A Day in Angkor Wat

This post is part of my Cambodia travel and I hope I could finish my other post of a more detailed information of my trip in Cambodia. Actually, my trip was more focus in Siem Reap. The province where the largest religious monument is located which is the Angkor Wat.

To give a much clearer picture of what to expect of Angkor Wat it is best to explain the whole Angkor Complex. This is a bit confusing when you are doing your itinerary and looking for details on how to plan your trip. The Angkor Wat is located within the Angkor Complex along with other temples like Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple. 

The tour in Angkor Wat can be completed within three hours depending on your pace. We visited during the dry season and although the weather was very humid there are a lot of tourist in the place. 

To be able to visit Angkor Wat and other temples you need to buy an Angkor Pass. A single day pass cost $37.00, a three-day pass is $62 which is valid for ten (10) days and the seven-day pass is worth $72. The Angkor Pass contains your photo which will be taken when you buy the pass. The Angkor Pass is bought in the Angkor Conservation Area ticket booth on Charles de Gaulle road. It is the road between Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. There is a checkpoint before entering the Angkor Complex wherein you will be required to show your pass.

There are lots of tour package for Angkor Wat but it is much cheaper to just hire a tuktuk driver to bring you to Angkor Wat and to the other temples.

When you visit the temples you will notice that they are usually surrounded by waters. A local explained to us that a pond or river surrounds the temples so that it cannot be easily invaded. In Angkor Wat, the temple is also surrounded by a forest.

The Angkor Wat is built for the God Vishnu. It was built during the reign of Suryavarman II. It was built as the king’s state temple and capital city. Angkor Wat was gradually transformed from a Hindu center of worship to Buddhism towards the end of 12^th century. Restoration of the temple started in the 29^th century which mainly involves the removal of the accumulated earth and vegetation.

Aside from its architecture, Angkor Wat is famous for its intricate carvings in the walls. 

When you enter Angkor Wat, there is a corridor which is filled carvings. The corridor is less visited by tourists but is good place to start understanding how beautiful the temple is.

The Angkor Wat temple has five towers. The central tower of Angkor Wat symbolizes the Mount Meru which is considered as a sacred mountain

Since Angkor Wat is a temple which means it is holy, tourists must follow a dress code. Knees and shoulders should be covered. And they don't allow tourists to enter even if the shoulders are covered by just a shawl. 

 A view of the outer Angkor temple can be seen when you go up the towers. Dress code is strictly implemented when going up the towers. There are also only certain number of visitors allowed to climb the tower. There is a line to maintained in entering the towers. The stairs going to the tower is steep making it difficult for visitors to easily climb the towers.

There are some parts of Angkor Wat which is less visited by tourists which is some of the best place to take some pictures. 

There are still some monks in the temple. It is strictly prohibited to take a picture with a monk. If you really want to take a picture with them, you must ask permission first. 

Aside from tourists there are also locals whose main source of income is the tourism of Angkor Wat. There are photographers who will take your picture with the background of the temple. There are also stalls where you can buy some foods and souvenirs.

Tourists usually watch the sunrise over the Angkor Wat temple. We did our sunrise watching the next day since we bough a three day pass. Many tourists woke up early to watch the sunrise over the temple. Unfortunately it was a bit gloomy during our visit despite it is the dry season and the sun shine a faint color of pink and purple in the sky.

After a three or four hour tour in Angkor Wat temple, you may have an option to visit the Small Circuit temples or the Grand Circuit Temples.

Spending a Summer Week in Siem Reap

During Summer people usually head out to to the beach. However this Summer, instead of going to the beach we planned an out of the country vacation. Our destination, Cambodia.

Located in the southern portion of Southeast Asia is the Kingdom of Cambodia. Cambodia has a rich past which very evident with its temples. The most popular place to visit in Cambodia is the Angkor Wat. Many tourist come everyday to visit this temple watch the sunrise and sunset over Angkor Wat. 

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia and is considered as the largest religious monument in the world.

Flight going to Cambodia from Manila is limited. Flight is only every evening of Thursday, Sunday and Monday. We plan to tour Siem Reap and Phnom Penn but realized that it is a long ride going to Phnom Penn and back to Siem Reap. Instead we made an itinerary to go around the province of Siem Reap.


What I will share in this post is just a brief description of our itinerary I'll be posting a different story with more details of each place we have went to in Siem Reap.

Our flight was 7PM in the evening Manila time. Philippines is one (1) hour ahead of Cambodia. The duration of the flight is three (3) hours. We arrived in Siem Reap International airport at 9PM. Filipinos would not be required to apply for Visa in Cambodia. Filipinos just have to present their passport in the Immigration.

There are a lot of cheap hotels in Siem Reap. We booked our stay Cambo Boutique. Upon arrival in our hotel, we decided to have a dinner and have some drinks. We went to a restaurant that is just beside our hotel however we were surprised that it is not a restaurant but a beer house instead. There are no naked girls in the place and it was open but there are some ladies lined in the entrance. So we still had our dinner in the place and had some beer. They usually offer their local beers. The advertisement of their local beer is everywhere. There are a lot of billboards showcasing their local beers. If you are wondering the name of their local beers it is Angkor and Cambodia.

Our first tour in Cambodia is a visit to Phnom Kulen mountain where the largest reclining Buddha is located and the Phnom Kulen water falls. The place is approximately two (2) hours drive from our hotel. The place is already outside Siem Reap. Before heading to the Phnom Kulen, we bought our ticket from Angkor Hotel which is the only official place where you can buy the entrance pass to Phnom Kulen. Angkor Pass is not needed in Phnom Kulen.

After Phnom Kulen, our tour guide take us to a restaurant on our way to Beng Mealea. Beng Mealea is a distant temple which I think should be a must visit place in Cambodia. There is also a separate entrance pass for Beng Mealea.

Our second day is the highlight of our Siem Reap vacation. Our itinerary for the day is Angkor Wat and Small Circuit tour. We opted not to do the sunrise watching over Angkor Wat on our second day because we have not yet bought our Angkor Pass.

With the help of the receptionist in our hotel, we hired a tuktuk to bring us to Angkor Wat and the different temples. We first went to the ticket office where we bought an Angkor Pass for three days. The Angkor Pass for three days is much cheaper compared to buying two single day pass.

It can take two to three hours to tour the Angkor Wat depending on your pace. There are small food stalls around Angkor Wat where tourists can buy some foods.

After Angkor Wat, our tuktuk driver brought us to a restaurant to have lunch before we start our Small Circuit tour. Since we decided to have lunch first we tour the Small Circuit in reverse order. Usually the Bayon temple is the first destination of the tour. For us we first visit Banteay Kdei then because there was a drizzle of rain we just took a few pictures of Sras Srang which is just across Banteay Kdei.

Bantay Kdei

The next temple we visited is one of the most famous temple which is Ta Phrom. Ta Phrom is the temple where the Tomb Raider scenes were taken. After Ta Phrom is Ta Keo. Ta Keo has steep steps which is quite difficult to climb.

Ta Phrom

Our next temple is Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda Temple which is just across each other. These two temples are just small.

Chau Say Tevada

The two last temples we visited on our second day is the Bayon temple and Baphuon which is located in Angkor Thom. The Terrace of the Elephants is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom.

Bayon temple

Our third day is Siem Reap is still about temples. We woke up as early as 3AM to get to see the sunrise at 5AM. Our tuktuk driver brought us again in Angkor Wat. There are a lot of tourists who also go to Angkor Wat early in the morning to see the sunrise.

After the sunrise in Angkor Wat we went back to Bayon Temple to ride an elephant that will bring us around Bayon Temple. The elephant ride usually starts at around 8AM.

After the elephant ride, we did the Grand Circuit Tour. The Grand Circuit Tour is composed of Preah Khan, East Mebon, Ta Som, Pre Rup and Neak Pean. Each temple is unique so it is still worth the visit.

Neak Pean

We were able to finish early our temple tour so we decided to go back to our hotel and take some rest. In the evening we ask for a tuktuk driver to get us to the night market. Some stalls have not yet open so we went to the Pub Street to have our dinner first. After dinner, we went back to the night market to buy some "pasalubong".

The night is still early so we went to the famous Angkor What? bar which is also located in Pub Street. One thing I like in Cambodia is that their beers are cheap compared in the Philippines.

For our last day in Siem Reap we went to Tonle Sap. Now, Tonle Sap is not much of an attraction especially in dry season but it will remind you that Cambodia is still a third world country and Climate Change does really have a big effect on poor countries. To reach Tonle Sap you'll have to go to the Komphong Pluk village wherein the houses are built in stilts.

Our Tonle Sap tour ended before lunch and we were able to be back on our hotel an hour past noon. We took some rest in the afternoon. We left our hotel at 6PM for our 10PM flight back to Manila. Below is a summary of our itinerary.

Day 1
8AM - 11AM Phnom Kulen
1PM to 4PM Beng Mealea

Day 2
8AM to 11:AM Angkor Wat
1PM to 5PM Small Circuit Tour

Day 3
5AM to 6:30AM Ankor Wat Sunrise
6:30AM to 8AM Breakfast at Bayon Temple
8AM to 8:30AM Elephant ride around Bayon Temple
9AM to 3PM Grand Circuit Tour
6PM to 10PM Night Market/Pub Street

Day 4
8AM to 11AM - Komphong Pluk Village/Tonle Sap