Six days in Siem Reap

According to "Loney Planet's Ultimate Travel: Our list of the 500 best places on the planet", the number 1 place to visit in the world is Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Most tourists primarily visit Siem Reap and only see Angkor Wat, but we wanted to stay a bit longer so that we could experience some of the local cultures, meet some local people, and visit the surrounding area. 

We were persuaded to stay even longer when we found an amazing deal on Booking.com and were able to treat ourselves by staying at the Cockatoo Resort and Spa for NZ$25 per night. We were given a free breakfast of eggs, bread, fresh tropical fruit salad, Khmer soup, and tea or coffee every morning. Our accommodation was beautiful! It was within 2 km of the centre of town, but also private, quiet, and lush. Unfortunately, the pool filter was broken and we were only able to use the pool for one day (but we made the most of it!)

Cockatoo Resort and Spa, and our home for 6 nights

Dennis in the pool at our hotel

Our first impression of Siem Reap was that it was a smaller, livelier, more cultural, and historical version of Phnom Phen. This impression did not change throughout our stay, and we loved our time there! Siem Reap is much more compact and does not have high rise buildings or densely packed apartment buildings. Instead, low-lying buildings, houses, and shops follow the river through Siem Reap. The tourist town centre is packed with vendors selling all sorts of snacks, drinks, ice cream, and meals. There are a couple of markets to buy souvenirs, art, and clothes, as well as bars, restaurants, and small boutique shops lining the streets. The main street in the middle of the tourist town centre is called "Pub Street", and we can verify that Siem Reap definitely has a better nightlife than Phnom Phen!

Bridge to the main tourist centre

Siem Reap was beautifully lit up at night

We spent a few nights at the night market

Party on Pub Street

Coincidentally, we arrived in Siem Reap on the Khmer New Year. This meant that we were in for the best New Year's party that we had ever been to because this is the biggest traditional festival of the Khmer calendar ...and it lasts about three days! The Khmer New Year celebrates the end of the harvesting season before the rainy season begins. Traditionally, on the third day of the festival, the eldest family members and Buddhist statues and shrines are washed with perfumed water to symbolise the washing away of bad actions from the previous year and to bring good luck, prosperity, longevity, and happiness in the coming year. 

Lanterns in river

New Years party in Pub Street

Pub Street was full of young Cambodian people celebrating New Years

However, this practice has now been warped into a nationwide water fight. People also throw or wipe talcum powder on each other's faces (we presume to symbolise the "perfumed" part of the traditional "perfumed water"). Every young person was armed with a water gun, hose, bucket, or water balloons and ready to soak anyone who walks past. Just by walking down the street, our hair was dripping and we had talcum powder all over our faces. On the first night that we arrived in Siem Reap, we bought a water pistol, and although this was a wasteful purchase that pushed us over budget, we had the best night! Down Pub Street there was a massive water and talcum powder fight, live music blasting out of huge speakers, people dancing and singing on the stage, and coloured lights pouring over the crowds. It was refreshing to see thousands of young people in one area having a massive party, singing and dancing in the streets, and no alcohol to be seen. By the time we got home we were soaking wet and had white hair and faces. 

Attacking strangers is very common

Water fight near Pub Street

We were having a pretty good time

The policemen were also armed

We bought a water gun

Smiles all around

This boy was brave; most people had alliances and ganged up on other people

It was safer to hide behind other people

The following day we decided to hire some bikes and follow the river out to the countryside. We hadn't planned anything, but we ended up having an amazing experience and a day we will always remember. We biked along the river for a few kilometres until we saw a sign for an art gallery, which we followed until we found ourselves outside someone's rather nice house. We went in and met the owner, a French man who had immigrated to Southeast Asia 30 years ago and spent some time looking at his photography, as well as some sculptures that he sold. 

The beginning of our day on the bikes

After the art gallery, we made our way back to the river and biked for a bit longer. As we were biking past a man's house, he ran out and yelled "Hey! Hey! Where are your going? Come, sit, have a beer! Relax with me and my friends!". Although we attempted to politely decline, he grabbed the back of Dennis' bike and pulled him into his front yard while the man's friends laughed. There was a group of men around a table laden with food, and a small group of white tourists on the other side of the table. We decided to join them, although we didn't really have a choice as we had cold opened beers thrust into our hands faster than we could blink. We relaxed after a bit when we realised that we weren't in any danger and we were not expected to pay for the beers. 

This is Sam

This is Erin, Sam, and Sam's brothers

The man who had initially dragged Dennis on his bike was called Sam, and he had invited us into his home to celebrate New Years with him and his "brothers" (everyone seems to be brothers in Cambodia). It turned out that Sam ran a tour around Siem Reap and to Angkor Wat, and he had kindly invited the group of tourists to enjoy a complimentary lunch and beers with him at his home for the New Year. However, these tourists seemed far more concerned about returning to Angkor Wat for sunset than enjoying Sam's hospitality (it was 12:30 pm). Begrudgingly, Sam got one of his "brothers" to drive them back to Siem Reap or Angkor Wat or wherever they wanted. By this point, Sam had been drinking all day and just wanted to have fun. At one point Sam decided that it was too hot and squirted us (and the table of food) with the garden hose. 

Sam teased Dennis because I gave him an (accidental) black eye

We stayed with Sam and his "brothers" for three hours, drinking their beers, eating their food, and listening to their stories. We had a great time getting to know some of the local people, learning about their way of life, and enjoying a fat drunk rich man's jokes and cold beers for a few hours out of the midday sun. After some begging for us to stay, and promises to return later that afternoon, we were able to escape and continue on our bike ride, albeit a bit wobblier than before. Down the road a bit further, a large celebration was underway in the grounds of a temple. We went in, got squirted with water, bought some snack skewers, and sat down to watch for a while. It was an amazing site to watch people of all ages having fun and playing like children. We felt so lucky to be in Siem Reap over their New Years celebrations. 

Biking into the temple/town hall grounds

Local Cambodian people celebrating at the temple

There was a water fight, singing, dancing, and people eating

Water fight at the temple

We got attacked with talcum powder, which then led to getting soaked with buckets and water guns

We decided to continue down the road a bit further and found our way to the countryside where we sat down to enjoy the view of lush green rice fields as far as the eye could see. It was getting late and the sun was starting to go down so we decided to turn around and return home. On our way, we saw lots of families celebrating, and as we were biking past a small farm house, a lady and a few men came dancing out onto the road and beckoned us inside. Due to the previous offerings of beer, we decided to join this family as well. They had massive speakers and were dancing around a tarpaulin on the ground. We danced for about two seconds with them before a cold can of something alcoholic was thrust into our hands. This was Black Panther Stout and a whopping 8%. All other beer in Southeast Asia is light and refreshing, but this was awful!! 

Cambodian countryside

Cycling through the rice fields

The family that invited us into their front yard
...and if you look closely you can see cans of Black Panther

These guys were awesome and knew how to have a good time

This lady was very kind and friendly, even though we couldn't understand each other

These guys knew how to dance!

Although the family could not speak any English, they were welcoming hosts, ready to dance, celebrate, and share their drinks and food (some grilled salted fish). The children were very shy at first and hid inside the wooden house and barn, but after a while, they decided we were safe and good targets for a water fight and talcum powder attacks. Once we had (somehow) managed to finish our drinks, and before they opened another can for us, we said our goodbyes, got back on our bikes and wobbled home. The next day began with a significant headache and turned into a very slow day.

This guy really likes Erin ...and got told off later and made to sit in the corner

The kids were pretty shy at the start

...but then they got a bit more confident

...and then they didn't want us to leave.

We felt honoured to be included in the Cambodian New Year celebrations; wherever we went people wished us a "Happy New Year" and splashed us with water. We were also humbled and felt very grateful to be invited into complete stranger's homes to celebrate with them, especially since they were generous hosts probably didn't have a lot of disposable income. Our experience of a Cambodian New Year was one that we will never forget; it was the best New Year's party that we have ever been to!

After the excitement of New Years, we began planning our adventure to Angkor Wat. Since we were both children, Angkor Wat has been an intriguing site fueled by Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider movies...and all of a sudden we were going to see it with our own eyes! After much deliberation and overview of our spending habits in Cambodia so far, we decided to only buy a one day pass to Angkor Wat (instead of a 3-day pass). Although we would have loved to spend three days exploring the whole temple complex, we couldn't afford the pass as well as the tuk-tuk rides and over-priced food for more than one day; a single day pass cost NZ$51, while a 3-day pass cost NZ$85, hiring a tuk-tuk for a day cost NZ$25-30, and the food inside the Angkor area was at least double the price of anywhere else in town. 

To make the most of our single day visiting Angkor Wat, we got up early, had a quick breakfast, and jumped into a tuk-tuk by 7:30 am. Despite the early rise, we were bubbling with excitement; it was going to be an epic day! Our tuk-tuk driver first took us to the Angkor Ticket Center to purchase our pass before heading out to the Angkor complex. 

On our way to get our tickets to Angkor Wat

We were very excited

We asked to do the "small loop" around the temple complex, which includes Angkor Wat (the main one), Bayon Temple (with lots of faces), Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider temple with trees growing through it), and 4+ other smaller temples. We decided to start the tour at the smaller temples and work our way up to Bayon Temple and then finish the day off with the big one, Angkor Wat. This turned out to be the perfect route to take, as the wonder and enchantment of each temple were exceeded by the following one. 

The first temple that we visited was Ta Prohm, which was built in the mid 12th to early 13th century. Although this temple is much smaller than the others, it has a mystical feel that intrigues many visitors. The entire temple is overgrown with trees; some of which grow up through the walls and seem to hold the ancient stones in place. Most of the trees are fig or silk-cotton trees that had sprouted from cracks in the ruins, and now have roots running down the temple walls to the soil below.

Exploring Ta Prohm

Temple wall held up by a tree root

This part of the temple has almost been taken over

Trees and temples (with Erin for scale)

Ta Prohm Temple

It was fascinating to see how overgrown the ruins were and imagine what the entire Angkor complex would have looked like when it was "discovered" by Westerners. Ta Prohm was the perfect temple to begin our day with because we were able to visualise how every other temple would have looked before the jungle was cleared and the ruins were restored.

Ta Prohm Temple

A tree at Ta Prohm Temple

A long building with an outdoor corridor at Ta Prohm

After Ta Prohm, we went to Ta Keo, a temple built in the late 10th to early 11th century. Ta Keo was in the process of being restored and there were many stone workers on-site. By climbing up some very steep steps, we were able to get to the top of the temple and admire the view over the forest. It was incredible to think that as far as we could see, there were ruins under the jungle, some of which may not have been discovered yet.

Our tuk-tuk driver then took us to into Angkor Thom, a huge walled city (about square 3 km), surrounded by a deep moat, which was the capital of the last Angkorian Empire. Within the city walls of Angkor Thom, there are ruins of the Bayon Temple, the Royal Palace area, Phimeanakas (late 10th century temple), the Terrace of the Leper King, the Terrace of the Elephants, Baphuon (a temple with a giant reclining Buddha), and many other smaller temples, ponds, and ruins. 

A stone platform that remained from a larger building in the royal palace grounds

 

A pool/pond in the royal palace grounds

A causeway leading to a temple/building in the palace grounds

Another small temple...
(there were so many that it was hard to keen track of them all)

Part of Angkor Thom

Dennis was a bit tired at this point so we grabbed a coke and a lychee juice

Erin and some rocks

We found a few caterpillars near the ruins

This temple was cool! It had trees growing out of its lower levels

We spent a long time wandering through the different areas of the city. It was amazing how big the area was and how much was built so long ago. We were especially impressed with the large ponds that were built with stone stairs along the sides and were used as water reservoirs and bathing pools. Although we didn't venture out to see them, there are huge reservoirs (barays) outside of Angkor Thom (East and West Barays), which used to catch and hold water to be used to lengthen the rice planting season. The West Baray, built in the 11th century, is 2.2km by 8km and is still partially filled with water today. These barays are a sign of the wealth, technology, and engineering skills of the Angkorian period; they are something that we would like to see if we return to Angkor again. 

Angkor Thom Temple

Decapitated Buddha statue in Angkor Thom

Detailed carvings at Angkor Thom

A cheeky selfie from the top of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was a large temple with three levels to explore

We decided to get some lunch before entering the Bayon Temple. Our tuk-tuk driver took us to some restaurants where we got one curry and rice to share and paid 2-3 times the price of the same dish in town. As we were expecting extortionate prices, we had bought some Oreos with us and ate them beside the pond in the Royal Palace area. 

Indiana Jones always carried Oreos when exploring ancient temples

Writing on a temple somewhere in the Angkor complex

One of our favourite pass times of traveling has been watching other tourists.
The Chinese have proved to be the most entertaining.
These women were taking action shots for about 15 minutes.

Bayon temple is famous for its huge carved faces. There are 37 towers and most have 4 carved faces that peer out into the jungle in all directions. We really enjoyed wandering around the lower passageways and looking at the intricate carvings on the walls; there were carvings of huge battle scenes, as well as images of everyday life (e.g. market place, cockfighting, carts, and people playing games). Bayon Temple and Angkor Wat are the two main temples that every tourist visits when they go to the Angkor area, so the place was crowded and we got pushed out of the way by Chinese tourists when we were trying to take photos. As our next destination was China, we thought that we would be getting used to that treatment!

Erin somewhere in the Angkor complex

More detailed carvings

Bayon Temple

Carvings at Bayon Temple

Looking up

There was a lot of rubble still surrounding the temple, waiting to be rebuilt

The faces of Bayon Temple

Indiana Jones wannabes

Bayon Temple

After Bayon Temple, our tuk-tuk driver took us out of Angkor Thom, through the massive city gates and across the bridge over the moat. We were taken through the jungle for a while before we came out at Angkor Wat, or at least the sea of people, stalls, food carts, tents, cars, and scooters that surrounded the area. We were dropped off and pointed past the masses of tents towards the Angkor Wat. The first surprise was the size of the moat surrounding the temple. It was challenging to imagine how difficult it would have been to remove such a large amount of earth without modern machines. 

We were a little bit excited...

After crossing the bridge over the moat, we crossed through the gate of the outer temple wall. In front of us was Angkor Wat! Wow! We had to pinch ourselves, as it was hard to believe that we were there in person. Angkor Wat is a large three-tiered pyramid that has five towers rising 65 meters above the jungle floor. We walked up the main causeway and sat outside the temple for a while to cool off and enjoy the view before entering the temple itself. The causeway was impressively long with a detailed railing down its length; again we were amazed by the time and expertise that would have been required to build a complex of this size. 

This is Angkor Wat

At the peak of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Wat was the political and military epicenter. This became obvious when we walked around the outside passageways of the temple; there were 2km of intricate carvings of battle scenes lining the walls. We were very impressed that each figure had a slightly different face, outfit, or pose, showing the craftsmanship and effort put into the carvings. 

Erin in one of the courtyards in Angkor Wat

Inside the first wall of the temple

After we had walked most of the way around the temple, we went inside and walked around the inner area. Again there were many beautiful carvings and stone work. At about 3:30 pm we decided to line up and wait for our turn to ascend to the tallest central tower. Once we got to the top, we were treated with a stunning view over the entire Angkor Wat complex; we could see the crowded causeway, the moat, and the tents outside the temple area. The central tower contains four statues of Buddha, however, when the temple was first built, it was primarily Hindu and there are many small carved Hindu figures around the walls and tower. 

Dennis at the top of Angkor Wat

Carefully carved stone columns

The top of Angkor Wat

View from the top of Angkor Wat down the main causeway

Standing at the top of the central tower of Angkor Wat and watching the hordes of tourists was the perfect way to end the day. We were able to appreciate the size and power of the Khmer Empire, and the importance of Angkor for the modern Cambodian people. 

A bathing pool inside Angkor Wat Temple

Intricate stonework on an impressive scale!

Smaller buildings within the walls of Angkor Wat

We loved that we were able to freely explore most of the temples. The only areas that were off limits were obviously dangerous (unsecured stone slabs in the roof) or where restorations were being done. We were also quite lucky that we had missed the peak tourist season, so we were able to sit amongst the ruins of the smaller temples without seeing many other people. Although this was not the case for Bayon temple or Angkor Wat, which were both full of people pushing to get their ideal selfie, we were able to have our own space and appreciate the ruins. On our way home from Angkor Wat, we decided that a single day pass was enough to see the main ruins and to get a true feel for how powerful and advanced the Khmer Empire was. 

A selfie at the end of a busy, but very exciting day

On our last full day in Siem Reap we relaxed by the hotel pool, only going into town for some lunch and a look around the market. However, we did treat ourselves to a higher quality dinner. Down the road from our hotel was an EGBOK Mission hospitality school with a restaurant called "Spoons" and a very delicious menu outside. That evening we were treated to very classy service and a lovely restaurant setting, which was remarkably different from the usual food stalls plastic chairs and sticky tables that we had become used to. The food was based on the Khmer cuisine and used local ingredients, but the style and skill that was put into the food were the same as a fine dining western restaurant. We ordered a green papaya salad and Num Krok (spring onion and coconut cream crispy dumplings, with a coconut dipping sauce, and galangal and fermented radish) for appetizers. Then for the mains we had the forest sausage (made of beef pork, mung beans, holy mint, garlic, and galangal) with banana flower salad, and tree ant dressing, and Tuk Kroueng, which was a traditional Khmer gravy with local river fish, garlic, shallots, tamarind, prohok, chilli, and coconut cream, served over local vegetables, a roasted boneless chicken leg, and steamed rice. Yes, we took a photo of the menu to remember this amazing meal for the rest of our lives! It was some of the most exciting and beautiful food that we have ever eaten, cooked by young Cambodian people who originally came from poor rural villages. That meal was the perfect way to end our time in Siem Reap and Cambodia.