Abbyo

How much time should you spend at Angkor Wat? We are cramming a lot into a 2 week vacation. Planning to fly in to Siem Reap on a Monday, spend all day Tuesday at Angkor Wat and fly out Wednesday morning. Is one day enough or should we go Monday afternoon as well? If not, what else should we see/ do on the Monday afternoon?

sf7307

Do you know that Angkor Wat is but one temple complex among many in the area? I suppose you could spend all your available time there, but if it were me, I'd spend the morning at one and the afternoon at a different one or two - my favorites were Ta Prohm and Banteay Srei.

Kathie

Get a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples Study up and decide on how long you want there.

It takes three full days just to see the so-called major temples. If you are really interested in the temples, you'll want a week (or more) as many of us have done. If you are not very interested in the temples, then ask yourself whether it is worth the expense and journey for a mere day and a half at the temples, as your current schedule allows.

dogster1

Kathie, you are right of course - but, with respect, I think you're a bit tough on those with limited time, money or cultural awareness. For some, it's a bit hard to know whether they are interested in the temples - unless they've <i>been</i> to the errr... temples.

Actually, I suspect far more people visit Angkor Wat etc. for barely a day than stay for three. They are zoomed around, taken to all the stock places, take the stock photos - and then leave for the next Great Wonder Of S.E.Asia. It's quite possible that that's about enough for most of them.

As a matter of fact, I seem to remember doing exactly that on my first visit to S.E.A. Without those scrambled ten-day-see-all-of-Asia Abercrombia and Kent visions I would never have been drawn back, like you, time and time again.

So I think we have to ask ourselves whether a glimpse is better than no glimpse at all, whether a taste whets the appetite for more - or whether it has to be the main course or nothing.

You're a gourmet, Kathie. I'm a gourmass. We all have to remember that Kentucky Fried Tourism is the travel of choice for many, many more - it's just that they tend not to come in here - 'cos they don't have to.

qwovadis

www.theangkorguide.net

Details other options for you in the area. More remote
temples off the beaten tourist path best for me particularly
for unusual photos but very much depends on your interests.
It is the largest temple complex in Asia second only to El
Mirador in the worldso more time is better for me.

Happy Planning!

Kathie

dogster, I am being a bit hard on Abbyo, if you consider that the recommendation to do some research in advance a bit hard. The Dawn Rooney book is readily available at any travel bookstore or from Amazon. I think that anyone perusing the Dawn Rooney book would be able to tell in short order whether they are fascinated by the temples, moderately interested in the temples or bored senseless.

I do understand that some people only learn if they are interested by going there briefly, as you did. But I think many more people being zoomed around by Abercrombie and Kent think they've seen it in a day, not realizing that there are dozens of accessible temples.

One of the joys of traveling independently is that you get to edit your own itinerary - spend more time at a place that interests you, skip a location because you aren't interested or you don't have time to do it justice.

HappyTrvlr

You need a minmumof three nights, two full days.

crosscheck

We (family of four) were in Siem Reap for three nights and 2.5 days, but only spent 1.5 days at the temples. In that time, we saw and climbed all the major sites and many of the minor ones. Didn't stay at each location for too long (Sorry, Kathie), but never felt rushed, probably because we had an excellent guide. Also, because the time difference was in our favor, we started very early every morning. Went to Tonle Sap on the last afternoon, and also had time to serve breakfast at a school, visit a silk farm and go to the market several times. On the third morning I went back to Angkor Wat without a guide to see the sunrise (couldn't wake the rest of the family) - well worth it.

We are not model travelers and did no research in advance and still loved the experience - we have been to most of the world's major ruins and Angkor is a definite highlight. If you are in Southeast Asia, I would say it's a must-see, no matter how much time you have.

crosscheck

typo - sights

sf7307

Crosscheck, we too are "speedy" travelers - I always say we want "temples lite" rather than a PhD. We were in Siem Reap 3-1/2 days and spent two of them visiting the temples (driver, no guide). It does seem though that many people aren't even aware that there are many temples in addition to Angkor Wat. If all they have is 1-1/2 days, and want to go that's fine, but with such a short time, it's probably a good idea to know in advance what you want to see (in two full days, we did Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Bantaey Srei, Kbaal Spean, Phnom Bakheng and Angkor Thom).

Abbyo

Thanks for all the awesome advice. Great spectrum of opinions. I see that I will need to do some research. I suspect we will be somewhat like the Crosscheck family of 4. We are coming from Canada on our teenagers 2 week school break and are trying to squeeze a lot of areas in. At this point I think we will budget 2 days there, research well and hit the things that peak our interest.
Crosscheck, I'm very interested in the "serve breakfast at a school". Could you provide more information about that?

Abbyo

Also, can anyone give advice on how to go about hiring a driver and guide or do you just need a guide or ???

crosscheck

On our first morning of touring we provided a hot breakfast to all the kids in an elementary school near Bantaey Srai, one the most spectacular temples, in a rural area in a picturesque setting w/ rice paddies, water buffaloes, etc. We also sang songs with the kids and gave "bonuses" to all the teachers and administrators. The school visit was one of the highlights of the trip, and my boys, now 18 and 21, still talk about it.

We set up everything through Ponheary, a fantastic guide used by many people on this board. To find out more about her background and organization, check out www.theplf.org She was not available as a guide on the days we toured the temples, but we met her for tea and heard her life story (unforgettable), then used another guide and driver who work for her.

Since then, many friends and acquaintances have spent time or donated to the schools that she supports, and someday our whole family hopes to go back for a longer time.

My trip report has more details about the whole experience: (Skip to the middle - it's lo-o-ng.)

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...kyo-wteens.cfm

You can also do a search on this board for more info about Ponheary. The head of her foundation, offwego, is a regular poster, and lcuy just posted a trip report about her volunteer experience.

Have a fantastic time - I'm jealous!

Abbyo

Thank you so much. I have just been reading your trip report----love your writing. LOL Loved the part about confessing to your family about your Fodor addiction. From your report and others, I can see that we will probably get temple fatigue within 2 days but got some great info from you about the other things to do in the area. The floating village sounds interesting. My teens will be 18 and almost 16 at the time of our trip and one is quite a philanthropist in the making so I think the school visit would be fantastic. I will definitely research it. In fact, it may be what makes the temple time tolerable for them.

Abbyo

Crosscheck---I lurked your profile and see that we are practically neighbors----British Columbia-----in fact I'm going to be in SF and San Jose this weekend for a hockey tournament.

crosscheck

Thanks for the kind words about my writing, Abbyo. Wish I were a closer neighbor to BC. I am lucky to get to Vancouver quite often for work. FYI - the Angkor temples are very teen-friendly because of the setting, the climbing opportunities...and even the history. There also is a cool backpacker scene for them in town. My older son's friends just visited Angkor Wat on a fall break trip from Shanghai, where they were doing a semester abroad. They said Cambodia was their favorite destination in SE Asia.

mezza1982

How much time you need to spend at Angkor depends on how interested you normally are in temples. A lot of people here are saying minimum 3 days, but I went for 2 days and decided we had seen enough. The temples are nothing short of magnificent and I have been back to see them since, but my own personal concentration span meant that after 2 days I was ready to go somewhere else. I appreciate that lots of others will spend 3+ days to see all the temples which are spread across an enormous area, but you could also do the 'main' ones based around Angkor Wat in a day comfortably and feel fulfilled. Do some research with the Lonely Planet guide or something like that so that you know what you really want to see. I've been twice, the first time for a day, the second for 2 and I felt fulfilled after both

Kathie

Mezza, my point isn't to tell someone how much time they need to spend at Angkor, it is to tell people how many days it takes to see all of the major temples.

I'm a great believer in deciding how long to stay by two factors:
1. Know thyself.
2. Know thy destination.

The info I am giving about how long it takes to see the major temples is in the second category.

thursdaysd

I am a little puzzled by references to doing the "main " temples in one day. Perhaps those posters could list what they consider to be the "main" temples. I certainly couldn't do that, but maybe we have different definitions of "main".

sf7307

Thursday, first full day, we did Angkor Wat in the morning, Ta Prohm after lunch, the Bayon and Angkor Thom in the afternoon, and sunset at Phnom Bakheng (which I'd skip - the sunset wasn't great and the crowd was enormous). The next day, we did Kbal Spean in the morning, Bantay Srei after lunch, and Beng Melea in the later afternoon. Like mezza, we don't have a long attention span.