Advertisement
Published: August 7th 2006
We arrived at Siem Reap airport at night. Our first impression was how nice the airport is. It is clear between the airport and the number of large 4- and 5-star hotels that a lot of investment has gone into this area.
As this was the last destination on our trip, we stayed in a nicer hotel. The Prince d'Angkor. The hotel was great. One of the biggest pluses was the huge pool that seemed to be around 30 meters (100 feet) in length. We also had 3 movie channels, a comfortable bed and the nicest bathroom on our trip. It was not until this trip that I really began to take the importance of a nice bathroom to heart!
Visiting the Temples
Quick note: Angkor Wat is the main temple in the area that everyone has seen pictures of. There are actually a number of large temples in the area with different names. But the area and all the temples tend to be referred to as the Temples of Angkor. The temples were built during the 12th and 13th centuries.
After getting a relaxing night of sleep and having breakfast, we set out to see the temples.
One positive is that the weather in Siem Reap was a little more moderate as it has been their rainy season. Thus, we were able to be out during the afternoon without feeling like we were in a sauna.
To get to the temples, we hired a tuk-tuk driver. While a number of people use guides, we just decided to have someone to drive us for place to place and explore on our own. For some reason we started referring to the driver simply as dude. Dude seemed pretty happy that we used him for the 3 days we explored the temples.
We first went to Angkor Wat. Needless to say, this is a very impressive site. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have been the French explorer going through the dense jungle and stumbling upon these temples. One of the cool things about the temples is that you can climb and walk all around. While, I'm not sure how good it is for a preservation standpoint, the hands-on aspect made us feel a lot more like Indiana Jones! Getting up to the top off the main center area was rather treacherous as the
stairs are steep and quite narrow. It was not until we got to the top that we noticed one of the other sides had a small handrail.
We then visited a variety of other temples. One of which, Ta Prohm, has been partially swallowed by the jungle. Massive tree roots break through the walls and arches of the temple. This temple was used in the shooting of the Angelina Jolie-classic movie Tomb Raider. Another one of our favorites was Bayon temple that has large faces carved into the stone. We also visited a number of other temples in the area which entailed quite a bit of climbing over the three days.
Siem Reap
One disappointing aspect of Siem Reap was the large number of beggers. Lots of children begging in particular. It was also the first time on the trip we saw some kids breathing in glue from plastic bags. While we are accustomed to people trying to sell us little things and even going into restaurants to do so, Siem Reap was the first time we have seen this level of widespread begging.
We did managed to have a couple nice meals in Siem Reap and
really enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool. It made it a great way to end our trip.
Heading Home!
After our last day of exploring temples, we packed up our bags and headed to the airport for the long trip home. Siem Reap to Detroit entailed 43 hours of travel with 5 flights! As we looked back on our trip, we realized how many great experiences we had and all the cool sites we were able to see. We hope you have liked following our trip!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.134s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0617s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Just call us Mr. & Mrs. Indiana Jones! 
Erik L
YC Law
Thought your Indiana Jones pic is really funny! :) Njoy reading this!