Discover one of Asia's most impressive temples
A visit to Siem Reap is an absolute must during your trip to Cambodia. My favorite destination in this special country. The biggest attraction of Siem Reap is the temple complex of Angkor. The most famous temple of this complex is the Angkor Wat. This is the largest religious monument in the world, consisting of an area of over 162 hectares. Make your visit to Angkor unforgettable by enjoying a wonderful sunrise at the symbol of Cambodia.
Visit the Angkor temples
Start your day with a sunrise at Angkor Wat. This is a magical experience! I would highly recommend arranging a private TukTuk driver for the entire day. The driver knows the complex well and also knows where it is most busy and at what times. This way you can discover the entire complex at your own pace. You can usually arrange this through your accommodation, but it is also possible to negotiate with a driver on the street in Siem Reap. The entrance fee for 1 day in Angkor is $37 per person. Also count on about $20 per person for the Tuktuk. If you would like to go out with a guide, this will of course also incur additional costs.
After the sunrise at the impressive templeAngkor Wat, the symbol of Cambodia, you have the entire day to visit a number of other beautiful temples. Below I have listed a number of beautiful temples:
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Bayon: An impressive temple with 54 towers, each with four faces.
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Ta Prohm:A temple complex that has largely been taken over by nature, with enormous trees that have woven themselves through the stones. This temple is very famous because of the Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie.
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Angkor Thom:A large walled city that served as the capital of the Khmer Empire.
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Banteau Srie:this smaller temple looks different from the other temples in Angkor, because of the pink sandstone.
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Preah Khan:A temple complex with a maze of corridors, rooms and galleries.
Each temple has its own unique charm and history, and it is well worth exploring them during your visit to Angkor Wat.
Floating village near Tonlé Sap Lake
Through our hostel in Siem Reap we booked a tour to a floating village near Tonlé Sap Lake. Tonlé Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, located in the heart of Cambodia. It is very special to learn more about how the local people live and work around the lake. Their life is actually very primitive. All houses are on stilts, because in October to December the water is so high that people have to go everywhere by boat. In the dry months of the year, the lake's water surface shrinks to 2,500 square kilometers, but in the monsoon season the lake covers a huge area of 12,000 square kilometers. The lake is extremely important for fishing in Cambodia.
What else can you do in Siem Reap ?
Siem Reap is an ideal destination to enjoy the vibrant city life with a very nice nightlife (pub street) and delicious restaurants. Here are some more nice tips for Siem Reap:
Score fun souvenirs at the Night Market
Explore the Cambodian countryside by scooter
Eat a fried tarantula at the Bugs Café (so you know for sure it's prepared well)
Visit the Landmine Museum
An impression of my experiences in Angkor
Got up very early this morning. for the highlight of our trip in Cambodia. At 04:30 we were picked up by our private tuktuk driver (with a superman tuktuk). On to the Angkor temples! These temples were built in the 9th to 13th centuries. Angkor was the ancient capital of Cambodia. The most famous and largest templeof the world is also located here, the Angkor Wat. Around half past six we could enjoy a very beautiful and magical sunrise! After it became light, we visited the temple. When we wanted to walk back to our driver, we were half attacked by a number of monkeys. I still had some bananas in my bag. Fortunately, Angie shouted very loudly for me to quickly let go of my bag with the food... Monkeys are so scary. Fortunately, we could then continue on our temple hunt! I think we visited 10 to 11 temples. We had really great weather and the crowds in terms of mass tourism were not too bad! We had chosen a route that most people do not take, so we were able to largely avoid the hordes of Chinese. Only at the last temple, Angkor Thom, were we squashed between all the tourists. This was really hilarious to experience. We didn't get back to the hostel until around 4:00 PM. We did get a bit 'temple tired' halfway through the day. So a full day was really enough! Really enjoyed all the beautiful temples!
How to get to Siem Reap?
From Battambang you can reach Siem Reap by bus within 4 to 5 hours. Another option is to travel by boat from Battambang to Siem Reap during the high season. However, this does take some timeim a whole day (7 to 10 hours), but it is a unique experience! From Phnom Penh you can count on a travel time of 5 to 6 hours by bus.
Stay overnight
Basic: Onederz Siem Reapor for the party people:Mad Monkey
Standard: Eightfold Urban Resort
Luxury: Anasaya La Maison
Continue your journey
If you follow a different itinerary then'my ideal itinerary', you can continue your journey to Phnom Penh, Battambang or Koh Rong. It is also possible to travel from Siem Riep to the neighboring countries Laos or Thailand.
