I’d like to
emphasize the kindness of the Cambodian people, and the fantastic
value for money of Siem Riep (the city that serves visitors to Angkor
Wat), as well as the beauty of Angkor’s ruins. Finally, there’s
also the sense of freedom which both Angkor and Siem Reap impart. You
can clamber about anywhere, and try anything (even pizza topped with
mind-altering substances…) This is truly a place where you can
follow your heart’s desire, where everything is cheap, and the
landscapes are gorgeous.
There are plenty of
accommodation and eating options to choose from, and you could easily
spend a day exploring the park and the ruins of Angkor Wat with a
rented tuk-tuk, if you feel like the extra comfort. For backpackers,
Siem Reap (and Cambodia in general) is the perfect destination- you
can easily stay in a place with a pool for a few dollars. (2017)
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“If it was necessary to list humanities greatest cultural achievements, then the collection of stone ruins near Siem Reap (of which Angkor Wat is only the largest, but we’ll use it to refer to the whole site) would surely be among the top five. Arguments could be had over whether the ruined city of Tikal in Guatemala, or the Pyramids of Giza, or Angkor Wat in Cambodia are the most spectacular man-made monuments on this planet, but it’s a certainty that this was the highlight of our long trip through Southeast Asia.
There are dozens of ruined temples within a twenty-kilometer radius, each of which absorbed all the efforts of a rich empire over whole generations. They differ greatly from one another, but all are unbelievably atmospheric. The walls are sometimes covered by complex, finely carved scenes many hundreds of meters long, while in others they are wreathed in the tendrils of the jungle vegetation as it slowly breaks apart a seven-hundred-year-old temple.
Monkeys leap about on the walls, freshwater crabs wave from the puddles, and parrots flit between the trees. There is a true jungle temple feeling, especially if you manage to find a spot where two hundred other tourists aren’t crammed together with you. Fortunately the tourist herds move in a predictable manner, so for example at 5pm sharp, everyone tramples over one another to take a picture from the ‘official’ sunset point, while elsewhere you get to play a slightly more civilized Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, leaping about among the giant tree roots.”
(2016)
