Siem Reap Snapshots

The city of Siem Reap seems busy at first, but the action is confined to a geographically small area and even a baby on a scooter can navigate it easily within a few days. 

There are all kinds of restaurants here; we stuck with Khmer food as much as possible but if you need a pizza or taco you can find it. Below is a green mango salad from Peace Cafe, a super chill Khmer vegetarian restaurant set in a outdoor garden. Also a good spot to watch lizards eat moths around the laterns once the sun goes down. 

Here's a delicious lotus flower salad with peanuts and basil. This is from a Khmer restaurant close to the temples with tourist prices, which reminds me: bring plenty of $USD and small bills. Everyone wants $USD. 

Our last night, we stumbled onto a parade going to Pub Street. The floats were wild and it every child in Siem Reap seemed to be there, too. 

Scooters are common here, so that means the ubiquitous street side gas stations stay busy. They look like lemonade stands (or maybe a cash bar), but those are bottles of fuel to gas up! Below, a tuk-tuk waits in the back.

We stayed at the Petit Temple. Funny story, we booked at the Petit Villa and stayed the first night at Somadevi, but I can get into detail on that for any interested parties. 

The Petit Temple was a cool hotel and Maraini at the front desk was a great lady. I wish I had more time in Cambodia.  

Around Angkor on 3 Wheels

Day two of temple-touring happened by way of tuk-tuk (at the bottom I'll explain more on that) and we chose 4 sites based on the personal recommendations of Jason the former Monk. 

First we went to Preah Khan. A simple complex to navigate with plenty of passageways and crumbling walls. The restoration work done (see ressambled tower below and supported wall above) was very effective. 

Next, we went to Ta Som. It's small, but definitely worth a visit. The east gate (below) is nearly overgrown by a tree, which is so cool and gives you an idea of how the temples might have looked when they were first stumbled upon. 

We also stopped at Banteay Srei, known for the pinkish stone and detailed carvings (also why some know it as the woman temple). It was my least favorite so I'm not posting a picture of it, but instead one of this woman's sun battling outfit. 

The ride out to Banteay Srei (it's about 25 min further than most of the others) was more interesting than the temple itself, which was the more developed and  regulated site. We drove through local towns, passing kids on the way to school and people making palm sugar cubes in their front yards. 

Our last stop was Pre Rup, a site they think may have been a royal crematorium at some point. It's a popular sunset destination now, but it was only 2pm so we just sweat our faces off instead. The highlight is a giant (climbable) structure in the center surrounded by tiny steep steps. You can see Nan at the bottom below. 

Tip: It's a hot business, exploring temples. Make sure you wear SPF. Hats are not hard to come by once there (see below), and water is available for sale everywhere, too. 

Why hire an all-day tuk-tuk? If you choose to hire a tuk-tuk for the day, the driver picks you up and drops you off at all the different sites--staring and ending at your hotel. It's simpler than navigating alone because many are spread out, plus the tuk-tuk ride helps dry you off (#sweat) before you're back at it. You pay $15-30 for the whole day depending on how early you start and how far out you go. Sok Menea was our driver and he had cold water and towels waiting to meet us after each stop. Like. 

Cambodia Airport Arrival

Not as bad as Vietnam, but close! Here are some tips I should have known but didn't if you're heading there. 

1. Bring $30 cash for your tourist visa. 

2. Bring a passport picture for your visa app. You can also pay $2 if you don't have one. 

3. Make sure the airline gives you a arrival/departure card while you are on the plane. Our plane "ran out" and this caused problems in customs. You will fill out about 3-4 forms with all the same info once there. 

4. Get in the visa line right away once off the plane. They'll take your passport, money, form, and picture. Then you wait in another line and eventually a man will yell your name (see pic above) and hand the passport back. The visa should be inside. 

Besides that process the airport in Siem Reap seems small and easy. 

Angkor Wat by Bicycle

Whoa! Angkor temples!

So Cambodian's ancient Khmer empire  (roughly 800-1500AD) is responsible for all these incredible temples. They were abandoned, overgrown by the jungles, and then "rediscovered" by a French man in 1860ish. 

Angkor Wat is the most famous. We did the obligatory sunrise trek - very cool, but it was hazy so not mind-blowing. We spent the rest of the day biking around with Grasshopper. 

There are a ton of library buildings around the temple complexes. Here's one. In general, I was shocked by how little it's regulated. You can almost go anywhere you want. 

Sam showed us around all day. He was a monk from age 11 until 22, then decided the monk life wasn't his calling and left to become a temple guide. This picture is Sam with carvings of dancers. They're all over the place and were clearly Sam's favorite so I have my own theory on why Sam left his monkdom behind. 

Below is a Khmer man taking a break. Please notice the detailed carvings in the stone that are like 800 years old.

We ate breakfast in the jungle and then biked to Ta Prohm. This is a famous site because Angelina Jolie was a tomb raider here whenever she made that movie. 

The moss and lichen cover the ancient stone, and I bet in the rainy season it looks even cooler. If you're wondering, the trees grew on/into/over the stones after the temples were abandoned, so they'd be about 400 years max. The general philosophy now for conservation is they only remove the tree if it's making the temple unsafe. 

The Angkor Thom complex is even bigger than Angkor Wat. Both have a man-made moat surrounding them, that is full of water even today. Look how wide it is!

We biked along the top of the gate/wall the encloses Angkor Thom. I was surprised to see small villages and homes within blocks of all these temples. 

Within Angkor Thom is Bayon, known for the 54 towers that each have 4 faces each (symbolizing charity, sympathy, equality, and compassion). That's over 200 heads carved! Check out the gate above for an example. 

Tips:

- 1 day temple pass is $20 cash. 

- 3 day pass is $60 cash, you can come and go.

- It's not hard to spend the whole day exploring, by 2 pm you'll be drenched. 

- Anti-recommend flip flops. Stone paths are uneven and lots of climbing involved. 

- Cover your shoulders and knees at Angkor Wat. 

- Water is for sale everywhere. Also souvenirs. 

The Route

Click to enlarge

Here's a look at the route.

The plane leaves from Madison to Chicago. From there we fly to Tokyo - that's a 14-hour flight so I'll be a dead person. Then we go to Bangkok, which takes 6 hours (a breeze). The map route shown here begins in Bangkok.

 Bangkok, Thailand January 28-30
 Koh Samui island, Thailand January 31
 Several cities (bike ride) February 1-7
 Krabi, Thailand February 7-9
 Bangkok February 10
 Chiang Mai, Thailand February 10-13
 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam February 13-16
 Phu Quoc island, Vietnam February 16-19
 Siem Reap, Cambodia February 19-22
 Bangkok to fly back February 23