We arrived in Siem Reap & off to our hotel - VPlus Hotel complete with a pool for $26/nite (opted for twin beds as way cheaper!).
We found a restaurant near by which turned out to be where we ate most of our meals - great food, good prices & excellent staff - Madam Moch’s. We tried most of the menu over our 10 days in Siem Reap & drank a fair bit of $0.75 draft. Still not used to the fact that Cambodia uses the US dollar & prices are usually in both dollar’s & riel, so prices in here will be US.
 |
| Painting of Angkor Wat in the restaurant |
We wandered around the city our first day, found the Night Market (not very impressive), checked out a large grocery store (always fun to see what’s available), a local fruit market & a lovely bakery & I cruised thru the Royal Palace grounds on my morning run.
 |
| Royal Palace |
 |
| So many kinds of rice |
The primary reason to visit Siem Reap is to see the ancient city of Angkor Wat & some of its over 1000 temples. We purchased a 3 day pass, $62 US, valid for 10 days & booked a sunrise tour, 4:30-1:30. The next morning we joined our group of 16 with our guide “Indiana Jones” & drove the 8 km to the first stop of the day - all in the pitch black!
Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex covering over 400 km2, originally constructed in 1150 as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu. It was later gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century. Considered to be the largest religious structure in the world & designated a World Heritage Site it was abandoned in the early 15th century & was “rediscovered “ in the late 18th century.
We crossed a moat on a stone bridge, still in the dark & found a spot to wait for sunrise. Unfortunately Mother Nature was not on our side as it was totally cloudy so no sun rise but it was still a magical sight to see the grand Angkor Wat temple appear before us!
We were led through the temple to admire the architecture, the detailed stone carvings, the many chambers, staircases & towers. Our guide provided explanations as we went. Definitely a “bucket list” experience!
 |
| The base was filled with water for worshippers to bathe first |
 |
| Intricate stone carvings depicting Hindu stories - it seemed to go on forever! |
 |
| One of two libraries that are in front of Angkor Wat |
 |
| Still color left in a few places |
But the day had barely begun as we were off to the next temple - Ta Prohm, constructed late 12th century- newer than Angkor Wat but looked older as the construction methods were not as good. Many areas covered in moss & huge 400 year old trees growing up out of the temple with roots hugging the stone structures. This is the “Tomb Raider Temple” as depicted in the 2001 Angelina Jolie movie. Just our luck that it decided to rain, but thankfully our guide provided umbrellas & we continued on.
 |
| The 2nd carving from the top is a stegosaurus! Explain that one! |
 |
| The Tomb Raider spot |
Next was the Ta Nei Temple, late 12th century, quite remote, down a dirt road. But no hoards of tourists so that was nice.
On to Angkor Thom where we were lucky to see monkeys scampering around & even climbing on the Bayon Temple. This temple, the last to be built in the Angkor Empire was notable for each tower at depicting 4 smiling faces. At each temple our guide continued to enlighten us with stories & explanations, at times to excess, but luckily the rain kept the temperature bearable as we finished the tour & returned to Siem Reap. We had now completed the “Angkor Wat Small Circuit Tour.
 |
| Looks like a pile of rubble until you look closer |
 |
| One of many faces |
We spent the next day relaxing by the pool, a bit of shopping in the Old Market & going out to an Italian restaurant for pizza. Close to our hotel there are several Khymer (Cambodian) restaurants as well as Indian, Italian, Turkish & burgers!
 |
| Monks out for the morning alms collecting |
We booked another tour to see more of the temples, as well as enjoying the sunset at one. We were picked up after 10:00, a much more civilized hour, but already hot! The temperature topped out at 39C with humidity so we were dragging by mid afternoon. Our first stop was the Pre Rup Temple, built in the mid 10th century - large & impressive with a steep staircase to climb, believed to have been used as an early royal crematorium.
 |
| Robin is there to show scale |
Next stop was East Mebon temple, built mid 10th century on an artificial island at the centre of the now dry East Barry reservoir. The entire Angkor complex was supported by systems of reservoirs, canals & dikes allowing multiple crops of rice to be grown to support the population of 700,000 - 900,000. The temple was guarded by 4 elephant statues & was decorated with intricate stone carvings depicting Hindu gods.
On to Ta Som Temple, built late 12th century was surrounded by a moat & enclosed by 3 walls. The main structure was carved with four faces in the Bayon style. One entrance has been overgrown by a sacred fig tree which has grown down thru the stone blocks. Our guide cheerfully pointed out all the huge venomous spiders & webs throughout the temple!
 |
| Face in this one |
We stopped for lunch at a nicer restaurant in the area for lunch where we tried a cashew shake for the first time (delicious). Robin tried his hand at getting down some green mangoes from a tall tree which the guide peeled & cut up for everyone - still too green but starting to be sweet.
 |
| Mango tree |
Neak Poan Temple, late 12th century, built as a Buddhist temple on an artificial island in the centre of a reservoir that is 3.6 km long & 1 km wide. It was designed for medical purposes, believing that going in the pools would balance the elements in the bather, thus curing disease. The four connected pools represent Water, Earth, Fire & Wind. More creepy spiders here in the trees.
 |
| Creepy huge spider! |
Next stop Preah Khan Temple, late 12th century, one of the largest complexes at Angkor & pleasantry not over run by tourists. It has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees & other vegetation growing amongst the ruins. Nearby we watched monkeys cooling off in the water & Robin watched a local man fishing.
On to the last temple of the day, thankfully as we were all hot & sweaty by then - Phnom Bakheng, late 9th century. Here we found all the tourists as we climbed a long hill to the temple, a popular spot for sunset. After climbing the steep stairs to the top we could see Angkor Wat in the jungle 1.5 km away. Thankfully all the temples that you can climb have constructed wooden staircases with handrails over the uneven, slippery, original stairs. The view was over smokey hills & a lake & the sun again was not cooperative as it dropped below a cloud bank before reaching the horizon. But still a memorable experience.
 |
| A gate to pass thru, barely |
 |
| Angkor Wat in the distance |
We spent the next several days relaxing, catching up on laundry & the blog, researching our last few locations & hotel options, eating good food & enjoying a few beverages. Temperatures ranged from 30-39C so a bit of walking & lots of Tuk Tuk rides (averaging $1-2). The Wifi here is definitely slower than everywhere else that we have been so a bit frustrating to upload photos or work on the blog. I did stop for a massage, a must in very country.
 |
| Pretty nice laundromat, squeaky clean, an attendant to help, big load with detergent $4.68 |
 |
| Fancier Tuk Tuk |
 |
| Napping in his remorque |
 |
| School uniforms |
 |
| Hopefully we don’t beat the postcards home! |
 |
| Had to try these dessert things, not my favourite |
 |
| Pots & pans delivery |
 |
| Cambodian Riel |
We still had one day left on our Angkor pass so we hired a remorque to pick us up at 5:00 am with the hope of a sunrise. $15 US got us driven there, he waited 3 hours for us & took us back to town. Dark & actually chilly in the open air as we drove out. We were rewarded with only a partly cloudy sunrise, made even better as it was March 19, very close to the equinox so the sun, when it finally popped out, was almost directly over the main tower. Robin skipped re- entering the Wat as he remembered how many steps there were (we are getting old & he has a hip that’s giving him trouble), so off I went to see it again. On our first trip the steep staircase to the upper level was closed as it was a holy day but it was open that day. I do not like heights so both the going up & coming down were freaking me out, but the views were spectacular so definitely worth the anxiety!
 |
| Quite the crowds! |
 |
| That was a nasty staircase to climb! |
 |
| From up top, looking down |
Before we left Siem Reap I finalized our last accommodation of this trip! What a relief, hours spent researching & reading reviews was finally over! We booked a VIP bus to take us to Bangkok, Thailand, on March 21, well worth the $61 CAD each, as I am currently on this bus with Wifi, big comfy seats with a footrest, meal & snack included & border assistance as we exited Cambodia & entered Thailand. An 8 hour journey & we will be in Chinatown, Bangkok for the next 6 nights.
Still Living the Dream!
