TP Trails

As mentioned in our 4,000 Islands blog post, we chose to fly from Pakse to Siem Reap rather than take the bus from the 4,000 Islands. We arrived at the Pakse airport about 1 hour and 45 minutes ahead of the scheduled flight time and were plenty early. The airport is very small (our plane was the only one at the airport when we left), so getting through check-in, departure customs, and security took about 10 minutes. With the extra time, we exchanged our Laos kip into US dollars. The exchange rate wasn’t great, but we had heard that it would be even worse in Cambodia, so might as well take care of it now. I think we ended up losing about $19 USD on the exchange of 1.2 million kip. Our Lao Airlines flight went very smoothly. Upon deboarding, we were walked to the immigration and customs area at the airport. First stop was the “visa on arrival” booth. We handed over our passport with the entrance form, then paid at the next counter ($30/person), waited about two minutes, and finally collected our passport with visa stamp at the end of the counter. Then we went through border control (visa check and fingerprints). The whole process took all of 15 minutes, and we were in Cambodia! Note we did not need any passport-sized photos for the visa at this border control point, but we would have if we crossed by land from the 4,000 Islands (not that it would have mattered for us since we each brought a dozen on our trip).

After getting through customs, we took care of our usual chores and picked up a SIM card ($11 for 7 gb of data over 30 days) and some cash. Cambodia operates in US dollars, except for small change, where they use Cambodian Riel. The ATMs therefore spit out US dollars. Then we grabbed a taxi from the airport to our hotel for $10. Our hotel – the Oriental Siem Reap – was a great value for the money. We booked a deluxe double for about $18/night. For the first night, we were in room #2B2, which is the best room in the hotel in our opinion. Comes with a private balcony and huge bathroom with shower divider wall. Unfortunately, we only booked one night initially and had to move to the third floor the second night when we extended our stay. It was fine, but not nearly as luxurious as #2B2, especially since they are considered the same room types. Regardless, we ended up staying at the Oriental Siem Reap for our entire stay in Siem Reap (total of seven nights). Since we stayed so long here, we were able to enjoy the many sights and experiences at a slower pace, so nothing felt rushed. See below for some of our favorite activities!

Angkor National Museum

On our first day in Siem Reap, we decided to check out the Angkor National Museum to learn a little more about the Angkor Wat complex before visiting. There are about 10 exhibits/galleries and it provides good information on the history, religion, kings, and costumes related to the Khmer Empire. The entrance fee was $12/person. There was plenty of signage and information in English, including videos throughout the exhibits, so we skipped the audio guide. We spent about 2.5-3 hours here, reading practically every sign. I thought it was helpful to better understanding and appreciating the Angkor Wat complex.

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Angkor Wat Complex

We obviously dedicated some of our stay to seeing the Angkor Wat complex. I mean, this is why everyone comes to Cambodia, right? We had booked a tuk tuk the previous day through the hotel starting at 12:30 pm through sunset ($20, plus $3 for sunset). Since it was our first day, the tuk tuk driver took us to the ticketing window (which is about 4 km out of the way, makes sense). We purchased a 3-day ticket for $62 each. There is also a 1-day ticket option and a 7-day ticket option. When you buy the ticket, they take your picture and it gets printed onto the ticket itself to prevent use by others. One nice feature about the 3-day ticket is that it can be used over nonconsecutive days within a week from purchase. This was nice for us because we could take a break from the temples (we are not the biggest history buffs). For our touring of Angkor Wat, we elected not to hire an official tour guide to save some money. Instead, we had downloaded an Angkor Wat app that had a lot of information, plus our hotel had given us a booklet with additional information. We could have hired a guide through our hotel as well. Another option to explore the temples is also by bicycle. But it’s a long way from the town to the complex and it gets hot during the day, so we nixed this and opted for tuk tuk rentals (they wait for you while you visit the temples).

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Day 1

Once the tickets were purchased (only took about 5 minutes), we were off to the temples! We decided to save Angkor Wat and Angor Thom (the two main/largest temples) for last, so today we started with the “Grand Circuit” tour or outside loop (see red route in below map). On the list were the following temples: Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, Eastern Mebon, and Pre Rup (for the sunset). The temples were built at various times throughout the Angkor period (which we learned about at the museum the previous day).

Preah Khan was very large with many interior corridors to explore. A lot of the sections were intact, allowing for passage through most areas. We walked around for about an hour. King Jayavarman VII built this temple in honor of his father. The name “Preah Khan” means “royal sword” in Khmer. This may have served as King Jayavarman VII’s residence. It was a very nice temple to walk around and there weren’t too many crowds. A nice forest surrounded the temple, keeping it somewhat cool and shaded.

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Neak Pean was constructed on a small island (or mebon) at the center of the Prah Khan barray (reservoir) also during King Jayavarman VII’s reign. This temple is quite small, and you can only walk on the outside about 2/3 of the way around. However, we found this to be very peaceful and also not too crowded. You walk on a narrow boardwalk to reach the island – I enjoyed this short walk the most. When we visited, the water levels in the barray was relatively high and the views were very pretty. Flooded trees made for good pictures! We spent around 20-30 minutes at this temple.

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Ta Som is another small temple that was built during King Jayavarman VII’s reign. It was “lost” to the jungle until a restoration effort began in 1998. We assume this must have involved cutting back trees and bushes and perhaps rebuilding some of the stone structures. The east gat/entrance has been overtaken by a large tree, which looks very cool. It’s still standing, but the tree has basically grown around/covering it. Probably this temple’s highlight for us. We sat in the courtyard for 15 minutes or so. When we finished here, it was around 3:30 pm – two temples to go and two hours until sunset.

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Eastern Mebon was next. This temple was built by Rajendravarman II in 953 AD. Unlike those built under Jayavarman VII as Buddhist temples, this temple was dedicated to Shiva (Hindu temple). It was located on an island in the middle of the East Barray (which is now dry) after the East Barray was constructed. Therefore, all construction materials were delivered to the island via boat. This temple was mostly sandstone and pretty large. We walked around here for about 45 minutes but could have completed in around 30 minutes or so.

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Our last temple for the day and the spot where we would be watching the sunset was Pre Rup. This temple was also built by King Rajendravarman II about nine years before Eastern Mebon. We had almost 1.5 hours here before the sunset, so we found a spot in the shade in the courtyard and relaxed. Eventually we made our way up to the top of the temple to snag a spot for the sunset (along with many others). The sunset was pretty over the jungle, but nothing earth shattering for us. Plus we shared the experience with about a hundred other people. Afterwards we met back up with our tuk tuk driver (who was always on the lookout for us and easy to find, which we greatly appreciated!). We drove past Srah Srang, a large pond/reservoir that is also a good spot for the sunrise/sunset. It looked like a lot of locals also used it as a picnicking spot. Our tuk tuk driver dropped us off at the night market upon our request so we could get some dinner after a long day of touring!

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Day 2

We took a couple days off from temple touring before going back to the Angkor Wat complex. After our first day, we had decided that we only needed one more full day at the complex to complete the “Small Circuit” tour (see purple route on map above). Of course, there are many other temples to explore (some well outside of the main Angkor Wat complex), but the two main loops were enough for us. In total, our “Small Circuit” loop took us about 5.5 hours.

Our tuk tuk driver picked us up at 7:30 am for the “Small Circuit” tour. Note that many people choose to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat, but we aren’t huge morning people and from the pictures, it looked like the sunrise view is very crowded, so we skipped it. When we arrived at Angkor Wat, it was just before 8 am and the crowds were not that bad. There is plenty of space to walk around, so we never felt overwhelmed. And we only waited about 10-15 minutes to climb up to the inner tier of the main temple. Constructed during King Suryavarman II’s reign, Angkor Wat is by far the best preserved in the entire complex. Not sure if this is due to better construction techniques or better materials or a combination of the two. The moat around the temple is very large and notable on its own, whereas the inner reflecting pools (where most people take the magical sunrise photo) were a bit lackluster. We and the rest of the crowds entered from the west side through the massive three-tower gate/entrance after crossing the moat. Once through the gate, the views of Angkor Wat are incredible – it looks very foreboding. We spent about 1.5-2 hours walking around Angkor Wat. The bas-reliefs, or carvings, around the exterior temple wall are a must-see, all detailed, but styled differently. We had learned about the bas-reliefs at the mesuem a few days ago. Our favortie was the “Churning of the Ocean Milk” on the east side of the temple, but the others show the mythological Battle of Kuru (west wall), the historical march of the army of Suryavarman II against Cham (north wall), and the scenes of Heaven and Hell (south wall). This was by far our favorite temple in the entire Angkor Wat complex.

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Angkor Thom was the second stop of the day, which included the Bayon temple, made famous by its giant carved heads. At the museum, we learned that it is argued amongst scholars whether the heads are Loksvara (Mahayana Buddhist’s Budhisattva) or a combination of Buddha and Jayavarman VII (as this was constructed under his rule). This temple had previously been engulfed by jungle but has been restored so that we can envision its grandness back in the day. While we enjoyed seeing all of the carved heads, we were a bit underwhelmed by this temple. We next visited Baphoun, another temple in Angkor Thom, which was recently reopened after an extensive restoration project. Originally dismantled in the early 1970s, the project was abandoned in 1975 due to the civil war. Unfortunately, the records were lost during the war, so when the restoration restarted in the 1990s, it was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle. It was finally reopened in 2011. There are some steep steps to the top, but the view is well worth the climb. We preferred this temple to Bayon. From here, we walked to the Terrace of the Elephants, a 300-meter long terrace with a wall adorned with elephant carvings. The Terrace of the Leper King follows right after, which was named for the statue found on top of the terrace. The reason for the name (“Leper King”) is much debated and the original statue now rests in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

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The third stop of the day was Takeo, a temple built under Javayarman V but never finished (likely due to the king’s death). There were not as many carvings at this temple, so it was a quick stop for us (less than 15 minutes).

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Ta Prohm was our fourth stop, known from the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie. Very overgrown and purposely not restored, the visit to this temple was different than most of the others we had seen. The trees are growing in, on, and through the temple remains. Quite a bit of rubble, but that adds to the charm! We entered on the west side and exited on the east side. This was one of Jayavarman VII’s first major temple projects and was dedicated to his mother. We enjoyed this stop on the trip, especially since Patrick used to play Tomb Raider as a kid.

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Our fifth and final stop of the day was Banteay Kdei. At this point, it was after noon and we were both a bit ‘templed out’. So, this was a quick stop, about 15 minutes just to walk around. This temple was also built under Jayavarman VII with a similar style as Ta Prohm. It is also deteriorated, probably due to an inferior grade of sandstone used and poor construction techniques.

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Floating Village Visit

We booked a floating village tour through Adventure Travel Co. There are four floating villages near Siem Reap, but we had read that the Mechrey floating village is one of the less touristy/visited ones, and Adventure Travel Co. seemed to be one of the only companies that toured there (and tours did not run every day). The tour was a sunset tour, so we were picked up from our hotel around 2:40 pm. Unfortunately, Adventure Travel Co. overbooked the tour by one person, so our poor guide had to sit on the cooler in the aisle of the van. The drive to the floating village took two hours, including a short stop at the market where our guide got out to pick up snacks for the boat ride (we did not leave the bus). We also stopped at the village ticket booth so our guide could pay for our visit and we could use the bathroom (last opportunity before the visit). During the high season, this booth is also the boat dock. However, during the low season, we had to drive another 20 minutes to reach the dock. This last stretch is on a very bumpy dirt road since the water floods this area in the high season and they have to rebuild it every year. Finally, we boarded the boat to take us the remaining 15 minutes to the floating village.

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The boat ride was pleasant, and we watched the locals speed past us on their smaller boats as we made our way to the village. When the river opened up into the lake, we had arrived at the village! The location of the village changes during the wet and dry seasons (again, water level dependent). The village is really interesting to see – the homes are built on bamboo and/or oil barrels so that they float as the water levels rise and fall. The village was originally comprised of seven families, which moved to the village after the civil war and Khmer Rouge (around 1975). By living on the lake, families avoid paying taxes. Currently there are over 300 families, so the village has grown significantly. On the tour, our guide shared some interesting facts:

• The largest issues facing the village are bathrooms, or lack thereof (some families have installed septic tanks, but many have not), plastic waste (everyone throws it into the lake, but they are trying to educate villagers to recycle and provide means of disposal), and dams that are being built which may impact their livelihoods.
• They only use the river/lake water to bath and clean clothes. They use bottled/filtered water to clean and cook. There are water stations in the village where everyone can fill up for free.
• There is an elementary school (a large barge) located in the village. If they want to continue education past the elementary level, they have to pay for uniforms, food, and transportation. Many don’t continue school, or the parents will only pay for 1-2 children to go. The rest will remain at home to work.
• They build new homes only in the dry season on land and transfer to the water.
• They move their homes by towing with their boats. Moving their home takes about 3 hours. There are no assigned locations, so everyone can set their boat up wherever they chose in the village.
• During the low season, the water levels are around 0.5-1 meters deep, but during the high season, it can be 10-12 meters deep.
• They have solar panels (installed within the last 5-7 years) on their roofs and antennas to provide power and cable.
• During the dry season, they farm and fish, whereas during the wet season, they only fish.

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For the sunset, we all climbed up to the roof of the boat. Our snacks that our guide had picked up at the market included fruit, banana chips, and fried frogs, beetles and crickets (and a beer for each of us)! The crickets were my favorite of the fried bug selection, but Patrick enjoyed them all. We watched the sunset over the village and enjoyed our beers/snacks. After the sunset, we took the boat back to the dock, loaded back up in the van, and drove the 1.5-2 hours back to Siem Reap. Overall, we really enjoyed the tour and are glad we saw the village. It didn’t feel like we were intruding on these villagers’ lives since we were just riding through on a boat (in fact many of them waved at us). However, it was a very long drive for such a short visit in the village.   

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Pub Street

Pub Street is like a less chaotic version of Khao San Road in Bangkok lined with bars and restaurants catering to tourists, lit up with overhead string lights, and devoid of cars. We surprisingly liked it. While we never got food here (prices are higher), we did indulge in what they advertise as “happy hour” beer specials (but really “happy hour” lasts all day and night) a couple of nights during our stay. It’s a great spot to people watch and waste a few hours. We got drinks at “Temple Bar” and “Angkor What?” bars; Angkor What? was cheaper.

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Siem Reap Cinema

One afternoon/evening, we had some free time and decided to check out the movie theater in town (Major Cineplex Siem Reap). They were playing a few movies in English, and we decided to see Jumanji: The Next Level based on the available movie times. The theater was overall very nice and cheap, only about $2 per ticket! A great option to escape the heat for a little.

Pool Days

Like I mentioned before, we had plenty of time in Siem Reap, so there were a couple afternoons that we wanted to just relax by a pool. Our hotel unfortunately did not have a pool, but there were several hotels that offered day passes in the city. We ended up going to the Somadevi Hotel, where we got pool access and a drink for $5 each! The pool was very clean and relatively large (big enough to swim laps). Plus, there weren’t too many people at the pool, so it was quiet when we were there. There were many drink options (not watered down) – I selected sparkling white wine and Patrick got a mojito. A great way to spend two of our afternoons and for a very reasonable price!

We also looked into the Prince d’Angkor Hotel, which was $8/person and did not include a drink. The pool was nicer, but the cheaper prices and free drink sold us on the Somadevi Hotel.

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Restaurants

During our time in Siem Reap, we ate at several restaurants. I’ve listed our favorites below:

• Darany 3: The BBQ smells from this restaurant pulled us in on the first night. We ordered chicken, pork, beef, beef tongue, mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper for our BBQ. They brought us out hot coals and placed a grate on top. The meat and veggies were marinated in something delicious and spicy enough. We always enjoy the BBQ-type restaurants, and this was no different. Plus, it was packed with locals. A pricier meal at about $20 total.
• Tevy’s Place: Good (perhaps lacking a little bit of spice), cheap food, and more importantly, supports a good cause. Tevy was forced to leave her home during the genocide and lost most of her family. She opened the restaurant to support herself and her mother. Her business also supports many other women who work there.
• Spoons: another restaurant with a good cause. It offers training and employment in the hospitality industry as part of the non-profit EGBOK (Everthing’s Gonna Be OK). Food was good, but expensive. The menu is a fancy spin on some traditional Cambodian dishes. We ordered the duck breast, chicken fish curry, and a banana cake with coconut cream for dessert. Our bill totaled at $38.50.
• Food stalls: line the Siem Reap River along Pokambor Ave at night. We ate here a few times – tried some curries, fried noodles/rice dishes, and Patrick’s favorite, a baguette with pate and pickled vegetables (similar to a Bahn Mi). Very cheap (less than $2 per meal) and tasty!
• Romchong: near “our” pool spot (Somadevi Hotel). Patrick absolutely loved the curries here. We also enjoyed the fried rice dishes and fish amok (a Cambodian classic). Meal sizes are plentiful, and prices are reasonable ($7.50 for meals with drinks).
• Rice Thai: this was down the street from our hotel, so we ate dinner here a couple nights. Good Thai food, but on the expensive side. We ordered chicken stir fry, beef dry curry, chicken drunken noodle, and tamarind duck. If you ask for spicy, they will deliver!
• Paris Bakery: also down the street from our hotel. We had not had bread on this trip very often, so this French bakery was a very welcomed break from rice and noodles. We got breakfast and lunch here a few times. The quiche and baguette sandwiches are delicious, as are the pastries (buy three get one free in the mornings). We also picked up a slice of cheesecake one night to treat ourselves. Sandwiches were $5.50 each and the quiches were $3.50.
• Siem Reap Brewery: we didn’t get any food here, but we did spend a couple hours one afternoon drinking flights of craft beer! Up until now, we had only been drinking the typical light lagers. A flight of four, 12 oz. samplers was only $3. Selection and taste was pretty good considering we were in Cambodia!

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Overall, we really loved Siem Reap, but the town is definitely built around tourism. While we did find a few spots with great food, there were many places that offered relatively bland flavors, which we had not expected in Southeast Asia. We learned to specify spicy whenever possible.

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In Siem Reap, we also had to make some decisions about how long we wanted to stay in Cambodia. For us, this ended up being tied to where we wanted to spend Christmas since that was only a week or so away. Based on what we had read, more people celebrate Christmas in Vietnam, so we decided to head to Ho Chi Minh City. Unfortunately, this shortened our time in Cambodia, so we didn’t explore as much as we should/could have. Once we made this decision, we applied for our Vietnam Visas using the new(ish) eVisa system. We received our visa about 1.5 days after applying – very quick and easy process (see the Ho Chi Minh blog post for more details)!