Suggestions for Angkor Wat
 

We're planning a quick trip to Angkor Wat from Hong Kong in a couple of weeks. Any special tips, "must sees" that are off the beaten track, etc.?

Beng Melea......

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I've forgotten the spelling already, but i believe Bantrey Reap is the temple a ways out. We went there just before sunrise. That was nice - and an interesting drive going through a village.

I'm not sure yet -- Certainly no more than a couple of days. We're going to be in Hong Kong and we can pick up a cheap tour for a few hundred dollars that will get us there, put us up in a hotel and includes all transfers. We've done this kind of thing from Hong Kong before -- it helps to have a wife who speaks Chinese. :)

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I always forget the temple names, but the one they call the "jungle temple" has two entrances. The main one, which is where the tour buses stop is where most people go. There is one other gate to the temple that is still intact that you can enter into. It involves a short hike from the road to the gate, and then maybe a quarter to half a mile from the gate to the temple itself. Our guide took us in on foot that way. Coming in that way gives you a bit of s different perspective on how it melds into the vegetation. One thing I would really suggest is get a good guide, especially for a short visit.

Another thing to be aware of, and I have mixed feelings about seeing, is a local monument to the mass murders of the Pol Pot regime. It is in what is now a school parking lot. It is a hollow rectangle made of stone with glass slots where you can look in. It is filled with skulls. Our guide wanted us to see it. Several of his family members, including his father, were among the victims.

take along some passport pictures too...seem to recall that we needed to have photos for the entrance ticket; we also got the 3-day pass, and after a while, it got tiring seeing all the temples but of course, while you're there, you'd want to make the most of it.

if you do head for the sunset view, try not to stay too long as you need some light to trek down. I agree with uncertain traveller that it does get rather tricky to go down, and luckily for us, we decided to head back before the whole crowd headed down, and that there was still some sunlight to lead us downhill.

bring a lot of small dollar bills as the US$ was the currency we used and watch out for the many vendors trying to sell you a souvenir. when you reach a spot by the temples, watch for that imaginary line ...there's a rope on the floor that if you pass that line, the vendors will crowd to you but once u get behind the rope line, seems to be an unwritten rule that the vendors cannot go beyond this line.

the airport is near the town area so it is actually easy to move around and do your own tour as it is so easy to hire a car and driver at the airport or at your hotel. we stayed at a bed & breakfast for $25/night years back, and airport transfer was only US$5 and we rented a mini van for about $25/day inclusive of a driver which was all handled by our host. Make sure your vehicle has a strong air-conditioner as it can get really hot and humid!

This is the best one! Absolutely amazing and just a few other tourists. But don't go if you are not able-bodied. Some areas are really hard to get to.

If you can't make it there (it took us about two hours by car to get there) definitely do Ta Phrom, the cleaned up 'jungle temple' version. And, as GadgetFreak said, don't forget to walk all the way through.

Kbal Spean is also nice. Not a lot to it, but combined with the little hike you need to do and the whole athmosphere it was pretty cool.

Bantey Srei is beautiful but fully restored and often fairly busy.

We stayed five days and toured the temples on three of them. On the other two, we toured the spas. :D

If you have only one day, do Beng Mealea and Kbal Spean and maybe Bantey Srei. If you have more time, also do Ta Phrom, Bayon, and the Angkor Wat.

I would not try to pack too much temple-seeing into one day unless you're really into temple seeing. Spread the sights out over a few days.

Also, I went in an air-conditioned car one day, and a tuktuk the next. This was during the height of the spring heat, so it was very hot. I actually enjoyed the tuktuk more. The air-conditioning took a while to cool down the car, and just the breeze on the tuktuk was instant relief to me. Just my experience.

Oh, and on the tuktuk I swung by the land mine museum, which I think may have moved since. I wouldn't call it a 'must see' but it was an interesting side trip.

We inadvertently picked up a small child on the way out, he was crouched down at the back of the tuktuk, hiding. His head popped up when we were a mile or so away, and he couldn't have been more than six or seven. The tuktuk driver started yelling, and swung around, and we dropped him off again (he clung to the back the whole while and seemed to be having a blast), whereupon some sort of parental figure yelled at him. Poor kid. He didn't seem fazed, though.

Fortuitously, yesterday's Washington Post featured Angkor on the front page of its travel section:

Angkor: When It Rains, You Score (free registration may be required)

Not a temple, but something else to do in the area that I rather enjoyed was an all-day excursion to Kampong Phluk, a village on stilts in Tonle Sap lake that is only reachable by a couple of hour boat ride. We were the only travelers there. After days spent in Cambodia seeing so much sadness, it was quite refreshing.

The hot air balloon ride is very good and so is the elephant ride. I enjoyed those more than the temples.

The carving on Banteay Srei, and the pink color of the limestone, is absolutely beautiful. Though you may be tempted to skip it, I'd say it's worth a journey. You may find the 30+ minutes relaxing, though perhaps not.

Angkor Wat itself is overwhelming. Obviously, it won't be missed by anyone visiting. It's so overwhelming, in fact, that one might easily miss some of the details and finer beauty it has. One temple on most itineraries that, I would submit, should be on everyone's list is Angkor Tom: the grey stone temple with scores of enigmatic Buddha faces peering out from its surfaces. That was amazing.

Angkor Thom is actually the large walled city complex that contains many temples, of which the Bayon which you are referring to is one. The faces are supposed to be of the king who had the temple erected. The faces are asymmetric as evidently two different teams were assigned to making the left and right parts.

For anyone interested, the book Ancient Angkor by Micheal Freeman and Claude Jacques is a must. Published by River Books Guides. ISBN 974 8225 27 5.