We were picked up at Siem Reap/Angkor International Airport by a driver employed by our Angkor Wat tour guide. I had arranged a price of $150 for airport pickup and the tour the next day. You can definitely get a cheaper guide, but ours came highly recommended and we were very pleased with him and his driver.

Obviously, the big reason to visit Siem Reap is to see Angkor Wat and the other nearby temples. Some people spend days or weeks visiting the temples and exploring every room, wall and shrine. We spent about three hours, and given the heat, that was enough. We also visited at sunset the day before, as a one day ticket allows for entry the day before after 5pm.

When we were driven from the airport to Siem Reap, we arrived at around 11am. Our room was not quite ready at the Park Hyatt (which I will review in a later part of this trip report), so we were given a map of nearby local craft shops and markets by the concierge and spent a couple of hours wandering Siem Reap. We found quite a few souvenirs at these stores and markets. We also walked past a huge temple with lots of statues and shrines.

After we checked in to the hotel and cooled off a bit, we were picked up by the same driver around 4:45pm and driven to the temple at Phnom Bakheng for the sunset. It’s up a fairly steep hill so my wife only made it up part of the way. There was a great viewing platform there where we could watch the sunset.

I ran up to the top of the hill and grabbed a picture of Phnom Bakheng but it looked pretty crowded at the top. Where we watched the sunset was fairly empty.

That evening we went to a nice restaurant in Siem Reap, which I will review in the next part of the trip report. After an interrupted night’s sleep (I happened to be awake at 1:30am local time to catch a Liverpool win on TV), the same driver picked us up at 8am sharp with our guide Bunthin.

As we drove to the temples, Bunthin gave us his life story. His parents were victims of the Khmer Rouge and he was forced at 12 years old to be a soldier for a Thai-backed militia during the four-way civil war in Cambodia. Eventually, after many years he was reunited with his siblings, learned English and became a guide in Siem Reap. It was quite a story.

We reached Angkor Wat first and because we were there after the sunrise crowds and before the tour bus crowds and day-trippers, it wasn’t too crowded. My wife was able to walk up to the temple as it was fairly flat and easy to manage.

Did I mention it was quite warm? Anyway, we made it through the gates and up to Angkor Wat. This is the iconic three towers shown on the Cambodian flag.

At this point, my wife found some shade and I went in with Bunthin to explore the temple. He explained what I was seeing and showed me the meaning behind the layout of the temples.

We climbed up to the top of the temple and got some great views of the complex.

The steps up were very steep, but there was a handrail. Bunthin showed me the old steps where people used to climb before the tourist authorities made things a bit safer.

Following our quick tour of Angkor Wat, we met up with my wife outside and walked towards the exit. Before long, we came upon a large group of monkeys. My wife was so happy to see them. She loves monkeys and these were tame and used to interacting with humans. They even knew how to drink out of water bottles.

After we finally dragged her away from the monkeys, we met up with our driver (and his blessed air-conditioning) and moved on to Ta Prohm, otherwise known as the Tomb Raider temple. This one was a no-go for my wife as it involved a lot of stairs just to get to the temple. She was frankly happy to stay in the air-conditioned SUV.

It was amazing to see how the trees had grown in and around the temple through hundreds of years of abandonment. From Ta Prohm, we moved on to Bayon, known as the temple of faces. Again, the terrain was a bit precarious so my wife just looked at it from the comfort of the SUV.

At this point, we (mostly me), were exhausted from the 100+ degree heat. We decided to call it a day and head back to town. We had Bunthin drop us off near Kandal Street, a nice shady street with lots of local craft shops. We browsed for a bit and made the short walk back to the Park Hyatt.

That night we went on a food tour, which I will review in detail in the next part of the trip report. The following day, we checked out of the Park Hyatt after breakfast and were driven to Phnom Penh.

We enjoyed Siem Reap a lot more than we expected. It’s an easily walkable town with lots to offer in terms of food, shopping and tourist activities beyond just the Angkor Wat temple complex.

Up Next: Siem Reap Restaurant & Food Tour

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