Cambodia: Siem Reap

I just want to take a moment to share the amazing hotel we stayed at and the restaurants we ate at while in Siem Reap.

We stayed at the Shinta Mani Shack and it was one of the better hotels I've stayed at. The staff is really quick and efficient and attentive. While we sat by the pool in the afternoons the massage staff came around and gave us free 5-10 minute (strong) back massages. There was also free ice cream handed out (just a small scoop though). The hotel also had snacks and coffee/tea at 5am the day we went to Angkor Wat. Just a few little things that made the experience special.

Below are a few pics of the pool and our happy hour drinks from the first day.


Before you get too jealous, here's what we woke up to one morning:

We went into town a few evenings but didn't take many pictures. There were insane happy hour deals we had to take advantage of, as you can see.



And a really amazing sunset, hidden behind buildings, to make up for our busted sunrise over Angkor Wat perhaps.



We wandered through the old market one evening but it was a little too warm to really shop much. They sell a lot of elephant pants, spices, fruits and fish, ... the usual Asian market.

We ate dinner at 3 different restaurants, all of which I'd recommend. The first night we went to the FCC (foreign correspondent's club) which is where journalists would gather during wars but now it's just a restaurant and bar. Very reasonably priced and the food was good. And as an added bonus it was only a block from our hotel. The second night we went to Sokkhak River, where I had the most amazing tofu and eggplant dish. They really do great things with eggplant, and pumpkin (who knew?!), here. Atmosphere was fancy but not too fancy and service was great. Highly recommend. The third night we went to Square 24, where the food was more of a fusion and it was excellent. The chocolate ice cream was also delicious. The owner chatted with us for awhile and he was really friendly and engaging.

To get to all these places in Siem Reap, you take a tuk tuk, which is like a 2-person wagon pulled behind a moped. Picture below, though it's from Phnom Pehn. The rides around town cost $2-$3 and it's a nice way to get around. No taxis in sight so it's tuk tuk or walking.

We really enjoyed the lively pub street and the good restaurants here - I liked it much better than Phnom Penh and would definitely return.

Cambodia: Temples

Our first stop on our tour of Cambodia was, naturally, Angkor Wat, the world's largest temple and supposedly the world's largest religious structure. It was built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple and was later changed to Buddhist. A must-see. To properly "do" Angkor Wat, you have to see it at sunrise. So we got up at 4:30, grabbed some tea from our hotel, stood in line and bought tickets, then arrived at the temple just as the sky was starting to lighten. We had a sunrise only a meteorologist could love (read: cloudy). It was really neat with the clouds but there were no amazing colors. Pics are below. Note we were sitting kind of far away from the structure... it would have been nice to be closer but this was where our guide sat us.



And here is Martin, taking pictures of the sunrise:



We went inside the gates to the temple and took some pictures from closer up:



Then we wandered around the temple. It consists of three levels. In the first level are carvings and you can walk around the whole level and learn of battles between gods and demons. On the second level, you meditate on what you learned. The third level is only for priests and the king. Below is a little diagram of the three rings, with the innermost being the highest level.



Martin on the first level:



More views of the long halls of the first level:



We waited in line a half hour or so to go up to the third level. You walk up a relatively steep staircase then you get views of the rest of the temple and the surrounding countryside.



And you can see the impressive pillars up close:



Martin taking some pictures on the top level:



And coming back down the steep staircase:



Another close-up on the way out:



By now it was around 8am and time for breakfast! We were starving by then. Our hotel had packed us a breakfast and our guide took us to a restaurant to sit and eat it. There wasn't much in these little containers and the drinks we ordered never arrived but at least we got a little break from the sun and heat.



Then we got on bikes and biked to more temples! FYI brakes are apparently optional in Cambodia (and Vietnam as we later learned) but thankfully the biking was flat and mostly off main roads. It was a really beautiful bike ride around all the temples - and biking generates a breeze at least.



Our next stop was Angkor Thom, "great city", built in the 12th century. Inside the 9km^2 walls is the Bayon temple. But first we stopped outside one of the gates to the old city where the bridge over the moat (all temples had moats, for protection and also to strengthen the foundation) is lined with gods on one side and demons on the other. You can see the gate in the background of the first picture.



Then we continued into Angkor Thom and to the Bayon temple.



Can you see the smiling faces?



Can you see the 3 smiling faces here?



Then we got back on the bikes! We made a quick stop at the terrace of the elephants, still in Angkor Thom, which was used as a viewing platform for the king.



We were met briefly by our driver with refreshing cold towels and a huge plate of fresh ripe fruits. I could move here for the mango alone.

Then we left Angkor Thom and moved on to the jungle temple, Ta Prohm. We did bike through some jungle to get here! This temple is neat because there are several species of trees growing up through and on it. What follows are many pictures of trees growing on the temple swarmed with several tour buses worth of tourists.



As you can imagine, with jetlag and the heat and humidity, I was done by now. I still don't care if I ever see another temple again. But on this day we still had a 4th temple to see, so, back on the bikes! A few miles later and we had arrived at our final temple. I have no idea what its name is, sorry. I enjoyed that there were only a few people there; it was really peaceful.



After this final temple that will remain nameless, we had a nice big lunch at a nearby restaurant and then went back to our hotel for a nice long nap! A very busy day, lots of walking, ~10-12 miles of biking, full sun, full heat... but worth it to see and learn so much about these temples and Cambodia's history.