As the sun rises at Angkor Watt, Siem Reip, Cambodia- back in 2017
I had a message the other day from a friend for over 45 years in the UK asking about my trip to Cambodia. So , Nadya, I dug out my old photos for you!
Like many others I thought you could do Cambodia in 3 days- one in Siem Reip to see the temples and two in Phnom Pehn , the capital. Looking back now it's a bit like people thinking they can do Palawan in 3 days- Underground River, El Nido and Puerto Princessa! They forget the 6 hour van journey between Puerto and El Nido, and the hours van ride to the Underground river and a day on boats in each location! So in the end I visited Cambodia 3 times in 2016, 2017 and 2019 , twice in Siem Reip, Three times in Phnom Pehn and a flight to Sihanoukville as well as a couple of nights on Koh Ron Island. Let us start with Siem Reip.
Both time I stayed at Sarai Resort and Spa where I had a cookery lesson each trip and a Massage, and they arranged my tours to Angkor Watt and the Temples. The guides were excellent and knew the best way to avoid the crowds ( we had a car and driver and went in the reverse order to the coaches!) and get the best pictures. The sunrise at Angkor Watt is an obligatory Photo but means an early start ( 4 am) to get your tickets ( there are some 50 ticket counters that open at 5 am and there are long queues- you have your photo taken and have to wear your pass all the time as there are regular checks on all the roads between the temples. Sadly the sun did not shine the first time so I went back a year later to get a better picture!
Waiting for the sun to rise at Angkor Watt- daily about 2,000 people take the same photo!
There are so many Instagrammable spots and if you are travelling alone like me and have a good guide he will show you them all and even take your photos, as well as telling you the history of the place and pointing out items of interest. On both trips the hotel arranged a guide for me and both were excellent. The first time I spent the whole day and visited all the temples, and the second time I just did the sunrise at Angkor Watt and lazed by the hotel pool in the afternoon.
The food at the hotel was amazing and they served it beside the pool
Pre COV19 Cambodia was experiencing a Tourism boom having lagged behind Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. It's temples appeared in Blockbuster movies like Tomb Raider with Lara Croft and the temples area was very well organised with maps, guides, etiquette for tourists etc . I was very impressed with all I saw.
The Pool at Sarai- as well as the seats on the edges of the pool ( half in the sun, half in the shade) the bedrooms look onto the pool with lovely window seats.
Unlike the capital SR is still small enough ( or was in 2019!) to walk around and it was a joy to discover the museum, post office, temples and other buildings of interest. There is also a lively night life with the night market , Pub Street ( a bit like walking street in Pattaya, Thailand) and so on. Hopefully you can now see why 0ne day is not enough to do the place justice with a night drinking on Pub street and a 4 am start for the sunrise at Angkor Watt and the day walking around the temples! 3 days is probably enough for a night out, a day around the town and relaxing by the pool, an early night and then the early start at the temple and a relaxing massage when you get back.
Wearing one of my tee shirts from Kuya Dino!
The Angkor National Museum is a fascinating place to visit with audio guide and a coffee shop. Some of the artifacts have been moved to Phnom Pehn but many still remain here in Siem Reip. Make sure you get some Angkor spices and Joss sticks- I still have some Lemon Grass ones which I use occasionally. I also bought a Cambodian Cookery book! So if you are visiting the Blue House and want to try some of my Cambodian Cuisine let me know!
I love the way the Cambodian food is presented in Banana leaves and beautifully decorated and the taste is very mild.
I bought this in Cambodia to go with the recipe cards I got from my two cookery sessions at Siem Reip
To my embarrassment the cookery lesson was in the courtyard at the front of the hotel and with all the photos being taken some arriving guests thought we were filming for Master Chef! Guess who got the pink vegetable peeler!
Wandering around Siem Reip was a pleasure with lots of pretty buildings, coffee shops, restaurants and gardens to explore
My final bit of advice on Siem Reip would be to pay more for a private tour so you can stop when and where you want and beat the crowds. The good guides know the standard route and timings taken by the larger tour groups so they can tailor your route to your interests and to avoid the large groups.
They also do these tours daily and know where all the sights are so will make sure you do not miss anything! For many years the temple grounds were overrun by trees and wild vegetation and even now many of the temples are being restored .
My first class ticket from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
Just to end with a funny story- I planned my trip ( I visited SR after going to Thailand and before PP) and then the hotels and finally the airlines. The airline that runs the flight from SR to PP is very small and does not accept credit card so I booked everything else and then set up a paypal account to confirm this ticket. However by then all the economy tickets had sold out and I had to fly first. When I turned up I discovered the whole flight was economy apart from 2 first class seats! It was hilarious being served chilled juice and the curtains being drawn so I could get off first. Of course we all used the same coach and had to get our luggage together!
I will be back with more from Cambodia in another blog from Phnom Pehn- and will close with a picture of me writing a blog by the pool at the Saria Resort and Spa in Siem Reip.
Writing my old Blog, "Brit in Bahrain , Occasionally" by the pool at Saria Resort and Spa
You can find an earlier Blog I wrote about Cambodia here:
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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