xenole

Next January, I'm planning in flying into Hong Kong and spending a day or two there.

Then either heading towards Japan (although may be a little bit cold and April with the cherry blossoms would be better) or heading south to Siem Reap etc (do prefer warmth than temperatures being little better than British weather)

Read a few things where people stayed for 4 days but not sure if after seeing Angkor Wat, one temple will look like any other.

Would like to visit Ho Chi Min before heading to Thailand at the very least.
Not entirely sure if there's anything I should really be seein whilst in Cambodia or Vietnam (not very familiar with a lot of the names, places etc and don't have the time to spend months seeing the country)

dsquared37

You do realize the area is comprised of ~15 large temple complexes and hundreds of smaller temples right? Built over the course of 400 years? With different styles?

Angkor Wat is the reputed jewel of the area but far from the only eyecatching sight.

xenole

Yes. Read a few things where people have stayed longer and barely scratched the surface.
Angkor Wat and "the Tombraider temple" are the priorities, ideally at sunrise and sunset.

Nickolash27

Funnily enough we found Bayon more impressive.

dsquared37

In 4 days you can definitely scratch the surface. And Ta Prohm is way down on my list of interesting temples ever since they erected the boardwalk. There are few places within the grounds to find nooks that are cool, secluded and picturesque.

I like Bayon but there are others afoot that I love to spend hours in wandering around and often have them with no tour groups.

dtsm

Unless your an archeology buff, one full day, max 1 1/2 days is enough. The sunrise view is highly recommended. The sunset is equally impressive if there are no clouds; otherwise you trek up at 5 pm for nothing.

There are large tour groups that start with the sunrise viewing, take a breakfast break before visiting the temples. So skip breakfast and start ahead of them....that extra 30-45 minutes will avoid crowds.

dsquared37

Or history, or religious iconography, or photography.

But if your caught up in tour bus hell then 1 day could be too much.

Never been to Phnom Bakeng for sunset. There are a few other good places to while away the late afternoon waiting for the sun to go down; sadly they've started to get more populated. Thankfully the tour buses haven't hit yet.

Never quite understood the fascination of sunrise over Angkor Wat. But, to my benefit, the concentration of groups there renders a few other nice morning temples empty.

milesk

We were there last week for 1 full day and 2 partial days. We hired a car from the hotel (35 usd) that took us (3 people) to 4 different temples (all mentioned above). Favorite part was having an ice cold beer at the foot of Angkor Wat temple as the sun was setting. Wish we had 1 more full day to explore Siem Reap during the day.

Pub street had some good restaurants but I'm sure there is plenty of non tourist places for less.

We did VOA with no problems (didn't see anyone having issues). Took under 30 minutes. Was 30 usd cash + 2 usd for a photo. Unlike Vietnam, the Visa stays in your passport when doing VOA.

Bring USD as that is the primary currency used for anything "edit" over "edit" than 1 usd. Heard the atm's output USD but we had cash so can't confirm that.

Also, the post about not being able to see the inner workings of some of the temples. We found a "security guard" that for a few USD was more than happy to bring us behind the ropes to very secluded areas of the "Tomb Raider" temple. Cash is king

manneca

I did a day and a half and I thought it was fine. I went to Luang Prabang and loved it. (Laos)

dsquared37

You mean for anything OVER $1. Under $1USD and riel is the change. ATMs do pump out USD. Some have an option to get riel but the default is USD.

You wasted your money. Those locations in Ta Prohm are accessible through other ways. But my point remains, there are better and more interesting areas in less popular temples.

The interesting aspects of the temple prior to renovation was the jungle feel; the trees - that has been largely mitigated. For carvings, courtyards and hallways this is not the temple you want to go to.

craz

every time I did VOA @ SGN the visa was put into my PP. I understand that if you get the Visa before going over its a piece of paper that isnt put into your PP. R U sure you did VOA in Nam? or didnt you fly into Nam?

craz

pt is moot, plans changed

hkskyline

I spent 3.5 days and had a good variety of different temples.

My photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/angkorwat.htm

From REP, it is a short flight to SGN, although I think REP is a far more interesting place than a big city with its European colonial buildings.

milesk

We got our visa before leaving the US and it was stuck in our passports. We met a friend (from US) who did VOA at SGN and he said they took the visa out when he left.

flyernick

Just back from there and I agree. I don't get the recommendation to visit AW at sunrise. You just wind up with poor photos of the temple after the sun is up and dominating the lighting since you enter from the west looking into the sun.

On the original topic, we stayed 3nights which was good.