How To Enjoy Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Angkor and its temples is one destination you don't want to miss. Siem Reap, Cambodia, the town and the Province where Angkor Wat is located is only at the beginning of modernization and urbanization, so there are still interesting rural communities around the temples. Neat little markets with wonderful village folks who could really use your business. The Province is really poor...even though it has one of the world's greatest heritage sites!

The learning and fun in your visit will depend mostly on the time you have, your itinerary, your energy levels and your visit objectives. Some people may just want to see a few temples and relish the experience of imagining life in what may have been the world's largest urban area a thousand years ago! Others may want to see it all. Here are some suggestions gathered from several trips to Angkor:

Plan your itinerary. You can fly direct from Europe (Finnair....well done...), Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Shanghai, Beijing or Hong Kong to Phnom Pehn, the capital city of Cambodia. Or if you plan to visit Thailand, Singapore, or Vietnam before going to Angkor, then there are direct flights from these countries to Siem Reap.
When you get to Phnom Penh. Many country nationals can get a visa. Prepare $20 and a picture (passport size). This visa is good for a month and if you stay longer, you will pay $5 for each day. ASEAN members' nationals get 3 weeks free.
If you start from Phnom Pehn, then you have several options:


Fly. There are several flights everyday and it is only about an hour to Siem Reap.
Take the boat for $25 including transport from your hotel to Phnom Penh port from where the boat leaves. It is about 5-6 hours and you will go through the Mekong River and also the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the biggest body of fresh water in Southeast Asia. Just be warned that when you reach Siem Reap, there is yet no proper dock so you have to go down on pieces of lumber put together, a bit narrow for some of us. There are many "tuktuks" (motorized 3-wheelers) willing to take you to your hotel. I suggest you get your hotel to pick you up if you are averse to haggling. After a long boat ride, you will appreciate someone holding your name up on a card, to whisk you to your hotel. Oh...and take a bottle of water on the boat...or wine..which is amazingly cheap in Phnom Penh.
Take the coach/bus/taxi. The road to Siem Reap is now very good. The cost is between $8-10 depending on the type of coach. Some coach companies now have excellent buses with onboard toilets. It will take you around 6 hours. Coaches to Siem Reap depart around Sisowath Quay at the riverfront and Street 104. The trip will take you to some of Cambodia's still very rural countryside.
Choose a hotel and book early. There are so many choices now for all budgets. Book early, especially at certain times of the year like Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year, as the hotels get full fast. Choose a hotel that has a sizeable pool so after a few hours of temple visit, you can cool off and lounge in the pool. You will appreciate this especially in March and April when it becomes really hot. You don't have to go to a 5-star hotel. Really decent, clean and AC hotels abound at $30 to $50.
Organize your transport for the temples. There are several options for transportation. You can take a "tuktuk," a taxi, a car from your hotel, or a bike. You can do this with your hotel guest relations desk or you can negotiate directly with some drivers who are usually parked outside of hotels. You will find the car comfortable and cool, as it can be dusty. On the other hand, the tuktuk is an experience.
Organize to have a guide or buy a book. The hotel can help you get a guide. The guide will help you see the best...and you're really helping the local economy. Probably about $25-30 a day. Don't cheap out...you spent thousands to get there. Books are also useful guides. There are many books for sale all over the temple area but it is good to get a book earlier so you have some background information. For a first visit, a guide would be helpful. There is also a wealth of information in many free magazines in Phnom Pehn and Siem Reap as well as on the Internet.
A 3 day pass is $40...well worth it. The money must be going back into development as each year the amenities/roads are getting better.
Go early or later in the afternoon...or both. There are masses of people visiting the temples so it is good to go early...really early. Tour groups cannot get everyone on the bus till 8 a.m...so be there to really savor the silence at 7. It is still very pleasant and you will be able to walk around more easily. It also gets hot. One option is to just find a place to sit when it is too hot and relish being there. Hotels usually serve breakfast at 6:00 a.m., so by 7:00 a.m., be there. By 10:30, go back to your hotel and have a great swim or read. In the afternoon, the best time to go back is around 3:00 p.m. The time around sunset is very popular, as many tourists want to take pictures of the temple with the sunset as the background. At this time, just be aware that the parking lots can be full at the popular temples so you just have to make your choice depending on what you fancy.
Bring walking shoes. You will walk a lot and often on some ruins.
Carry a bottle of water all the time. Sometimes you get thirsty and the parking lot is quite a walk from the temples. Beside you need to rehydrate yourself often.
Visit only two temples on the first day. I suggest Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom (Bayon). If you arrive only in mid-morning on your first day, then go for one. It is actually better to just go around the town, get a book on Angkor and just settle down. Then do the two temples the next day. After this, you will have a sense of what you can take and thus pace yourself appropriately. Of course, the most important to visit is the main temple, Angkor Wat, and the most beautiful is Banteay Srei. The latter is not a royal temple. It was built by the guru and teacher of King Jayavarman V. This temple is about 20 kms. north of Angkor but for its exceptional decorative carving, it is worth a visit. It is interesting to see the rural folks harvesting rice if you happen to be there for the season. There are many villages inside Angkor...so do stop if you can. The other temples are interesting, but if your time is limited, just do these four.
If you have more time, just visit a temple a day. Then you can enjoy other interesting things in Siem Reap. It has a new night market, which opens at around 4:00 p.m. and continues until midnight. It sells local products and Cambodian crafts. Another place worth a visit is the Silk Farm. You will see how they make silk from raising the silkworms to weaving the silk fabric or silk scarves. This is operated by Artisans D'Angkor, which also has a place in the city of Siem Reap where young Cambodians from other villages come and are trained in the different Cambodian crafts. You will see them learning the craft as you can freely go around the training center.
And one last word....I know you look silly in a hat but you'll look even funnier with a cooked face.