Siem Reap – Cambodia -2008

Tags

Cambodia, Siem Reap, weekend away

Three days visiting the Angkor temples

When I worked in Hong Kong, I made a decision to travel to neighbouring countries as much as I could on the weekends.  One of my friends was living in HK at the same time and we discussed visiting Siem Reap.  I had been to Phnom Penh at that stage so was eager to travel again to Cambodia.  So I met my friend and her daughter at the airport one Friday for a long weekend away to see the temples.

Seim Reap is a really popular resort town and this is because it’s the gateway to the Angkor region and in particular the Angkor temples.  My friend did the research and booked us into a wonderful resort.  We knew, because the weather was so hot, that we would only do sightseeing in the morning then after lunch return to our hotel and just relax.  So we definitely needed somewhere with a pool, spa and area to sit and read in the shade.   Our resort was perfect for just these things.

Over the weekend, we engaged a tour guide through the hotel and were firstly taken to the most famous sights in Siem Reap, Angkor Wat being one, which is truly spectacular especially its reflection on the lake.  One thing I do remember about this temple is the one on the national flag of Cambodia.  Bit of worthless information really!!

Unfortunately we did not make it to see the sunset over Angkor Wat (think this was due to us finding extremely cheap cocktails in the restaurant/bar street of Siem Reap) where we also enjoyed incredibly delicious and inexpensive Cambodian food.

We visited many temples and each was different and amazing.  It truly is a mind-blowing experience to see these temples and structures and hear about their history and restoration.

We visited Angkor Thom, Angkor Prohm and the Bayon Temple. Really so much to see in such a short time.

And I think most people know that Angkor Prohm is where the movie Tomb Raider was made with trees growing in and out of the ruins; a spectacular sight.

One of the parts I loved was walking into one of the Wats (temples) but I can’t recall which one, there were statues on the side as you walk up to the entrance.  (for me it reminded me of the walk to the Ming Tombs in Beijing with the statues lining the pathway for the Emperor).  We also posed for some fun photos whilst still trying to be respectful.

On our last day we took a boat ride along the river and saw some amazing sights; people living along the river in little huts or on boats – it was something I am really glad I did as it showed me how some of the Cambodians live in Siem Reap.

And the locals going about their daily duties…

Another friend of mine is going to be working in Phnom Penh in 2017 and I have promised I shall visit as I would love to re-visit Siem Reap – it’s so incredible!!

One final and [I think] humorous photo is of a local monkey eating an ice-cream – I guess you need that if you have just drunk four bottles of beer (ha ha)…