Oftentimes, the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions visiting Cambodia is Angkor Wat. With our time in Thailand winding down and a flight booked out of Vietnam in two months’ time, Jon and I agreed that we couldn’t leave Asia without going to Angkor Wat. The iconic temple is known throughout the world and appears everywhere in Cambodia, from the flag to the money. We booked flights to and from Siem Reap to allow for two weeks in which to explore the temples and a small slice of Cambodia.

Overview

Angkor Wat is the name of the largest temple in the Angkor Archeological Park and also the largest religious monument in the world. While visiting this temple is typically the main reason visitors flock to Siem Reap, there are many other temples in the vicinity that provide just as much history and exploration as Angkor Wat.

‘Wat’ means ‘temple’ and thus Angkor Wat is the capital temple of the historic city of Angkor. The entire complex boasts hundreds of buildings, ranging from the fully restored temples to the ruins that have been overtaken by nature. The city of Angkor was the capital of the Khmer kingdom from 802-1431AD. Over this period of time, kings built temples dedicated to themselves, their parents, and their gods. To the uninformed, they may all look similar in style but upon closer inspection, reveal differences related to their time period and purpose. It would take a lifetime of study to discover all of the secrets hidden among the ancient city; we got just a glimpse during our visit.

Tickets

A ticket must be purchased to visit any of the temples within Angkor. The tickets are sold as either a one-day pass, three-day pass, or five-day pass. The longer passes do not need to be used on consecutive days but must be used within a specific time period (within ten days for the three-day pass and within one month for the five-day pass). When we visited in April 2017, prices were $37, $62, and $72 respectively. Tickets must be purchased prior to visiting the temples at Angkor Enterprise, located a few kilometers from the center of Siem Reap (every tuk-tuk driver knows where this is). Your picture is taken and then you are given your pass. If you purchase your pass after 5:00pm, the ticket allows you to visit that evening for ‘free’ (it does not count against the number of days selected for your pass). You will need to keep your tickets safe and present them each time you enter the designated area. Jon and I purchased the three-day pass, which was the perfect amount of time for us to see the main sites and yet not get overwhelmed by the quantity of temples. We hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the building to purchase tickets the day before we were set to start touring the temples.

Angkor Enterprise
Street 60
Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia
Open daily from 5:00am – 5:30pm

Transportation

The temples of Angkor are too far from the city of Siem Reap to walk; there are a handful of different ways you can go to and from the temples. Contrary to most other southeast Asian countries, foreigners are not allowed to rent motorbikes in Siem Reap, so alternative methods of transportation must be used to get around the city. Numerous tour companies offer excursions from the center of the city out to the temples. These take place either by passenger van (for smaller groups) or tour bus (for larger groups). We wanted to have the freedom to explore where and when we wanted, so we traveled to the temples by two different methods: tuk-tuk and electric bike. For the first two days that we toured the Angkor complex, we hired a tuk-tuk and driver to take us around. We found Sok on a travel blog that I read frequentlyand contacted him upon our arrival in Siem Reap. Sok was a wonderful driver and guide, always early to pick us up, offering us cold water every time we returned to the tuk-tuk, and giving us some additional history and information about the area. I highly recommend contacting Sok if you are ever in Siem Reap and interested in touring the temples!

Sok Menea
sokmeneatuktuk@hotmail.com
092 9493 79 or 098 9291 12

For our last day, we were only planning on visiting Angkor Wat and wanted to try something different, so we rented electronic bikes. The e-bikes were rented from Green E-Bike, just down the street from our guesthouse, and were ours for a 24-hour period. We rode them around Siem Reap in the afternoon, getting a feel for the traffic and how the bikes worked. Then we arose bright and early to ride out in the dark to Angkor Wat in time to watch sunrise. There are a handful of charging stations scattered around the Angkor complex, but we never needed them as we only rode to and from Angkor Wat itself. The e-bikes were a fun and different way to get around, perfect for someone who wants a bit of independence and adventure on the streets of Cambodia. The e-bikes cost us $10 each for the 24-hour period we used them.

Green E-Bike
Central Market #C12
Street 6 (South Side)
Siem Reap, Cambodia
+855 (0)95 700 130 or +855 (0)95 700 140
info@greene-bike.com

Scheduling

Unlike some other world wonders, there’s not much advance planning that needs to go into visiting the Angkor complex. Unless you are booking an organized tour, all of your research and reservations can be done once you arrive in Siem Reap. Jon and I arrived on a Saturday and with no planning prior to arrival, we were touring the temples by Monday morning. We purchased our tickets on Sunday evening and made arrangements with Sok to pick us up early Monday morning.

Most of the temples open their gates at 7:30am, but a few are open earlier to allow a view of sunrise. These few (Angkor Wat, Srah Srang, Phnom Bakheng, and Pre Rup) open at 5:00am. To take advantage of the slightly cooler temperatures, we planned to arrive at our first temple of the day right when it opened. This necessitated waking up at 3:30 or 4:00am, but was well worth the early-morning alarm. We spent about five hours each on our first two days of touring and about three hours on our last day. Finishing our day by 10:00am or 11:00am in the morning was ideal; we were returning to our guesthouse for a shower and rest by the time the heat was getting overpowering. While it is possible to keep touring the temples throughout the day until they close (5:30pm for most), we were satisfied with the amount that we saw during our early mornings. Although neither of us love waking up early, we were very happy we did so during this time. This allowed us to have the remainder of the day to relax, do laundry, work on the blog, and other ‘chores.’

Food and Drinks

Water, water, and more water! With temperatures reaching nearly 100°F every day and close to 100% humidity, water is essential. Jon and I purchased two large water bottles to take with us for each day of touring. It is possible to purchase water at the temples as you are touring as well; food and drink vendors are set up near the parking lots of all the major temples that you will be visiting. In addition to the water that we took with us, Sok was ready to hand us a small ice-cold bottle every time we returned to the tuk-tuk. Since our water wasn’t cold, it was a nice treat to have this to drink while driving to our next destination. Not all tuk-tuk drivers will supply cold (or any temperature) water to you, so be prepared with your own.

Since we left our guesthouse so early in the morning each day, breakfast was not yet being served. At a small grocery store, Jon and I bought a box of granola bars and a box of fruit-filled breakfast bars to take with us. We carried a few each day and would eat them as we drove from one temple to the next or while sitting on the grounds of a temple. There was food available for purchase as we went, but we both agreed that we would have just those small snacks and then wait for a proper meal once we were finished touring for the day. After arriving back at our guesthouse and showering, we would then find somewhere to sit (in air conditioning!) to have brunch.

Dress Code

When visiting temples all over Asia, there is typically a dress code enforced. Both women and men must wear clothing that covers their body from their shoulders to knees – no tank tops, midriff shirts, or short shorts. I had a long wrap-skirt and a plain knee-length skirt that I would wear, accompanied by a short-sleeved shirt. I also carried a sarong with me almost everywhere we went that I could use to cover if we happened upon a temple while out for a bite to eat. The sarong came in handy while touring the temples at Angkor as well, to keep the sun off my neck and arms. Although not the most stylish, tennis shoes were a must since we spent so much time walking on uneven ground!

Our Itinerary

The Angkor complex is large and can be overwhelming when first considering where to go and what to see. As with many large tourist sites, the temples have already been organized into groups to make it easy for travelers to navigate among the hundreds of structures. After doing a little research and consulting with Sok, we decided to spend our three days touring the Small Circuit, Grand Circuit, and then Angkor Wat.

Small Circuit

Although this typically includes a visit to Angkor Wat, we eliminated that from our tour of the Small Circuit since we had already dedicated a full day just to that one temple. Thus, our first day of touring included the following:

• Phnom Bakheng: a Hindu and Buddhist temple perched upon a hill, a quiet and serene place to watch sunrise.
• Angkor Thom: the last and most enduring capital of the Khmer empire.
• Bayon: the state temple of King Jayavarman VII, famous for the many faces carved onto the sides.
• Baphuon: a three-tiered temple mountain dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
• Ta Prohm: originally called Rajavihara, famous for the trees overtaking the temple’s grounds (and also as a setting for the movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider).
• Banteay Kdei: a Buddhist temple known as the “Citadel of Monks’ cells” or a “Citadel of Chambers”.
• Sras Srang: a baray (or reservoir) dug in the 10^th century.

Grand Circuit

For our second day, Sok drove us further afield to visit the temples designated on the Grand Circuit. This meant a bit more driving, which was a welcome break in between touring and allowed us to see a bit more of the countryside of Cambodia. The temples that we visited on this day included:

• Pre Rup: the state temple of King Rajendravarman, built in 961 or 962.
• East Mebon: built on an artificial island in the now-dry reservoir, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
• Ta Som: a shrine dedicated to the King’s father.
• Neak Pean: a lake with snake statue in the middle, originally designed for medicinal purposes.
• Preah Khan: a temple built to honor the King’s father.

Angkor Wat

As I mentioned, we had decided to dedicate one of our days solely to Angkor Wat. We woke early and rode our e-bikes out to the parking lot of Angkor Wat. In the dark, we made our way to the edge of the pond situated in front of Angkor Wat. Here, we stood with hundreds of other tourists and watched the sun rise from behind the structure. Finally, once the sun was up, doors were opened to enter the building of Angkor Wat. Although it was busy, it is so large that we could easily find corridors and rooms without anyone else in them, making us feel as though we were exploring on our own. Angkor Wat is impressive and we spent a few hours wandering through the halls and grounds of the temple.

With our trip winding down, we were happy that we took the time to visit Cambodia and the Angkor complex. Touring the various temples was a highlight of not only our time in Asia but of our trip overall. It’s hard to summarize what we felt while there other than to say it was special; I look back on this part of our trip happily and would gladly return someday.