Originally Posted by
LaydeeSarah
Hi all,
Looking at a trip to Cambodia later this year and would very much like to go to Angkor Wat but do not want to get temple fatigue (I can only be told so much about bas reliefs before I tire) so with this in mind I was thinking a day maximum or maybe morning and then evening to get photos in different light.
In short, would I need a guide for this? Or would I be better going myself with a car arranged by the hotel?
I'm not an organised tour person but have used a guide in Cairo before, mainly to translate and ensure that I wasn't harassed to buy things and I didn't mind use of the guide then as he was inexpensive (to me) but he did try to take me to his Uncles 'perfume shop' which is off-putting.
Would a Cambodian guide be able to do a taster or the temple? I see people going for 2-3 days to Angkor and I think that would be too much for me.
I did something very similar, and share your belief on "temple fatigue." That having been said, I love to see them all and climb/walk around, but certainly don't appreciate the same boring schpiel for hours on end. My wife and I just did this this past Summer.
Day 1: Go at 4am to catch the sunrise over the main temple. Only stay enough to see what you can by foot and be back at your place by 11a - 1p. Then, later in the day, explore some of the "small loop" via tuk-tuk. No tour guide, just pay a tuk tuk to take you around the loop. Get out and explore only when you feel like it. If you wish, watch the sunset, but totally not necessary - it's usually cloudy anyway.
Day 2: Start later in the day to get a lot of energy. Take out bikes from your hotel or find a pair of bikes to rent for the day some other way. Bike around the entire "big" loop. We stopped at every temple, even if it was just for 5 minutes. I know the little kids selling stuff can get annoying, but I brought a deck of cards and showed them all magic tricks. I even taught a few of them how to do a little trick themselves. Anyways, the ride is magical. It's so much fun to ride around the park and go down some of the small roads which lead to many of the smaller temples. Also, it was POURING on our ride home, but we were laughing and loving it the whole way home. Locals thought we were crazy!