Wat about Siem Reap?!

We had six nights and five full days in Siem Reap which was the perfect length of time to temple hop, relax and enjoy this hip city. It also helped that our hotel, The Aviary, was awesome! The Aviary (definitely not for the backpacker budget…but hey we booked months ago when we were still employed!) is a chic boutique hotel (only 25 rooms), in a great location. But what made it awesome was the welcoming, super friendly and helpful staff!

As everyone knows Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples of Angkor and a trip to Angkor Wat (the most famous temple) was first on our itinerary. Before I go into detail, a big thank you to Jen and Luke with whom we explored Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and who came up with our great temple hopping itinerary! 

The afternoon we arrived in Siem Reap we got a tuk tuk from the hotel to take us to the ticket booths from which you get passes to the temples. The ticket booths are open until 5.30pm and you can purchase a one day pass (currently $20) or a three day pass which can be used over a week (currently $40 but we were told that prices would shortly be going up quite significantly). If you get the passes in the evening you can ask that they start the next day but you can also get into Angkor Wat, which is close by, that same evening (essentially for free) and be there for sunset. And this was exactly what we did, after we got our three day pass. It’s also good to get the passes the day before if you plan to hit the temples early the next day.

We didn’t actually get into the Angkor Wat temple itself that evening (as the temple shuts at 5.30pm and we arrived at 5.31pm – they are super strict!) but we did cross the bridge over the massive moat (which looks more like a river! Incredible to think that it was man made) and had our first sight of this magnificent structure! 

They next day we woke up at 4am. Luke booked a day tour with the Happy Angkor Wat Tour company and our guide Sothorn, or Thorn as he likes to be called, picked us up at 4.30am. With packed breakfast from the hotel (most hotels do this so you just need to remember to ask) we headed to Angkor Wat for the sunrise. We sat on the steps of the moat, ate our breakfast, and waited for the sun. Seeing the sun go up with Angkor Wat silhouetted in the distance is truly magical and I think a must on any Siem Reap/Angkor itinerary. 

Following the sunrise we crossed the moat and for the first time entered the Angkor Wat complex. Apparently post sunrise a lot of the larger tour groups go off for breakfast so it didn’t feel too crowded and with the guidance of Thorn we didn’t have to line up for too long to get up to the higher terraces. 

Post Angkor Wat we headed to the hidden temple, Ta Nei. A cute little temple with hardly any people which was great but the highlight (at least for Daz and me) was seeing the gibbons. Although Daz has posted a couple of pics on Instagram I couldn’t help including another one.

Although the temperature was quite comfortable (if not a little chilly) early in the morning, it did start to heat up by 8am and it was great to jump in an air-conditioned van in between temples and have Thorn hand us cold towels to freshen up. 

Post lunch we headed to Ta Promh temple, which is famous due to its appearance in the Tomb Raider movie and also because of the massive trees taking over the buildings. 

Our last stop of the day was Bayon temple at Angkor Thom (this was at about 2-3 pm which is a great time to visit this temple as it’s a bit quieter). Bayon or as we like to call it the happy temple, due to its many smiling faces, was definitely my favourite of the day and again a must! 

Thorn was a great guide, very friendly and informative and we had a good laugh (starting with Thorn referring to the toilet as the ‘happy place’). Apart from telling us about the temples, Thorn also tolds us about Cambodian culture and life in Cambodia today. 

After a long hot day at the temples there’s nothing better than a cold beer! Made even sweeter when the beer is 50 cents (this was the cheapest we found on the famous Pub Street, although most places had draught beer at happy hour for 75 cents). 

We alternated between temple and non-temple days. With most people doing the temple run in the mornings, the pool at the Aviary, was a great place to swim and laze for a few hours post breakfast. 

Continuing our temple exploration, one afternoon we got the tuk tuk from the hotel, with our favourite driver, Botra, and headed to Banteay Srei, the pink temple (about one hour tuk tuk ride from the city).

On route we stopped at the Landmine Museum. A review I read refers to it as a small but powerful museum which I think is the perfect description.   

The museum was established by Aki Ra,  a child soldier of the Khmer Rouge (during which time he planted a lot of landmines) who later fought with the Vietnamese army. Aki Ra (which is the name he chose for himself) returned to Cambodia after the war and started clearing landmines by hand himself, dismantling thousands of land mines dotting the Cambodian countryside. The use of landmines and their continued impact on innocent civilians including many children is truly shocking. Although the number of landmines has been significantly reduced, sadly there are still estimated to be between four and six million landmines in the Cambodian countryside today. 

The Landmine Museum also serves as a school and a home for children who were victims of the landmines or from difficult backgrounds. When we arrived at the museum we noticed a wish list for the children, consisting of basic necessities. We wished that we had known about this as we definitely could have and would have brought these items.  I’m posting the list on the blog in case any of the readers head to Siem Reap and are able to take these things. 

Banteay Srei is a small temple constructed mainly from red stone and decorated with beautiful carvings. We arrived around 4.30pm (the temple shuts at 5.30pm) and wandered peacefully around the temple along with only half a dozen or so other tourists. Perfect timing! On route back to Siem Reap we watched the beautiful sunset as our tuk tuk sped back towards the city – a perfect ending to our afternoon of exploring. 

We debated whether to go back to the temples for a third time and if so whether we should hire bikes and ride. Due to the heat we decided to skip the bikes and do a walk along the walls of Angkor Thom instead. We got a tuk tuk to drop us off at the South Gate and wait for us until our return.

We left the wall at the West Gate and cut to Baphuon temple (which is very close to Bayon temple). The temple is described as the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle as it lay in 300,000 pieces and had to be painstakingly assembled by a team of French architects without any plans (the plans were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge). The entrance to the temple is via a long narrow bridge and the temple has a few terraces. You can climb right to the top for some great views! 

From Baphuon we headed back to the South Gate, with the total walk taking about three hours. All in all we had a great few hours (and got some exercise!) and Baphuon was definitely worth seeing. 

There is however much more to Siem Reap than the nearby temples. Siem Reap has a resort town feel and due to the number of tourists and expats has many cool cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.  I have listed a few of our faves below. 

Phare, the famous Cambodian circus, although established in Battambang (our next stop), also holds performances in Siem Reap and we were all keen to go. The circus has a school which trains vulnerable children and young adults with the aim of transforming their lives. We got the hotel to book our tickets in advance, the circus is super popular and after seeing a show we can definitely understand why! The show we saw had an important lesson – differences should be accepted! The story was delivered showcasing amazing strength, balance, and acrobatic skill as well as with great humour! We were tempted to try to go again in Battambang.

We were also lucky to be staying a few minutes walk from Kandal Village (Hap Guan St). A quiet little side street with awesome cafes, restaurants and lovely small shops selling handicrafts. Our faves were the Red Fox Espresso (great for iced coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and vegemite), Vibe (awesome smoothies and healthy salads), and Mamma Shop (tasty pizza and pasta). 

Other favourites restaurants and bars around Siem Reap included: 

• the Sugar Palm restaurant  – for a traditional meal in a beautiful setting; 
• Gelato Lab – they have dark chocolate and Kampot pepper flavoured ice cream…yum! Our love for Kampot pepper first began in Phnom Penh – it is amazing and should be part of every dish;
• Miss Wongs cocktail bar – the cocktails weren’t the best but it’s a cute little bar with lovely decor and the food was yummy; 
• Asana Old Wooden House – although this is a cocktail bar we had Cambodian bbq there. Forget the cocktails, go for the bbq! We had some seriously tasty meats…followed by a 12 hour food induced coma (we were in bed by 9.30pm!); and 
• FCC Siem Reap – a beautiful building along the river. Great for happy hour cocktails (5-7pm). Their Hemingway Special was the best cocktail of the whole trip so far!

Siem Reap also has many cute little shops selling artisanal goods and handicrafts. Although neither our budget nor our full rucksacks allow for much shopping we couldn’t help but purchase a couple of small things. One area we liked was the King’s Road village within which the Made in Cambodia Market is located. As the name suggests all items are produced by the locals and there were stalls selling beautiful items made by young adults with impaired hearing. We also visited Theam’s House which I would describe as a house/museum/workshop/shop. Theam is a Cambodian artist who is helping revitalise Cambodian handicrafts and also train young artists. The house is a short tuk tuk ride from town but not all drivers know where it is so it is helpful to have the address. 

Reminiscent of Thailand, Siem Reap has a massage parlour on every corner. Jen and I had a cheeky post dinner foot massage one evening just off Pub Street. But for a full body massage we decided to do our research. We chose the midrange Lotus Dream Spa as it had great reviews and was very conveniently located to our hotel (just near Kandal Village). We decided to go for the 90 minute full body Khmer massage which was 18 USD (compared with the fancier spas where the cost was approximately 40 USD) and it was great! Khmer massage is very similar to Thai massage, that is, the therapists use their body to stretch you and put pressure on muscles and pressure points.  Daz and Luke decided it was not for them.

In short (and in case you can’t tell from this post) we loved Siem Reap and the temples! 

Next: Battambang…just the two of us…