a little late in departing to Siem Reap. On the plane to Siem Reap, I sat in the window seat, Indi in the middle, and Indi sat next to a girl named Ashley. Across the aisle was her fiance, Connor. We struck up a conversation and hit it off right away. We exchanged contact info to get together during our time in Cambodia.
We landed and went through immigration. We had to pay USD cash to get our visas, luckily, we came prepared. The process was quick. We left the airport and hopped right on a bus. It filled up quickly and drove us an hour and 15 minutes to Siem Reap town. The drop-off point in Siem Reap is at the CDF Duty-Free Shop Downtown, which is about a 5-minute tuk-tuk ride or a 15-minute walk. We paid a tuk-tuk driver $1 to drive us around 10 minutes to a scooter rental place. He hounded us hard to hire him as a tour guide. This was our first taste of the local hustle culture. We experienced a lot of really pushy people hounding tourists to sell anything and everything.
We rented a scooter that was in questionable condition and then rode it to our hostel. Our first impression of the hostel was mixed. I wondered if we had made a mistake in staying there because it seemed to be mostly rowdy, single travelers. We checked in and took a look at our beds. They turned out to be large pods in a shared room with A/C. All in all, our experience was quite positive. However, I realized hostels aren’t ideal for us. It’s easier to have our own space for a lot of reasons when traveling as a couple. They are great for solo travelers, though!
After getting checked in, we walked to a restaurant for dinner. The streets were full of promoters for restaurants and clubs. We said no thanks around 100 times before arriving at a restaurant we found on Google Maps. The prices were cheap – like Thailand. Unlike Thailand, all the prices are displayed in USD, which has a certain shock factor when you see a menu where almost everything is less than $5.00. I got fried rice with beef for $1.50. Indi got chicken amok (a Cambodian culinary staple) for $3.00.
After dinner, we met up with Connor and Ashley at Pub Street to walk around. It was dark at this point, but not late enough for many of the clubs to open or have anyone in them. We found a rolled ice cream place on the street and tried to ignore the children hounding us for money as we bought it and walked around. After that, we walked to an artisan market and had a look around. Indi and I had decided in Thailand to buy only small things since we had such limited space. We were each traveling with a single backpack. We looked for keychains, or something like them, from each country we visited to use them as Christmas ornaments.
That evening, Connor let us know that we should buy tickets to Angkor Wat online that night so they would be ready to go in the morning. After a while, we called it a night and went our separate ways to get some sleep. Making friends while traveling is so much fun, and we loved meeting these two! Back at the hostel, we bought tickets that allowed entry to most temples in Siem Reap.
Día 2
- Angkor Wat
- Bayon Temple
- Ta Prohm Temple
- Phsar Leu Thom Tmey
Angkor Wat
We woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We ended up getting there just before sunrise, so we may have missed the height of color as the sun approached the horizon. The place was super crowded, watching the sunrise in front of the temple complex was the biggest crowd we encountered in Siem Reap. Even so, it’s well worth being there early. Standing in front of a centuries-old wonder lit up by the rising sun is a good way to start the day. Plus, it’s cool in the morning and it gets pretty hot in the afternoon.
We spent two hours walking around the temple complex. It was amazing. There has been quite a bit of restoration work on the temple and surrounding structures so it was sometimes hard to judge what was original and what was restored or replaced. We didn’t pay for a tour guide because of of our travel budget so we didn’t know much about what we were seeing. When you say, “Let’s pay for it we’ll only be here once!” on a trip like this, you’ll end up paying a lot over three months. That being said, it’s possible we should have paid for a guide on this particular occasion…
I knew from a YouTube video that the temple was originally Hindu before its conversion to a Buddhist temple. It was built in the early 12th century and is the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. We saw female figures (among many other things) carved into the walls all over the place in a flexible, acrobatic pose that was reminiscent to me of Hinduism. We later found out that they were dancers called Aspara.
At the heart of Angkor Wat lies a central courtyard, which houses the temple’s most sacred structure—known as the central sanctuary or inner temple. This elevated temple represents Mount Meru, the mythical center of the universe in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. To get inside, you’ll need to ascend a steep staircase leading to its uppermost tier, symbolizing the spiritual ascent to enlightenment. Originally, this inner temple enshrined a statue of Vishnu, though it later became a Buddhist site. The structure is the highest point within Angkor Wat. To enter, you’ll need to wear modest clothing. The rest of the temple complex does not enforce a dress code.
As we were leaving through a structure that was once a kind of gate, we heard someone call out behind us and turned to find Connor and Ashley walking out with their tour guide. We walked across the bridge together and got a photo on the other side. They told us some things about Angkor Wat that they’d learned from their tour guide. A lot of the bigger carvings depict stories. One such carving tells the story of a girl being kidnapped by a demon king and rescued by her husband with the help of the Monkey King and his soldiers. We’d later see this story acted out by contemporary Aspara dancers in town and later on a Balinese clifftop.
Tonle Om Gate
After Angkor Wat, we hopped on the scooter to hop from site to site. The drive was as enjoyable as walking through the temples. We passed many structures along the way and the road was lined with tall, mature trees that provided shade for much of the road. One really cool feature of the area is that there are gates used anciently in the defense of the city through which modern roads have been built. Victory Gate is perhaps the most famous. Tonle Om Gate (Southern Gate) is the one pictured here. If you travel around the area, you will pass through at least one.
Bayon Temple
After Angkor Wat, the most impressive temple was Bayon. It was built in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII. Its massive stone faces are striking, but what makes Bayon special are the detailed murals that cover the temple walls. These murals tell vivid stories of daily life, epic battles, and mythological scenes. I would have liked to sit in front of these walls and stare at them longer. The grounds are covered in monkeys, and they are not afraid of humans!
Prasat Preah Khan
Prasat Preah Khan is a sprawling temple complex that’s well worth a stop. Pictured above is the entrance; below are pictures of the main structure. The complex once served as a monastery, a university, and a thriving city with nearly 100,000 residents, including monks, scholars, and support staff. The temple was dedicated to the king’s father and functioned as both a religious sanctuary and an administrative center. This was the temple where we noticed the most damage. There were whole sections of the structure that have collapsed and sit in a pile of rubble. As you wander through its labyrinth of stone corridors, you’ll discover intricate carvings, towering gateways, and ancient sculptures that tell stories of a bygone era.
Ta Prohm Temple
Ta Prohm Temple is famous for its appearance in the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Unlike many temples in Angkor, Ta Prohm has been left largely untouched, preserving its mysterious, overgrown charm. Giant tree roots twist and weave through centuries-old stone walls. The atmosphere at this temple really evokes a feeling of stumbling upon a forgotten jungle temple. This was my 3rd favorite temple site, and I highly recommend visiting. I hear that this site can get very crowded, but it was not when we visited.
We took a break from temple hopping to get some food. We were starving because we had skipped breakfast. We rode the scooter back into town and over to The Source Cafe. The fruit bowl was excellent. The food is a little more expensive here than other options, but I consider it worth it.
Día 3
- Pre Rup Temple
- Ta Som Temple
- Neak Poan Temple
We had a long day on day 2, so on day 3, Indi slept in late. It turned out someone in our room came in drunk in the night and threw up everywhere. I blissfully slept through the whole thing with my handy dandy earplugs. Our plan for the day was much the same as the previous day, but we went at a slower pace.
Pre Rup Temple
Built in the 10th century Pre Rup Temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is believed to have been used for royal cremations. Climb the steep steps to the summit to appreciate the structure in its entirety. It’s immediately apparent that the color of the stone used in the construction of this site is more red or orange than other sites we had yet visited.
Ta Som
Ta Som is a small yet enchanting temple that feels quiet and serene. Built in the late 12th century, Ta Som served as a Buddhist sanctuary dedicated to the king’s father. The temple’s most iconic feature is the eastern gateway, where the roots of a strangler fig tree cascade over the stone entrance. A tranquil section of canal behind the gateway makes for beautiful surroundings.
Neak Poan Temple
Floating gracefully atop a tranquil reservoir, Neak Poan is a temple unlike any other in Angkor. Because it is so different, it was our favorite temple of the day. To get there, you need to walk across a long boardwalk over the water. Lotus flowers surround the walkway on either side. We spotted some massive banana spiders along the way; arachnophobes, beware! The ancient structure itself isn’t particularly impressive. It’s the journey that makes this stop special.
Aspara Dinner Show
Once we had our fill of temples, we returned to Siem Reap. In the evening, we met up with Connor and Ashley for dinner. We went to one of the Aspara dinner/dance shows. Each of the dances tells a story – like theater. The whole experience was made so much more interesting and engaging, thanks to Ashley sharing her own experience. She told us about how she grew up learning traditional Cambodian (Khmer) dances. She was familiar with each act of the production from her own dance classes. It was cool to hear that the dances are relevant culturally today. Without that context, I might have mistakenly believed the show was just for tourists’ benefit, which isn’t the case at all. The food was fancy and decent. There were cheaper shows to go to, but we all enjoyed this one. I’d say it’s worth the cost. We said goodbye to our new friends and made our way back to the hostel.
Next time
On our next adventure, we call an audible and fly to the island of Java chasing sunshine.
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