When we first arrived in Siem Reap we didn't have a clue about how much it would cost to go around the temples, we thought we could walk around ourselves, earning us a few sniggers from the locals - the temple complex covers 390 square miles! Fortunately we had the good sense not to go with the first enterprising tuk-tuk driver we encountered, who offered us his services over three days for $80! After a couple of days weighing up our options, we ended up spending our three day temple passes ($40 each) as follows:
Day 1 - Half-day tuk-tuk sun rise trip
As we expected, the sunrise in the middle of monsoon season was not worth the 4.20am wake up call, it was black one minute, grey the next, however it did mean we were among the very first tourists arriving at the temples. We started at Angkor Wat, the most celebrated temple that even features on Cambodia's nation flag. I expected it to be bigger.
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| Angkor Wat at 7am |
The next stop was the ancient walled city Angkor Thom, which once was home to one million people who lived in hutments around the temples. The main temple, Bayon, was much more enchanting than Angkor Wat, with it's crumbling walls and carved faces.
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| Bayon, at Angkor Thom. |
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| Carved faces of Bayon. |
From Bayon we exited Angkor Thom via the East gate and stopped at two minor temples, Thommanon and Chau Say, and then Ta Keo, which we climbed to the top of in the powerful morning heat.
By 10:30 our tuk-tuk had whizzed us around to Ta Prohm, the 'Tomb Raider' temple. Unlike the other temples, Ta Prohm has not been restored to its former pristine glory, it is overrun with jungle: giant snake-like roots and creepers, and the stones from many of its walls lie scattered in piles on the floor. I loved this temple. It felt like another world, tropical, ancient and wild. The trees burst out from the walls, their roots twisting around door frames. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before.
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| The outer wall of Ta Prohm. |
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| Demolished by nature; Ta Prohm. |
After a long time exploring Ta Prohm we were pretty exhausted from the heat and our early start. We stumbled through Banteay Kdei temple before flopping into the back of the tuk-tuk and heading back to the hotel for a well deserved nap!
Taking a tuk-tuk on our first day visiting the temples a was great way to familiarise ourselves with the route and the distances before taking to the roads ourselves with bicycles.
[We booked a tuk-tuk through our guest house and paid $12 for the small circuit of the major temples. If you haggle with the drivers sitting around the Old Market in Siem Reap you can get expect to pay $10]
Day 2 - Late afternoon jaunt up the mountain
We used our second day of the temple pass to climb Phnom Bakheng mountain. The temple at the top of the mountain is dubbed 'sunset point'. Fortunately, after our grey-scale sunrise at Angkor Wat I managed to talk Ric out of going there for the sunset, and I'm glad too as it poured it down that evening! An easy 15 minute meandering climb brought us to Phnom Bakheng temple and the stunning 360 degrees view of the temple complex and Siem Reap.
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| Angkor Wat is significantly more impressive from afar. View from Phnom Bakheng. |
From the temple you can see the perfectly flat, green countryside that surrounds Siem Reap: paddy fields and forest as far as the eye can see.
We arrived at the temple at around 3:30pm and it was deserted, we had the wonderful view to ourselves. It didn't take long, however, for the crowds to arrive, competing for the best spot to watch the sunset. As the temple started filling up we made our way back down the mountain, passing packs of tourists power walking uphill for the much acclaimed sunset. At dusk, when the heavens opened, Ric and I shared a cruel laugh from the safety of our tuk-tuk at the poor fools crammed at the top of the hill.
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| Phnom Bakheng |
Day 3 - Biking to the far out temples
On our third and final day of temples we bit the bullet and hired bikes for the day; at only $2 each it was much cheaper than a tuk-tuk! I was actually (secretly) dreading the bikes as it's so hot and humid here, but Siem Reap is completely flat, and even I was able to cycle around with little difficulty.
We set off early, before it got too hot, and stopped at a roadside restaurant opposite Angkor Wat for breakfast. We then ambled around Angkor Thom; Baphuon temple with one entire side made out of a stone carved, reclining Buddah; the Terrace of the Leper King and Elephants Terrace.
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| Our bikes at the north gate of Angkor Thom. |
By the time we got to Preah Khan it was boiling, I was tired, and then I split my pants! So that pretty much signaled the end of my bike ride and I left with the shame of having flashed two dozen Chinese tourists.
Ric carried on and completed the entire temple complex on his bike! He returned three hours later with sun stroke and spent the rest of the evening in bed.
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| Prae Roup, the last one Ric visited. |
It took about half an hour to cycle to the complex at a leisurely pace, it wasn't a difficult ride. From Siem Reap to Preah Khan, one of the further temples, it takes about an hour non-stop. It took Ric eight hours to cycle around the full outer circuit of temples (starting and finishing in Siem Reap.) It's certainly manageable even for a novice cyclist like me. It was a nice way to experience the temples and we could go at a leisurely pace having already visited the main temples in a tuk-tuk on the first day.
