After leaving Koh Rong we took a flight from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap to save ourselves another 12 hour coach journey. Again, the flight was super cheap so we didn’t mind. When I found out it was a turbo propeller plane though, I was a little anxious. Turns out, they’re just as safe as jet engines, so my worry was for nothing! We arrived to a beautiful sunset and a really beautiful airport. The whole building was built in the style of Cambodian temples and they had a model of Angkor Wat, which got us excited.

We went to the famous pub street for dinner that night and ate some delicious Khmer Amok curries and drank some tasty fruit juices (we are definitely going to miss these when we get home). Pub street is a lot like Khao San road in Bangkok. Very touristy, very loud and has a constant theme song of ‘Lady… tuk tuk?’ ‘Sir… where you go?’ ‘Tuk tuk’.

The next day we HAD to see Beauty and the Beast because we’ve been eagerly awaiting its release for months. Sometimes, you just have to do some pretty normal things even though you’re in a foreign and exciting place. The movie was amazing and they sold freshly popped toffee popcorn. Why don’t we have this? The movie was played in English with Khmer subtitles, but often the subtitles switched to English, went very pale or disappeared completely. If I didn’t have good English, I would have been pretty annoyed by this.

Next stop was to Artisans Angkor which is a company dedicated to reviving and preserving ancient Khmer arts and crafts. During the Khmer Rogue regime many educated artists and craftsmen and women were killed, therefore losing their skill and ability to pass on the craft. Artisans Angkor employees 1300 people and gives young people a way to earn money with dignity. It is a truly inspiring organisation and if you’d like to learn more about it please go to their website https://www.artisansdangkor.com/angkor-artisans-1-historical-background.php

We walked around the workshops and saw people making soapstone, wooden and bronze statues, as well as silk paintings, ceramics and jewellery. We had a look around the shop, but on our budget we couldn’t afford anything really. Oh dear.

That evening we found a newly opened Khmer restaurant which was super cheap and tasty. Simon even had his dinner presented in a boat. Afterwards we tried ‘fried’ icecream for the first time. There is no frying involved, but they take different flavours and mush them together on a very cold plate, releasing the flavours. It’s a bit like coldrock in Australia. Yum!

We headed to Battambang next for 3 days 2 nights. https://dowellmegamoon.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/battambang-not-said-phonetically/

We got back to Siem Reap quite late and booked our Angkor trip for the next day. We were picked up the next morning at 5am as we were heading to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. Recently, they have moved the ticket office to a new location so we were driven there first and then on to Angkor Wat. Simon was getting a bit antsy as you could see the sun was starting to rear its head as we pulled up to the entrance of Angkor Wat and it was still a 1km walk to where we needed to be. We didn’t pick the best position for the sunrise and actually it wasn’t that impressive until the sun rose behind Angkor Wat about 45 minutes after the ‘official’ rise. I moved around to take pictures and Simon stayed put to get a time lapse. Angkor Wat is a very impressive structure, often referred to as the 8th wonder of the World. The Angkor Archeological Park is the largest religious monument in the World, being visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year. Recently the entrance price for 1 day has risen from $20 per person to $37. That is quite possibly the largest price increase I have ever heard of, but for that price you get access to all of the sites in the archeological park and it really is worth it.

After the sunrise we walked around Angkor Wat itself. Design as a temple mountain and based on Mount Meru, Angkor Wat has 5 peaks with the central peak being the highest and most exclusive. Very steep stairs lead to the top peak. It isn’t meant to be easy to reach this highest tower and yes, they are right. Anyone with vertigo, should not attempt this. We had to wait about 45 minutes to go up as there is a limit of 100 people. We were so glad for this, as it meant when we were up there it was a peaceful sanctuary. The main central tower faces West which is unusual for temples. It was later found out that the tower was designed to be used as a mausoleum, but was never used for this purpose. Facing the west is a common design for death.

We had a lovely time walking around Angkor Wat looking at the detailed carvings on walls and the many reliefs of Apsaras. It is a very peaceful place despite the tourists and we spent about 2.5 hours here in total.

After Angkor Wat we headed to Ta Prohm, the Tomb raider temple. Ta Prohm has been pretty much left to the will of the jungle since its use and only receives careful pruning and manicuring in comparison to the other temples. The trees here making this temple complex. Around every corner there is a tree growing out of the top of a building and a hidden overgrown corridor to explore. It’s so amazing and just like something out of a disney movie. The only issue was the big tour groups, but we were patient and got the photos we wanted in the end.

Our next stop was to the Angkor Thom complex where we spent some time looking at the Terrace of the Elephants, Baphuon and Bayon temples.

Baphuon

Bayon

Entrance to Angkor Thom

After the excitement of the day, we just spent the evening relaxing. It was such an amazing day though and would recommend everyone sees this place at least once.

Our hotel had a pool, so we had to use it the next day. Later in the day we headed out to Hard Rock cafe and this time they had the glass!! Woo!!

Our last stop in Siem Reap was to the Phare Circus. Just like Artisan Angkor, the Phare circus was set up as a way to preserve the arts and to give children suffering from poverty a way of receiving a quality education that would lead to job opportunities. It was amazing! The performance told the story of the co-director and what she had seen and experience during the Khmer Rogue regime. Don’t worry though, there was a happy ending. Throughout the performance there were acrobatic displays, juggling and lots of dancing and fun. It really was a feel good experience and a perfect way to end our time in Cambodia.