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.
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.
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.
Our next temple is Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda Temple which is just across each other. These two temples are just small.
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.
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.
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
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 |
 |
| Ta Phrom |
 |
| 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 |
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 |
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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment