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6 day Angkor Wat itinerary end of may 2011

6 day Angkor Wat itinerary end of may 2011

Old Mar 27th, 2011, 01:19 AM
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6 day Angkor Wat itinerary end of may 2011

Hi All,

I know this topic has been done to death but I'm still slightly confused as to how to line-up the 6 days we have at Angkor Wat (incl 2 travel days from/to SIN) to maximum benefit.

We've been to Angkor Wat before in 2003 for a 2 day trip but still want to get back to the headline temples and sights again.

Last time we were a bit younger and biked 1 day and had a driver the next. This time we will be getting a driver or renting a scooter/moto.

We like to avoid crowds and get the most ambience from the places we go and would love to hear about other peoples experiences in this regard.

One thing we're quite keen on is a balloon trip. Is it best to do this at sunrise, sunset, in between?

Of the more distant temples and sites around Angkor Wat and Siem Reap which are the most worthwhile spending to time to get to (vs spending more time at the more centrally located sites)?

We have taken Kathies advice and ordered the Dawn Rooney guide and will use this as opposed getting a fully guided dog and pony show.

What do the readers recommend a) itineraries b) must see b) avoid from their time at Angkor Wat?

Thanks in advance!
azza is offline  
Old Mar 27th, 2011, 03:10 AM
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http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...1202517/Things...

www.goldenbanana.info was great when there last...

Venture out to other less touristed sites temples

for best experience...
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 07:54 AM
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Don't go back and only visit the "headline" temples. Most people dig no deeper than those, and those will all have plenty of visitors. You don't need to go far away to see temples where there will be no other visitors. Many of the smaller temples close in will have few/no visitors. Most people go and spend a day or two see the "top" temples and leave.

As I understand it, there is not (yet) a ballon trip at Angkor, but you can go up in a balloon (which remains tethered) to take photos.

Your driver should be able to help you choose times to visit when there are fewer people. Also, be flexible. If you drive up to a temple and a tour bus arrives, go elsewhere.

Start at sunrise, as not everyone is willing to get up early to view the temples, and you'll have terrific light for photos. Many people go to Angkor Wat for sunrise, but right after sunrise, the place clears out and the tour buses move on. We had the place to ourselves right after sunrise and did an hour of walking meditation there.
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 03:23 PM
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This time we will be getting a driver or renting a scooter/moto.

I'm fairly certain foreigners are no longer permitted to rent motorbikes in Cambodia (maybe just Siem Reap) -- too many accidents. We just returned and for our two days of temple viewing, we used a tuk-tuk. It just seemed more "intimate" than a bus tour or even an enclosed car. We really enjoyed it; among other things, we felt more "connected" with the rural people as we drove many many miles down a rural dirt road between Banta Srei and Beng Melea. I think we waved to (and got a wave and a smile from) every child in Cambodia!!However, it's of course slower than a car -- Beng Melea is a pretty long way to go in a tuk-tuk, so not for everyone.

I would highly recommend Kbal Spean, which is the "River of a Thousand Lingas" -- it's a fairly difficult hike up to a riverbed, where there are a number of carvings in the riverbed. Not huge -- the R/T from the base of the hike to the top, including viewing the carvings, took about 1-3/4 hours. We also really enjoyed Beng Melea -- much of it is the same pile of "rocks" it was when discovered, and there's a lot of climbing over the piles to get around, for that reason, we hired one of the locals who take tourists around for tips. I don't think we'd ever have made our way in and out without him.

In all, we saw Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Promh (I think that would be my favorite of all that we saw), Banta Srei (small, but incredible carvings), Kbal Spean and Beng Melea. We also went up to another whose name escapes me at the moment for the sunset. If you want crowds, that would be the place to find them LOL

We were tired after just two days of temple viewing. If you're going to do a week, I'd highly recommend an "R&R" day in the middle.
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 03:54 PM
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lol, sf, for some of us, temple viewing IS "R&R."
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 05:56 PM
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 07:33 PM
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Although I'm a great temple lover I agree that it's more than possible to suffer from "art fatigue" at Angkor. For us, three temples a day was the most we could absorb.

We found that we benefited most by return visits to our favorites: the first time to get an overview and the second for a more indepth look. We would have done Angkor Wat and The Bayon a third time had we had another day.

Aside from those two mega sites, we liked Preah Khan, Baneay Srei, Ta Prohm and Ta Som best.

We stayed in the Angkor Park area during lunch/rest break, which we found to be the quietest time at the popular temples. This arrangement seemed to be all right with our driver, but be sure to clear it with your driver first as it's his lunchtime too.

A day trip to the outlying temple of Beng Mealea was recommended to us, but in four days we didn't get further out than Banteay Srei.

We arrived at Banteay Srei at around 9:00 a.m. and it was already mobbed.
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Old Mar 27th, 2011, 07:58 PM
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Marmot, we arrived at Banteay Srei at noon (we had lunch there, as did our driver) and it was almost deserted!
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Old Mar 29th, 2011, 05:03 AM
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May will be pre-monsoon blazingly hot. Do consider the start at sunrise option. Return to your hotel during the heat of the day then venture out again towards late afternoon.

This has the benefit of generally fewer people, more pleasant temperatures, and better light for photography.

Also, consider going against the flow. For example at Angkor Wat there could be huge crowds gathered on the west side of complex to see the sun rise over the temple. But if you go over to the east side you will be almost alone in a pleasant grove of trees and you'll see dawn's first light strike the temple's east face, presuming clear skies of course.

I did the above on my two trips there (2000 and 2006) and thought it worked great.
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Old Mar 29th, 2011, 05:48 AM
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A lot of this you will need to decide once you are there.

Several people on this thread advocate the use of tuk-tuks. If you are acclimated to the heat and don't mind the dust and exhaust, that works fine, especially for nearby temples. For me, having an air-conditioned car to retreat to between temples meant that we saw many more temples than we would have otherwise, and made getting to more distant temples easy. A car and driver costs about US$25 per day. I guide is additional if you want one.

Do what works best for you... and you might not know what that is until you get there. Likewise, you'll refine your itinerary once you get there. Prepare ahead of time, but don't expect you'll have a final itinerary before you get there.
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Old Mar 29th, 2011, 04:32 PM
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Hey thanks everyone for your thoughts here. I'll take some time to do a bit more research while I read Rooneys' book and perhaps come back with some more targeted questions.
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Old Mar 29th, 2011, 07:03 PM
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Regarding the " Tethered Balloon".
I went up on it in March ,2010. When I was back in Siem Reap in January, 2011, I asked my tuk tuk driver about the balloon, and he said it was no longer there.
I have used the same driver for 4 visits in 12 months as well, so, he should be correct in his information.

I travelled everywhere by tuk tuk, as I feel more in tune with the country, whereas, in a car, you are shut of from some of the interaction with the local people.

Banteay Srei is one of my favorite temples, but, I would never recommend going there at mid-day, even if it was deserted.
In my opinion, as a photographer, Banteay Sreai should be seen in the afternoon in the hours between 3:00PM and 5:00PM, and the light is better on the western side.

Of course, for photography on the eastern side,an early morning visit is best.

I am enclosing some photos taken there during my visits.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=0db9bc0645
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=84b6dd5b94
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=45614d5198
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=5e6ab957d0
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=67072537dc
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Old May 30th, 2011, 03:54 AM
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Hi All,

Just got back and wanted to share some feedback.

We ended up hiring a driver for 3.5 days and would recommend starting at 5am touring till 9am and them heading back to the hotel for the end of breakfast at 930am. Rest till 3pm and them tour till 6pm. This way you avoid the heat and crowds first thing and get some down time in the middle of day to chill by the pool etc.

In terms of touring the Balloon is still running and is worth a ride at sunrise.

The hill near Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng, is a nice climb but over run with tourists at sunset so I'd view early if I went again.

Angkor Wat is unavoidably busy yet empties a lot after the prescribed tourist hours of dawn and sunset. The Bayon is again very nice early in he mroning.

Preah Khan, Baneay Srei, Ta Prohm and Ta Som are great.

Some of the minor sites such as Kravan, Pre Rup and East Mebon are worth the effort if you have time. Bakong was the sleeper for us as we had a nice dawn experience.

Overall the temples are a lot busier than in 2003 however with some good planning and early starts it's still a magic place.
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Old May 30th, 2011, 06:17 AM
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Thanks for coming back to tell us about your trip!
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Old May 30th, 2011, 05:23 PM
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Yes, thanks for the follow up. The 5:00 AM start is definitely the way to go, as painful as that sounds to most folks. Glad you had a good trip!
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