Siem Reap is the tourism machine that services the temples of Angkor Wat. It’s bizzare to see a Cambodian man ploughing his field with an ox next to a five star hotel but even with the extremes of wealth here, it’s easy to have fun.

 

In my opinion, Angkor Wat (wiki), and it’s surounding temples, make up the most amazing archeological site in the world. I have only seen the competition in picutures but I don’t expect that it can be topped. The diversity, magnitude, personality, and management of the temples is incredible. You can crawl all over them and even though it was busy when we were there the second time, you could still “get away” and hear the wind.

 

If you even have a passing intrest in history, you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice by missing an oportunity to see them if you’re in the area. They are the one thing I would recommend people to see before they die. Enough said!

What We Learned

 

- Click Here for Some General Guidelines in Cambodia.

 

- Golden Temple Villa has a great atmosphere, restaurant, and cool rooms for reasonable prices. If you want to spend a little more ... Try Shadow of Angkor II.

 

- Siem Reap felt like the safest of the Cambodian cities we stayed in.

 

- Finally, the governement completed a servicable road from the city of Poipet which borders Thailand.  The trip takes around 2 - 2 ½ hours.

 

- The border guards will try to scam you. The visa costs US$20. Be firm, don’t pay more and they will give up. They don’t like the word “embassy.”

 

- The “Taxi Mafia” controls private transport from Poipet so be prepared to pay around $35 for a private car into Siem Reap. It’s expensive because they have to pay off their English speaking “taxi pimp” and whatever police might be standing around.

 

- They won’t take you to your hotel. Instead they will drop you at a tuk-tuk location. A tuk-tuk should take you to your hotel for free. This inconvinience allows the tuk-tuk driver an opportunity to lock you in for your upcoming days at Angkor Wat. If they are cool, can speak well-enough for basic communication, and offer a fair price, go ahead and use them.

 

- You can’t rent a scooter or motorcycle in Siem Reap. They are trying to protect the tuk-tuk drivers.

 

- A fair price to shoot for is $4 per person for a tuk-tuk driver to take you around for a day. If you have less people, you’ll need to pay more. Expect to pay about 20% more if you want to see Banteay Srei, a temple about 16 km out of town.

 

- Be cautious of the “Happy Pizza.” Those green flakes aren’t oregano.

 

- I would strongly recommend having THREE days for Angkor Wat.

 

- We think that working up to the biggest temples is the best way to go. Start your first day at Preah Khan and the big loop. Then do Angkor Wat and the Bayon area (small loop) the second day. Your third day would be good with a trip to Banteay Srei, Angkor Thom (Tomb Raider), and a sunset at Pre Nup. There is just a ton of stuff to see. I could have done a full week.