Onward to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
After my brief visit to Laos, I now make my way to Siem Reap where I plan to visit Angkor Wat. I have a morning flight to Bangkok. Then a five hour layover in Bangkok before heading over to Siem Reap all on Air Asia. Save for a delay on my second flight, they are pretty straight forward. One noteworthy thing is the opportunity to try Air Asia’s Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice. I wouldn’t normally pre-order a meal on an hour flight. But there’s a small avgeek cult following for this specific meal (google it!). And seeing as I’m unsure when I’ll be flying this carrier again, I needed to give it a try! As far as low cost airline food goes, it’s surprisingly pretty good! I wouldn’t hesitate to get it again in the future!
Eightfold Urban Resort
After arriving in Siem Reap and clearing immigration, I make the hour long trek from the airport into town. My home for the next few days is the Eightfold Urban Resort. I had hummed and hawed about where to stay since there are so many options. I ultimately decide on this hotel as it’s modern, in a quiet part of town and still very cost effective. Upon arriving, they greet me with a refreshing welcome drink in their lovely lobby. It’s a lovely hotel with a beautiful pool in the centre of the resort complex. Because it’s not central to the city, they offer free tuk-tuk rides into town in the evenings which is a great perk! I wouldn’t hesitate to stay with them again should I find myself in the area in the future.
Dinner at Eightfold
After checking in, unpacking a little and settling into my room. I decide to have dinner at the hotel itself. I’m planning to head to Angkor Wat very early tomorrow to catch the sunrise tomorrow. So I want to try to get to bed early since it’s going to be a full day of exploring tomorrow. This is also going to be my first experience with local cuisine as I order the Fish Amok, which is kind of like a thicker curry. It’s pretty darn good and for a first food impression of Cambodia, I am not upset at all!
After dinner, I head back to my room and tuck in for my 4AM wake up.
Angkor Wat “Sunrise”
Prior to my visit to Cambodia, I’d been in contact with a local tuk-tuk driver, Sun. I arrange for him to take me around the temples today. Early this morning he meets me outside my hotel. And in the dark of night we set off towards the Angkor Wat temple complex. Once at the main Angkor Wat temple entrance, Sun gives me a brief history of the temple and I enter on my own. I walk down a lit path for a few minutes then cross a dark bridge into the main complex area (no photos since it was pitch black). From there you start to make out the crowds of people getting into position waiting for the sun to rise behind the temple. However, checking the weather, there is a high chance that there would be no sunrise today. As the next few days are overcast which is a bit of a bummer. Nonetheless, I’m still happy with the views and reflections of the temple as its a spectacular piece of history and something that is immensely preserved over time.
Angkor Wat
After allowing the sky to fully brighten up, I head into the temple. It’s pretty crowded but I have to imagine its probably not as busy as normal given the lack of sun. I suspect that on a day with better conditions it would be even busier so in some ways I’m feeling a bit fortunate. The temple itself is stunning. There’s a lot of things to be amazed at, the sheer size of it, the amount of small details put into it or the general architecture of it. How humans of the past are able to construct something like this is extremely impressive. While I don’t pretend to have a good grasp of the history I still spend my time wandering through admiring this impressive structure.
Top of Angkor Wat
At the centre of the complex is an opportunity to take a steep set of stairs to the highest point of the Angkor Wat temple. The top is almost it’s own temple complex with the iconic towers being accessible. Not only is there still a large court in the centre of the “upper” temple. It also provides some pretty spectcular views of the temple complex below. I think I spent the most time up top before making the descent back down.
The Ankor Wat Temple Grounds
After leaving the main temple, I decide to walk around the grounds surrounding the temple a little. I think the first thing I notice is how many people have cleared out from the early morning. It’s far more peaceful and calm a few hours into the day. With this in mind, I would suggest that if the sunrise isn’t your thing, visiting the temple later in the day may be a better option!
I also get to see the bridge that I crossed in the dark early in the morning and the area is actually really pretty! Because of the early start, I didn’t get to have breakfast with my hotel this morning. But they did pack me a takeaway breakfast. And I figure this is a great spot to have it. So I have a seat by the water and snack on the packed sandwich and snacks they so kindly provided me with earlier this morning.
Bayon Temple
After breakfast I head back towards the entrance and meet back up with my driver. From there he takes me to our next stop the Bayon Temple. This is another large temple and is known for the many faces that are carved into the sides of the different towers. Here Sun drops me off, and explains that there’s a path from Bayon through a few other temples. He can then meet me on the other side. So I take some time to wander through Bayon Temple before exiting the other side enroute to the next temple.
Baphuon Temple
A little ways away from Bayon temple is Baphuon temple. To me the standout feature of this temple is the long walkway leading up to the temple itself. The temple itself is also quite tall, so it’s quite a site to walk along the walkway towards the temple and then have to hike up some steep steps to get to the top. Of the other temples, I rather enjoyed this one. It’s nestled in the forest and the walking the path feels pretty unique to me.
Ta Prohm
Next on the list for us is Ta Prohm. Or known by its more popular name, The “Tomb Raider Temple”. Since this is the site used in the filming of the Tomb Raider movie. One of the big distinguishing features of this temple complex are the trees that grow out of the temples. When this temple was abandoned the trees began to take root on the temple and now some very large trees look to “grow out” of the temple itself. While the temple is indeed pretty cool, the one thing I didn’t enjoy are the crowds. Next to Angkor Wat its easily one of the busier temples and navigating through it can be troublesome at times. But nonetheless I’m still happy to visit.
Temple Fatigue
I’m not sure if its a combination of the rising temperature and the number of temple visits I’m making. But I think a bit of “temple fatigue” starts to set in. I don’t want to sound uncultured but some of the temples start to blur in my memory and each visit starts to feel less and less unique. While I try to give each temple a respectful walk through, I find myself paying a little less attention to detail as the day wears on. We only visit a fraction of the temples in the entire Angkor Wat area so I can see why people can spend weeks in the area going to each and every one. Below is a sampling of the different ones we visit which are all unique in their own right. So please don’t take my waning interest as an indictment on their value!
The one thing that did catch my eye at the end of the day is beautiful pool called Srah Srang. It actually isn’t on the list of temples for us to visit, and I only discover by accident crossing a street and crossing a field. Because this platform/dock is raised, from my vantage point it just looks like an elevated stage. So purely out of curiosity, I head in that direction and when I get to the platform I get this beautiful scene. It’s actually the last thing I see before Sun takes me off to lunch, and I’m glad to end off with such a lovely view.
Lunch
For a late lunch, Sun takes me to a small restaurant nearby called Taste of Khmer. I suspect a lot of different guides and tours stop off at this place, but I’m not one to complain when the food is tasty! It’s nice to get off my legs for a little bit of time, enjoy some nourishment and relax after a very eventful morning.
After lunch, the early start, heat and hours of temple exploration start to catch up to me. I ask Sun to take me back to my hotel which he happily obliges. By the time I get back its already the afternoon and I’m wiped. But I’m glad I went the route of having a personal tuk-tuk driver to show me around. The flexibility of exploring the temples at my own pace and being able to adjust which temples we visit is a luxary not everyone gets. I would highly recommend anyone to do the same thing if they want to have a day or few days at Angkor Wat. If you’re interested in having Sun guide you please feel free to reach out to me and I can put you both in touch!
Tevy’s Place
When I get back to my hotel, I take a much needed shower and then crawl into bed. I crash for a good part of the afternoon and only wake up in time for dinner. Then, hopping in one of the complimentary tuk-tuks from my hotel into the city centre, I head to Tevy’s Place. I read about Tevy’s prior to my visit. So it’s the first place I wanted to eat in Siem Reap. Tevy is a woman who sadly lost her family to the genocide in her country’s past. From that, she started this restaurant and trains and empowers young local woman. After a short wait, I get a table and order a watermelon juice, salad rolls and curry. It is all extremely delicious and assures me I have a restaurant I can return to in a pinch!
Siem Reap at Night
After dinner I decide to take a stroll through Siem Reap. In my research I read a lot about “pub street”. This is where a different bars and night clubs are situated and a home to most night life. It’s not my thing but still something I wanted to check out. Admittedly after a few minutes of walking I was good. Maybe I’m getting old, but I prefer a quieter and more relaxed environment. However, strolling along the river is a bit more peaceful and something I did enjoy a little bit more!
After a bit more wandering, I head back to the hotel and ready to turn in. It’s the first time in a while I don’t have an early start and I’m looking forward to sleeping in. And with that I drift off to some much needed rest.
Nice!