A Day at Siem Reap

Day 2-3
Nov 13-14, 2013
Siem Reap, Cambodia

The following morning at Ho Chi Minh, the hotel reception booked us our tickets to Siem Reap worth 27 USD each. The bus left at 8 AM and arrived at Phnom Penh at 4 PM, with a 1 hour stopover at the immigration where we paid 50000 VND each to enter Cambodia. An hour and a half later, we took another bus to get to Siem Reap which we reached at 2 AM the following day (18 hours total travel time!). We had the misfortune of booking Phnom Penh Sorya Transport which was not only uncomfortable and slow (the 6-hour trip took 8 hours) but also had unpleasant smell. At the bus terminal, we took a tuktuk (2 USD per person) to get to Dynyka Guesthouse, a cheap hotel whose only redeeming quality is its fast internet connection.

A few hours later (after a few hours of sleep), we hired a tuktuk for 12 USD, the cheapest and a very convenient way to get around Siem Reap for one whole day. The tuktuk driver took care of our itinerary for the day and first brought us to the ticket office where we bought a 3-day ticket worth 40 USD.

Our itinerary for the day consisted mainly of Angkor Thom, the last capital city of the Khmer empire. Within its walls are several temples including richly-decorated Bayon, the first temple we visited. Bayon, which was built in the late 12th century, is famous for its massive stone faces on the many towers of the temple.

Bayon

Stone face at Bayon

Elaborate stone-carvings at Bayon

Next stop, after a short tuktuk drive, was the three-tiered Baphuon temple which was only restored completely last 2011.

Baphuon

From Baphuon, we walked toward Phimeanakas temple, a three tier pyramid with a hold-on-for-dear-life staircase, which is common among most of the temples in Siem Reap. There was nothing to see at the top, however, so the risky way up was really unnecessary.

A short distance away are the Terrace of the Elephants, named for the elephant carvings on its eastern part, and the Terrace of the Leper King, which has very detailed carvings of mythological creatures.

Terrace of the Elephants

Terrace of the Leper King

We then had lunch at Khmer Culture Club restaurant where the food was actually good but a little bit pricey. (One thing to note was that the label 'fried' chicken actually meant 'stir-fried'. )

Khmer Culture Club Restaurant - Amok Pork in coconut,
Fried Chicken with garlic and pepper and Fried chicken with Lemongrass

After lunch, we visited a few sites outside of Angkor Thom. We first went to Ta Phrom, which was made famous by that movie by Anglina Jolie. There was something very mystical about the trees growing out among the ruins, which affords beautiful and atmospheric photographs.  Afterwards, we also visited Banteay Kdei, another Buddhist temple.

Ta Phrom

Banteay Kdei

We reached Angkor Wat in time for sunset and got stranded in the entrance due to a quick rain shower. It was a good thing we still have another day to spend  in Siem Reap.