On Monday, we caught our second "VIP" bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the town near Angkor Wat. Thankfully, the 5.5 hr ride was smooth and uneventful and we arrived mid-afternoon at our hotel.
We're staying at the Golden Orange Hotel (A, nice communal balconies, low-key, with the mother of all ceiling fans and good free breakfasts). This was one of the few hotels we didn't do much research for as we had 2 personal recommendations: 1. Angele, a friend of a friend we met in Bangkok and 2. the Andrus Family, travel bloggers we followed before leaving.
While internetting that first evening, we started talking to an American-Irish couple, who are also on an extended trip (4 months). It's always fun to talk to other travelers, but we were particularly interested as they had just come from South America, a place we fly to next month. In fact, a couple (Australian-British) they met from the Inca Trail was also staying at this Hotel. All 6 of us have had dinner together almost every night, comparing and swapping travel stories. It's nice to have friends to come "home" to.
Siem Reap is a surprisingly happening and pleasant town, with a walking-only Pub Street, surrounded by a variety of both cheap and fancy-shmancy hotels. It's not at all like India's Agra (Taj Mahal's town). It's touristy, but not tacky touristy. I would recommend this place to anyone as a great introduction to Asia. And the food, it's delicious! I'm a sucker for the Cambodian coconut curries and fish or chicken amok. In fact, we returned twice to a popular restaurant on Pub Street called Khmer Family Restaurant. The chicken curry is to die for...like Clarendon's Delhi Club good! We also spent some time at the local markets. Lee got his Krama, a local scarf, at the night market (a bit touristy) and we picked up some toiletries at the daily central market.
And now, what you've all been waiting for: Angkor Wat. I'm sure you're wondering if it was disappointing to us like our first world wonder. Good news is that it was not! We were both impressed. Just the temple itself is large, not including it's surrounding land with moat and walls. It has 3 inner courtyards, each higher than the previous. We were a bit disappointed to find out that you can no longer climb the steep third level of stairs anymore, but it turned out to be OK because we were able to do that at the other temples and ruins in the Angkor Archaeological Park.
We bought a 1 day ticket to the park, which allowed us to see Angkor Wat twice, once for sunset the evening before and then the next day. I'm glad we got to experience it two times. We spent the rest of the second day exploring other sites, such as:
As we prepare to leave the country tomorrow, I have to say that I'm glad we came to Cambodia. It's surprised me with it's food, sites and culture. Granted, my first impressions weren't good but that's no longer the case and I recommend it.
We're staying at the Golden Orange Hotel (A, nice communal balconies, low-key, with the mother of all ceiling fans and good free breakfasts). This was one of the few hotels we didn't do much research for as we had 2 personal recommendations: 1. Angele, a friend of a friend we met in Bangkok and 2. the Andrus Family, travel bloggers we followed before leaving.
While internetting that first evening, we started talking to an American-Irish couple, who are also on an extended trip (4 months). It's always fun to talk to other travelers, but we were particularly interested as they had just come from South America, a place we fly to next month. In fact, a couple (Australian-British) they met from the Inca Trail was also staying at this Hotel. All 6 of us have had dinner together almost every night, comparing and swapping travel stories. It's nice to have friends to come "home" to.
Siem Reap is a surprisingly happening and pleasant town, with a walking-only Pub Street, surrounded by a variety of both cheap and fancy-shmancy hotels. It's not at all like India's Agra (Taj Mahal's town). It's touristy, but not tacky touristy. I would recommend this place to anyone as a great introduction to Asia. And the food, it's delicious! I'm a sucker for the Cambodian coconut curries and fish or chicken amok. In fact, we returned twice to a popular restaurant on Pub Street called Khmer Family Restaurant. The chicken curry is to die for...like Clarendon's Delhi Club good! We also spent some time at the local markets. Lee got his Krama, a local scarf, at the night market (a bit touristy) and we picked up some toiletries at the daily central market.
And now, what you've all been waiting for: Angkor Wat. I'm sure you're wondering if it was disappointing to us like our first world wonder. Good news is that it was not! We were both impressed. Just the temple itself is large, not including it's surrounding land with moat and walls. It has 3 inner courtyards, each higher than the previous. We were a bit disappointed to find out that you can no longer climb the steep third level of stairs anymore, but it turned out to be OK because we were able to do that at the other temples and ruins in the Angkor Archaeological Park.
We bought a 1 day ticket to the park, which allowed us to see Angkor Wat twice, once for sunset the evening before and then the next day. I'm glad we got to experience it two times. We spent the rest of the second day exploring other sites, such as:
- Angkor Thom (South Gate, Bayon, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King)
- Ta Prohm (TombRaider was filmed here)
- Pre Rup (Kiima's favorite)
- Ta Som.
As we prepare to leave the country tomorrow, I have to say that I'm glad we came to Cambodia. It's surprised me with it's food, sites and culture. Granted, my first impressions weren't good but that's no longer the case and I recommend it.
2 comments:
Great! I'm glad you liked Cambodia, Siem Reap and the Golden Orange. It turns out I will be spending the next year in Bangkok as I got a contract last week and the confirmation today. Singapore is cool, though muggy as hell. I had to actually get some work clothes here and surprisingly enough, it's slightly cheaper. I look forward to reading the next installment. A
Your pictures look like they are right out of an Indiana Jones Movie!
Post a Comment