Siem Reap Temple-a-thon

Disclaimer: This post is waaaaaaaaaaay overdue, so I hope I give it even a teensy bit of justice.

Important things to remember:

• Siem Reap local time is GMT+7 (Manila time is GMT+8)
• You can use US Dollars for your daily spending in Siem Reap
• 1 USD = 4,000 riels
• Some temples are strict, clothing-wise. They will not allow ladies who wear shorts or sleeveless shirts to enter.
• Make sure you wear VERY comfortable shoes. There are almost 6-8  hours of walking per day.

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We spent four glorious days in Siem Reap. Barring the horrendous (HORRENDOUS!!) bus ride from Ho Chi Minh, this for me is the best part of the trip.

Wanting to scrimp, we decided to take the bus to Siem Reap. Official timetables say the road trip will take eight hours. It took us 12 long, uncomfortable ones. We booked the bus (USD 22) through our hotel in Ho Chi Minh, with the tickets to be claimed on the day of the trip. We were issued two tickets each -- one for Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh, and another from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

Soon after boarding the first bus, we were given a complimentary bottle of water. Thanks! The bus was clean, but maybe a couple of years old. There wasn't much legroom, and they allow you to stow your luggage in a compartment under the bus. A few minutes after, the bus conductor went around collecting passports. We reached the Vietnam-Cambodia border around 40 minutes after departure. This is a good time to watch the city pass you by, and see less the urban part of the country. As usual, there were motorcycles galore! So funny to see two riders talking to each other while they zip through the country!

The bus conductor will take care of submitting the passports to the customs officials. We only had to wait for our names to be called, approach the customs officer, and receive our visa stamp. There are toilets available (I paid 3,000 dong to use one), although they are not too clean. But with a lot of hours of travel ahead, might as well take the opportunity.

We stopped over at a roadside eatery for lunch just after passing the border. It is not too different from the bus stops on the way north here in the Philippines, albeit you have to pay in USD. We then proceeded to drive drive drive ride a bus-ferry then drive some more. We reached Phnom Penh late in the afternoon and had to transfer to the next bus which will take us onward to Siem Reap.

Now this bus is not too well-kept. The curtains are dirty, the air conditioning is moody, and of course we can't understand the variety show they kept on showing on the TV. It is frustrating because we made a lot of stops -- the bus kept on picking up passengers along the way -- and there are too many pit stops. By the time 8pm rolled around, we were nowhere near Siem Reap and were passing through unlit narrow streets.

We got to Siem Reap at around 11pm. It was raining so hard, the bus terminal was muddy, and we have no ride to the hotel. I was so tired and irritated that I swore I am not doing that road trip EVER AGAIN.

We booked a tuktuk (USD 5) to take us to Golden Banana. The driver didn't know where it was, so we had to stop to ask for directions. We got to the hotel just the same and I was so glad that the staff was very, very helpful. They gave us the key and told us to just go to bed and we'll do the check-in requirements the next day. Thank God.

Day 1

The hotel's name may be funny, and it may be described as "gay-friendly" but who cares! The place was really pretty.  We had breakfast by the pool and the staff helped me plan our routes for the tour. I have picked some of the temples we just HAD to go to, based on Lonely Planet and friends' recommendations.

We also have a bucket
swing in our room's balcony!

We booked our tuktuk for the whole of our stay with the hotel (USD 10 per day, additional charge for temples further away, and for sunrise or sunset viewings). There are a lot of tuktuks parked outside, waiting for passengers, but we wanted to make sure that we have a driver we can easily communicate with (i.e., English speaking). We got Mr Din, who speaks VERY good English.

The hotel also provided us a map of the surrounding area, with areas of interest clearly marked. They also gave us a booklet with short histories of each temple. Neat!

First stop is the ticket office, where we got a three-day pass to all temples (USD 40). They take your picture and put your name on the ticket. DO NOT LOSE THIS TICKET! You will need to present this at every temple you visit.

• Preah Khan
• Preah Neak Poan
• Ta Sohm
• Banteay Srei - Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT ever miss this temple!
• Banteay Samre

We had lunch in one of the restaurants inside the archeological park, and we learned a lot from Din. We learned that he really tried to learn English, because hotels are wont to book you if you do not know how to. We also learned that a lot of Filipinos visit Siem Reap (and so he thought we are all rich because we can afford to travel). We also learned that Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera are very famous in Cambodia.

We also decided against getting a tour guide. One of our friends said that they say the same thing every time, so we just relied on our trusty Lonely Planet plus the brochures we got from the hotel.

We tried watching the sunset, but it was cloudy and it just got dark slowly. :(

Day 2

And yet more temples! This time we stayed inside the Angkor Archeological Park. There are lots of kids offering postcards, used guidebooks, and other trinkets. Some people suggest not buying from them, as it encourages them to skip school and work. It's up to you if you want to buy. Don't hesitate to say "No" though, as they can be very persistent.

• Ta Prohm - also known as the Tomb Raider temple. There is a tree marked, no joke, "Tomb Raider tree" on the maps.
• Ta Keo



One of the many faces in
Bayon

• Chau Say Tevoda
• Thommanon
• Bayon
• Baphuon
• Phimeanakas
• Terrace of the Elephants
• Terrace of the Leper King
• Angkor Wat

We had a lot of fun investigating the bas reliefs, looking for the things listed in the guidebooks on the actual carvings. It's better if you can get to read up on the history of each temple so you can better appreciate them. :)

Also, mountain temples are scary and very hard to climb!

Day 3

This day is for the farther temples of Rolous, which is actually older than the Angkor temples.

We also visited the workshop of DY Proeung, and when we got back to town went shopping at Artisans d' Angkor.

• Bakong
• Preah Ko
• Lo Lei

We had dinner at the Angkor Mondial to watch the cultural dance. They offer a dinner buffet at USD 15 per person, but no drinks are included.

Day 4

Check out day. So sad that our Cambodia retreat is about to end. We even received a little souvenir from Golden Banana!

I strongly suggest you stay in this resort hotel if you do visit Cambodia. We had a huge room -- two floors, one big bed downstairs and another one upstairs. The staff is very friendly and helpful, the place is far enough from all the noise of downtown but near enough that you can walk to Pub Street. Breakfast is included in the room price, which is served by the pool area. They only have set meals, but everything we tried is soooooo good. I absolutely loved their french press coffee and the bowl of fresh fruits.

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Miscellany:

• It is very much worth your money to eat at Haven, right past Pub Street. Make sure to check if they are open before heading there!
• I wasn't very impressed with Blue Pumpkin (heard so much about it).
• Support Artisans d' Angkor!
• A meal for three people (we always invite Mr Din to eat with us for lunch) is usually less than USD 20 with drinks and around three kinds of viand.