Temple Hopping at Siem Reap

Although it took us almost 24 hours to finally get to Siem Reap (from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh  to Phnom Penh to Siem Reap), we still had the best of our times there. We arrived there at around 5:00AM and was picked up by a tuk-tuk driver going to the hotel. Since we were early for the check in, we stayed at the hotel's receiving area for the mean time. Funny thing was that, since we were already travelling for almost 24 hours, I was so anxious to take a bath. We asked if there was a shower and we were pointed to an open shower near the swimming pool. Left with no choice, I had to clean up my myself using the common restroom and shower room.

Surprisingly, the weather was freezing and was as low as 15 degrees. We didn't know it could get as cold as that since Cambodia is like the Philippines' weather. Unfortunately, we only packed for summer clothes. The receptionist was actually a little concern as we were wearing sleeveless during the tour. Lol.

Before the trip, we booked a small tuk-tulk tour for 15USD which consists of the following temples:

  • Angkor wat
  • Angkor thom
  • Taprom temple
  • Banteay kdei
  • Prasat Kravan
Angkor Wat..what?
Riding a tuk-tuk in Cambodia
Our beautiful room at Shining Angkor Hotel.



OOTD shot at the Hotel Entrance

The tuk-tuk driver then took us at the gate area to purchase our one day passes worth 20US$. We started the tour at the Mother of all Temples - the ever famous, Angkor Wat. Unfortunately, since we started late, we were not able to witness the renowned Angkor Wat's sunrise.


Oh you know, just me, the temples and the photobombers.
Looking at this picture reminds me so much of the UP oval grounds.

We asked one Uncle to take us a photo. Lol

The Hindu God - Shiva.




Although, it is sunny, it was actually still very cold. I had to wear a shawl all day.
"Inarte sa Cambodia"

Loving the architecture and symmetry of these temples.
Next after Angkor Wat is the Angkor Thom which literally means as "the great city". Angkor Thom is composed of a number of temples, some of which served as residences to palace officials, military and priests.
Entrance to Angkor Thom

We then visited the Ta Prohm Temple which has this very famous Spung tree growing in the ruins of Ta Prohm. Honestly, since the temples/ruins all look pretty much the same, I had a hard time distinguishing each from the other.

This looks very autum-ish.
Find the hidden Raine
Monochrome it.






Exhausted from all the temple visits, we ended the tour by watching the sunset at Pre Rup.

View at the top of Pre Rup.

Chasing the sun.
Short as it was, we at least were able to have a glimpse of the colonial part of Siem Reap and mingle with the Cambodians. I have come to like them actually. They were kind and gentle, always smiling. And since USD is widely accepted, it is very easy to tour around the place. Cambodia was really worth it of the long journey from Singapore. On my next visit though, I'll make sure not to miss the Angkor Wat's sunrise.

P.S
We stayed at Phnom Penh for almost two hours before heading to Siem Reap. Luckily, we were able to try their night market for our very late dinner.

A traveler from Canada sat with us so we asked him to take this photo. Haha!
See our itinerary in this link! :)

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