Roaming the Temples of Siem Reap: Part 1

We woke up in the early morning with barely 4 hours of sleep when it was still dark out. Sleepily rubbing our eyes, we walked to the reception to wait for our driver and to collect our free picnic breakfast. Our driver was already waiting for us. He gave one glance at me and said I had to wear longer pants.

Whoops! I’d forgotten that we have to cover our thighs when visiting the temples as a sign of respect!

But… I didn’t pack in any pants! I had no choice but to borrow WJ’s used cargo pants. He’d sweat so much in it the day before!

After that little hiccup, we got into the car and drove toward Angkor Wat. We wanted to see the famed temple during the sunrise. Along the way, we stopped to buy our temple passes. The queues were long, but moved quickly. The counter staff just asked you to stand in front of a camera, took your picture with it and printed it on the pass immediately. No names needed!

The driver dropped us off at the road in front of Angkor Wat, and we walked in. The crowd was massive. Apparently, everyone wanted to see the temple during the sunrise as well! Crowds of people were waiting in front of the ponds next to Angkor Wat. We couldn’t understand why then. But after looking at photos of Angkor Wat online, I realized that that was one of the best angles to take the temple with its reflection! This is why you should do your homework!

Unfortunately for us, the sky was quite cloudy and the sunrise wasn’t as spectacular as we’d hoped for.

We continued into the temple and left the main crowds behind (at the ponds).

Not knowing where we could sit to eat, we walked to the edges of the temple and sat on the steps to enjoy our picnic breakfast. Then a long line of nuns and a few monks came walked past us! It’s not every day you see a sight like this!

After our leisurely breakfast, we continued exploring the large grounds of Angkot Wat.

We found another entrance of Angkor Wat and walked down the path and saw another much smaller temple. Not sure which temple it is though!

After a few hours exploring Angkor Wat, our driver took us to Preah Khan. Look at that massive tree growing on top of the temple! Who knows how long it’d be till the roof buckles under from the weight!

Then it was to Neak Pean, which wasn’t fantastic to be honest.

And for the last temple of the day, we went to Banteay Srei. Almost every surface was carved intricately, a vast difference from the other temple’s we’d been to so far! Our driver called this the ‘lady temple’.

Although it was small, especially when compared to the sprawling Angkor Wat, this was one of my favourite temples because of all its details. It’s also been kept in good shape and most of the carvings are still intact after thousands of years! I also love the warm hues of the pink sandstone used to construct the temple.

After a really long and tiring day, we were beat. And it wasn’t even 2pm yet! Thank goodness the driver talked us out of visiting temples until sunset! The scorching sun really drains your energy, and I kept reapplying sunblock every time we got into the car. I don’t want to be a chao da bride!

We booked our 2-day temples tour through our hotel, Golden Temple Hotel, at USD$80 for the both of us. This is Day 1 of the tour. The driver provided us with plenty of ice-cold water throughout the journey. For a tour guide (English), it’ll cost USD$35 more. We’d initially wanted to hire one, but couldn’t get one as we’d booked too late the night before! I highly recommend that you hire a guide to explain the history and architecture of the temples instead of eavesdropping on other people’s guides or making up our own stories like we did!