Breathtaking Cambodia...YOU'VE GOT TO GO!
Trip Start
Jul 01, 2009
1
22
50
Trip End
Sep 20, 2010
Where I stayed
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Since both our parents would be traveling with us, we decided to just pick out a guesthouse with good reviews that had tour packages included. That way, none of us would have to decide too much and we could all just sit back and enjoy the vacation. We had 3 days and nights to see as much as we could around Siem Reap.
We flew in early on Thursday, reluctantly changed money into riel (believe the rumors, they really do use US dollars more then their own currency!) and had a driver picking us up at the airport. As we exited the airport and searched for our name card, we started to get a bit worried when we couldn't find our names. Then someone recognized my name with a Mr. in front of it...but it was our hotel so it had to be us!
We dropped our bags at the hotel, made our payments and began our tour. It took a few minutes to get our entry pass into Angkor Wat but that was mostly due to us trying to figure out the conversion with all those zeros! Just about then, it started to drizzle. The rain never got too bad and kept the day cool.
Our first day we visited Angkor Thom, the giant stone faces of Bayon, Terraces of Elephants and Leper King, Phimeanakas, Sour Prat and Angkor Wat. Surprisingly, we were not that impressed with Angkor Wat. Angkor Thom was far more interesting. Unfortunately, due to the clouds, we were not able to see the sunset at Phnom Bakheng but we filled the time by resting up, enjoying our dinner at Pub Street and getting massages.
Day two started with a walk in the dark. We set out to Angkor Wat to see an amazing sunrise. We had picnic breakfasts packed and sat out hoping to see a glimpse of the sun but those darn clouds were in the way! We were not too upset because we figured we'd just come back the following day.
We spent the rest of the day touring Prasat Kravan, Banteay Srei, Srah Srang, Pre Rup, East Mebone, Taprom, Takeo, Tommanon & Chao Sai Tevoda. Taprom was by far our favorite and not because Angelina Jolie made it famous in Tomb Raider. It's been left as is. The trees and roots entwined in the ancient ruins were surreal.
We did get a break mid-day for lunch. Since it was a couple of free hours, we decided to tour around the Old Market and as they say "same shit, different market." Later in the evening, we saw an "ancient Khmer Kingdom cultural dance show" and had a decent buffet. Lights out, as we were exhausted!
For our last day, Steve, his mom and I headed back to Angkor Wat and finally saw the sunrise. Then we headed back to get my mom and Steve's dad for breakfast. After we ate, we walked across the street to visit the Artisan D'Angkor. This was a place planned for buses to pull up and unload their tourists on a sales tour. It was marketed as a grass roots project to help employ the less fortunate and they did have nice goods...with nice price tags.
Since we still had the rest of the day, we decided to hire two tuk-tuks at $10/tuk-tuk/day!! What a deal! We wanted to tour around the city, the country-side and see a few more gems that wasn't planned. It was a hot day but we were at times shielded from the sun in the tuk-tuks...phew! What a great adventure! We came back and had another massage, sealed the night off with a visit to the Night Market and dinner back on Pub Street with US $.50 beers.
Go, go, go!! You've got to see it for yourselves!
...W
