As our time in Southeast Asia is coming to a close, I’m ecstatic that I was finally able to see Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. We decided to spend our full six day trip at Eightfold Urban Resort in Siem Reap in a room with pool access. We figured a good balance between relaxing and temple jumping would be what we needed. The first night we arrived, we went to the famous Pub Street, bristling with life from the street vendors, restaurants, and bars that line each side of the street.
On our first full day, we rented a motorbike and headed up to Banteay Srei, a temple known for its detailed carvings, located an hour north from Siem Reap. After visiting the temple and eating lunch at a real local restaurant, we continued north to Kbal Spean. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, other than it would take about 45 minutes to hike to a waterfall and some more ancient carvings in the mountain. As we arrived to the river up in the mountain, we saw no carvings, becoming quite confused. After walking around for about 10 minutes, we noticed that the carvings were in the water. We found the 1,000 Lingas, a phallic carving in the stone that the water runs over. Legend says that the water is blessed by the lingas in the mountain, which runs to the temples and the city.
We decided not to see Angkor Wat on our first day. So early the next day, we would set off to complete the small circle, a route lined with ancient temples built in the 10th to 13 centuries. Angkor Wat is massive, and is surrounded by an equally large moat. It is quite the walk just to make it to the temple. Then, once you’ve arrived, it’s easy to get lost in the vast amount of hallways. Even with the large crowds, it can seem eerily quiet in some areas of the temple. Each wall, door and pillar is adorned with intricate carvings. Remarkably, it only took them about 30 years to complete the structure.
After leaving Angkor Wat, we hopped around to four more large temples in the area. Each had its own unique character. The most memorable were Bayon Temple, famous for the large stone heads carved at the top of its towers and Ta Prohm Temple, famous for being built in the jungle among the trees. Its nickname is now the “Tomb Raider Temple,” as Angelina Jolie is filmed there before falling down into the fictitious part of it. We watched the movie later at night and recognized it well.
When we concluded our long day of exploring, we decided to take a day off from visiting temples. As it is currently the hottest month of the year in Cambodia, we instead went to the National Museum to learn more about the history and religious basis of the temples. They were originally built as Hindu Temples, but were transformed into Buddhist Temples as the country transformed its religious beliefs. However, both religions have seemed to be largely accepted throughout its history. We also went for a massage. Both locations had AC, which was my top criterion for a successful day.
Upon taking some time to relax, our most challenging day would be ahead of us. We woke up at 4:45am so we could view Angkor Wat at sunrise. Our same driver picked us up at 5am, along with our packed breakfasts the hotel had prepared for us. We joined the throng of people who also braved the early hours of the morning to watch the sun break directly behind the temple.
We spent some more time exploring the other side of the temple we had missed a few days before. Once we felt we sufficiently saw Angkor Wat, we met back up with our driver to begin our day doing the big circle tour. The difference between the two tours being that the big circle has more of the small temples. Our first stop, Preah Khan, was the only large one we visited. And because it was so early in the morning, it felt like we were about some of the only people there. It took us almost two hours and we still hadn’t seen the entire temple. As we walked, we were surrounded by jungle and fallen bricks. The temple was not as preserved as the others, giving it a mysterious charm. Afterwards, we hopped around to the other smaller temples on the large circle. The tour lasted almost 10 hours long. To finish, we went to the killing field in Siem Reap to learn about the Khmer Rouge’s time committing genocide against its own people.
At night, after dinner, we went to a bar where we would meet quite a few other travelers and expats that live in the region. We would meet up with them the next night to see the Phare Circus Show, known as the longest running circus show in the world. The show is linked to a local school that gives 500 poor children opportunities to study the arts. The circus performers have all graduated from that school.
On our final full day in Cambodia, we first went out for a nice breakfast before visiting the Cambodia War Museum. The recent history of the country is horrific. The country was plagued by genocide for nearly four years (between 1975-1979) where it lost 25% of its population due to killings, disease, work exhaustion, and famine. And during the same period, the country experienced war for 20 years. The effects of the war will be felt in Cambodia for a long time to come. Everybody, including its own military, Vietnam, Thailand, the Khmer Rouge, and the U.S. all laid landmines throughout the country. Millions upon millions of landmines were laid, especially along the border between Thailand and Cambodia. There are still many areas of the country that are far too dangerous to venture into. As you walk the streets, landmine victims are a sight that’s seen far too often.
Despite the immense challenges the Cambodian people have and continue to endure, we met many individuals exuding pure friendliness and openness. This week, the population has been preparing for the Khmer New Year celebrations, which will last three days. The city of Siem Reap was in the process of transforming into a center for celebration. One unique tradition the people partake in is having a massive three day water gun fight in the city. Every other shop was selling huge super soakers. Starting on Thursday night after the circus show, we saw many kids and adults lining the streets and on the back of motorbikes spraying anybody they thought was up for a battle. The tradition brings the community together. It was a special sight to witness. We were even sprayed a few times as we road in the back of a tuk tuk.
I’m grateful for having the opportunity to visit and learn about Cambodia. I would highly recommend visiting Siem Reap both to explore the surrounding temples and to witness the Cambodian hospitality and culture.