Abroad, Travel

Temple Tripping—Stories from Siem Reap, Part One

A view of Angkor Wat from Bakheng Hill

I’ve been meaning to sit down and tell stories regarding Siem Reap and Angkor Wat since I got back from my trip. Unfortunately, it took six months before I finally got to sit down in front of my laptop and write away! At least it didn’t take two years—as many years of planning as it took for me to finally arrive at this destination. And, with synchronized schedules and my good friend Joy as trusty travel companion, we headed to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat.

Welcome to Angkor, a World Heritage Site!

First things first. There are many ways to get to Siem Reap—though not a straight one from Manila. The cheapest way is to fly to Bangkok (via Cebu Pacific, Thai Airways or Philippine Airlines), and if you have the luxury of time and an adventurous heart, take a bus to the border of Cambodia, and then take another taxi to the city of Siem Reap. The easiest and safest way, though, would be to fly all the way, connecting with several South East Asian cities such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Singapore, or Kuala Lumpur, among others. From here, several other air carriers fly to the city of Siem Reap (Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines, Air Asia, Dragon Air, or Siem Reap Airways). Rates vary depending on the season and airline combinations so better check your travel agency or the individual websites directly. (As for visa arrangements, no visa is required for ASEAN.) Aside from your fare, prepare cash for various fees, including an Airport Departure Tax of US$25.

“May Peace Prevail on Earth”

I took the Singapore route since Joy works for Unilever and is posted there. Day Zero took me to Singapore via the 6AM flight of Cebu Pacific, just enough time to settle in her apartment by lunch and meet several friends for snacks and dinner.

Our tuktuk parked under a tree

Weeks before the trip, we scoured the internet for the best possible place to stay and decided on getting a 4D/3N package from The Villa Siem Reap (www.thevillasiemreap.com). This is a little cozy place very near the Angkor Wat Archaeological Complex, and is within walking distance from the market. For US$130 per person based on twin sharing, it includes airport transfers via tuktuk, your own dedicated driver and tuktuk for 3 days, a guide service for 1 day, daily breakfast and lunch packs. The itinerary is comprehensive enough for you to be able to visit the major temples and some outlying ones as well.

Our room at The Villa Siem Reap

Places to stay in Siem Reap obviously vary from budget to mid-range to high-end. A US$30/day room is probably the average. Tuktuks can be rented for about US$10 to US$15 dollars a day, cars for about US$20 to US$25. A tour guide asks about US$20 to US$25 per day. All in all, it will probably cost the same to build your own itinerary compared to getting the package, so busy gals like us will probably want to do it the hassle-free way.

A prison/hospital during the Khmer Rouge era

A small memorial for victims of the Khmer Rouge regime

Day 1: Our driver and tuktuk met us as we arrived at Siem Reap International Airport where we arrived from Singapore via Air Asia. From there, we went to our hotel to check-in and rested for a bit. Since the itinerary was pretty flexible, and the first temple journey was not until mid-afternoon, we decided to go around the little town and visit the market as well. We quickly went to Siem Reap’s own “Killing Fields” where a temple, an old hospital/prison and a small memorial were situated. The small memorial held bones of those killed by the old Khmer Rouge regime. It was a little bit hair-raising, but considering I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, the emotions I felt were not as overwhelming. I have heard that to really walk and experience the Killing Fields, one must go to Phnom Penh.

Outside the Old Market

After that, we proceeded to drive around and then stopped at the King’s Summer Palace, which was off-limits. With nothing much to see, we went to the Old Market to shop for some souvenirs. The shopping experience is not as fun as in Thailand; for example, I didn’t see anything uniquely Cambodian. The things are pretty cheap though, and as souvenirs, I settled on refrigerator magnets, which, depending on the quality, cost anywhere from 5 to US$1 to 2 for US$1—not bad. At the New Market, we saw some Cambodian shawls for about US$2 dollars and I even found myself some Cambodian silk, which I eventually brought to a designer back here to make into a cocktail dress.

We had lunch at The Sugar Palm Restaurant near our place. Cambodian food is quite similar to Thai cuisine. We had good satay barbeque, coconut curry, and rice, but the soft drinks were pretty pricey at US$2 per can!

Details of a temple edifice

After a brief rest, we headed out on our Temple Journey. First we had to stop by the Angkor Archaeological Park to buy our temple passes. There are 3 kinds of passes: One Day (US$20), Three Day (US$40) and Seven Day (US$60) passes, which are to be used on consecutive days. The temple pass will allow tourists to visit almost all the temples in the complex and some outliers. We found a very good publication called “Siem Reap Angkor Visitors Guide” which had all the information necessary for tourists, including where to go, and the history/description of each temple. I will not attempt to bombard you in this article with history, since there are many history books and other resources that you can find on the net should you wish to read up on it, but will just give you bits and pieces of how it looked from my point of view. Some of the descriptions are taken from that publication.

Bakong

Anyway, we then set out on our journey towards The Rolous Group, about a 20-minute drive southeast from Siem Reap. These monuments represent the remains of Hariharalaya, the first major capital of the Angkorian-era Khmer Rouge. There are three main groups: Lolei, Preah Ko and Bakong. Among the three, it is Bakong which is the most impressive. We went up to the top of the temple-mountain and the view of the moat and lush vegetation around it could be seen. The Rolous Group is the most easily accessible temple outside the main park area and is also worth a trip if time permits. This was not included in our itinerary, so we paid an additional US$15 to take this trip.

Lolei

Preah Koh

Restoration work at Bakheng Hill

After this, we went back to the main area and headed to Phnom Bakheng, or Bakheng Hill. This is the first major temple to be constructed in the Angkor area, and is carved from existing rock edifice. One of the best and most popular sites to watch the sunset from, the small hilltop fills rather quickly so it is best to go there a bit earlier to get a good spot to view the sunset. The hilltop also offers a view of Tonle Sap and the Angkor Wat in the distance. I was disappointed that the sunset wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped it would be, considering we hiked all the way up! I guess there were just too many clouds that day. Anyway, it can be quite a trek going up for some people and there are elephant rides to go up the hill for a fee.

The hardest way up (but the fastest way down) to the hilltop

The center of the hilltop… gives one a feeling of being in the ruins of Rome!

After taking some more pictures, we started our descent downhill and headed to dinner at the Blue Pumpkin, a popular fusion restaurant near the Old Market area. The dinner experience is pretty much a blur to me now, but it’s a popular place for foreigners and as far as I can remember, it was worth eating there. We capped the night with some gelato and coffee to prepare for our major temple journey on Day 2, which I’ll save for next time.

Read about Day 2: Temple Tripping—Stories from Siem Reap, Part Two

and Day 3: Temple Tripping—Stories from Siem Reap, Part Three

« Previous Post: Remaking a Classic: McDonald’s ATC

Next Post: Merry Cupcake Christmas! »