Angkor temple overdose... Haha

Alright, this time I'd like to write about the temples. But instead of gushing about how fantastic the temples were (which is what everyone does anyway), I'd like to just share (hopefully) useful information to people who plan to make a trip to Siem Reap soon.

When I was doing my research for the trip, I got tons of information but the problem was I couldn't find just the basic info. There was always so much info and I didn't have the time nor the patience to filter the info. So with this blog post, I would just like to share the basic but important information on visiting the temples.

Let's set some things straight first. Fantastic is an understatement, a major understatement on how the temples were. I really don't have any words to use for it. I can only stop, remember and be ecstatic that I walked the grounds of Angkor Wat, climbed the hundred steps at Phimeanakas, hiked 1500 meters to get to Kabal Spean, and so on. It was truly, truly an experience of a lifetime.

Moving on, here are some of the basic info which SR tourists should probably know about touring the temples.

1.) Depending on your itinerary, you can choose to have the mini-tour and/or the grand tour. The mini-tour I suppose is what every SR tourist takes. After getting your temple pass ($20 for a day pass and $40 for a three day pass), the tour starts with the Angkor Wat. Then, you go to by the huge complex of Angkor Thom where you can visit Bayon, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Elephant, and the Terrace of the Leper King. By the time we left the Terrace of the Leper King, it was already past noontime. We headed to one of the local restaurants in the complex for a quick lunch. In the afternoon, we went to Ta Keo, Ta Prohm (where you'll find the very famous tree that appeared in Tomb Raider), Banteay Kdei, and Phnom Bakheng for the beautiful sunset (if you're lucky).

The grand tour, usually scheduled for the second day begins with Pre Rup, then East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean and concludes with Preah Khan. You can also be more adventurous and choose to skip Ta Som and East Mebon, and instead proceed to Banteay Srey and Kbal Spean, which are about 50 kilometers from Siem Reap. This was what we did. Not only did we get to see places not too many SR tourists visit. We also got to see more of the Cambodian countryside.

At the end of the grand tour, you can ask your tuktuk driver to drop you off at the Pub Street for dinner and to see the night life, some shopping at the Central Market just before it closes and more shopping at the Night Market.

2.) If you need a tour guide, get one for the first day only. The tour guides are helpful for the first day because they help you become familiar with the complex. On the second day, the tuktuk driver you got for the first day can already serve as your tour guide as well. What's nice about not having a tour guide is that you can take as much time as you want in the temples. Tour guides charge between $20-25 per day.

A little side note, I wish tour guides would first align expectations with their clients. I'm sure they were trained to know the history of the temples but I also wish they knew the temples from another perspective. Maybe an architectural perspective (why were the temples designed that way?). Or maybe a Khmer artisan's perspective (the process of making the bas reliefs). Or maybe even a mala-chismax style. (the good, the bad and the juicy gossip about the empire). Hehe!

I'm not really too big a fan of a historical approach, because I can read about the temples online. What would have interested me was info on the process of making the elaborate designs, the life of the artisans who made the superb carvings. Oh well.

3.) Tuktuk rental for the first day is $18 (mini-tour) and $25 for the second day (grand tour). If you're going to Kbal Spean, your tuktuk driver could go with you in taking the 1500 meter trek to the riverbed with carvings of the thousand lingas. (What’s a linga? Google it! Haha!) Wes and I were lucky because our tour guide Rong did the trek with us, and even took our photos. Hehe!

4.) Get ready to do a lot, and I really mean a LOT of walking. That's what we did for two days. Make sure you have comfy clothing and footwear. Bring bottled water, and if you're like me who's blessed (or cursed) with very active sudoriferous glands, tons of extra shirts and a face towel. Bring wet wipes and anti-bac hand gel. Don't laugh but I also brought an umbrella (which was useful when it drizzled), a light rain jacket, a cap, a pair of sunglasses, and of course, a backpack for all your stuff.

You can also get a copy of Siem Reap Angkor Visitors Guide from your hotel. I think it's a quarterly publication that's very useful because it has all the info - maps, restaus and bars, temple guide, shopping, travel and transpo, and so on. It's every tourist's survival guide. Hehe!

Uhm, if you need to use the restroom, there are a number inside the complex. Just look for WC.

Oh, I'd like to just share that it was during the SR trip that I realized that all the hours at the gym paid off. Despite the climbs which we did several times during the day and the hikes at Phnom Bakheng and Kabal Spean, not a single leg muscle ached and I wasn't running after my breath. Yey! Haha! :)

5.) Be ready to be approached by local sellers. In every temple, the vendors (kids and adults alike) will offer all sorts of souvenirs. They can be really, really annoying. At one point, I was so ready to tell them off. Instead, I would just usually walk fast with my head low and go straight to the tuktuk. I can't blame them. They're just trying to make a living. But visiting every temple and having a bunch of vendors waiting for you to exit the temple so they can all approach you with their wares while saying, "One dollah! One dollah!" can really try your patience.

I bought my souvenirs at the market in Banteay Srey. There's a row of souvenir shops there. Since we're talking about shopping, I might as well say that you can also get cheap souvenirs from the Central Market. If you're a bit meticulous with the fabric of "Cambodia" souvenir shirts, buy from the Central Market. I was lucky enough to find two shirts that was made of good cotton. I think they are Old Navy overruns, because they have Old Navy tags. But of course, they could just be knockoffs. Hehe! Still, the fabric was better than the ones being sold at the temples.

And if you do decide to buy, bring out the Pinoy and always ask for a major discount. Hehe! I got 4 shirts for $9, about 8 Khmer scarves for $6, tons of magnets for $10, and 5 bracelet beads for a $1. Hehe!

So that's it basically, you've got info on the itinerary for the temples, transportation, must-bring items, and shopping tips.

For more photos, check out the albums on Facebook or just click here. :)