Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Angkor Wat Question

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Angkor Wat Question

My husband and I are planning to visit Siem Riep as a detour from our Thailand trip for three nights two days. Is that too long there?

It depends how interested you are in temple-exploring, but I would say that two days would be an absolute minimum. The major temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and Preah Khan can be seen in that amount of time. I was in Siem Reap for four days and considered that just about ideal. I saw somewhere between 20-25 temples in total and spent about half a day at Tonle Sap Lake, which was great. I highly recommend visiting Bantaey Srei while you are there. It is a bit of a pain to get to, but absolutely beautiful.

Hi Gang! Does anyone have any ideas for places to stay in Angkor besides Angkor Village? I am looking for a small, clean, family-run establishment near the center with plenty of character. Please tell me about your experiences, both good and bad!

In July, My husband and I visited Cambodia for a week. We hired a guide recommended by others on this site and stayed in the guesthouse run by her family. Her name is Ponheary Ly and her guesthouse is called the Marina Villa. It's not fancy, but for $15 a night you get a room with A/C, bathroom, hot water, fridge and TV. It's in a good location near many restaurants. Ponheary was an excellant guide as well. If you want to read about my experience there and see photos, check out our website at http://www.wired2theworld.com

I do not think 3 nights & 2 days is too long. It's hard to explain what Ankor Wat is like - I can see how "looking at temples" might sound tedious for 3 - 4 straight days, but I have never met or heard of anyone who didn't absolutely love it. It's unlike anything I know of in the world - massive, well-preserved temples (some more like walled cities) in the middle of the densest jungle, completely cut off from the modern world. Amazing. I finally put our pictures online: http://pages.ivillage.com/libris/angkor/

We consider a week the ideal amount of time for Siem Reap. We have been twice and hope to go again. Andrea is right --it is a spectacular place, maybe the most spectacular I've ever been to. Banteay Srei is not so difficult to get to now that the road is paved. Takes about 30 min. in a car. We stay at the Angkoriana Hotel. It is extremely comfortable, wonderful, helpful folks own and run it, the air con works well (i.e., it actually operates on a thermostat to keep the room comfortable). About $50/night for a spacious double. Fridge in room. Breakfast included. Website is www.angkorianahotel.com, but it actually is nicer than it looks in the photos. It is on the road to the ruins, not in the center of town, which has its advantages. (Quieter, more convenient for coming back for lunch, etc.) No restaurant in the hotel, but several within walking distance.

Laurie, If you can, add at least one more day to your Siem Riep itinerary. Angkor Wat is so huge, and so diverse that a whirlwind overview is a shame. This is one of the great wonders of the ancient world!!! The sheer dimensions of Angkor Wat, as well as the detailed bas reliefs are deserving of a full day--or two. The serene smiling faces of Bayon, and the overgrown Ta Prohm are also just as interesting but smaller in scale. An afternoon on Tonle Sap to view and visit the floating villages is also very special (stop for some fresh shrimp and a soda at the floating fish market). The school to teach handicap Cambodians (many maimed from the Khmer Rouge atrocities) traditional trades is also worth a visit, and the products that they produce are very high quality at very reasonable prices. Siem Riep is not very touristed YET, so you can appreciate the ancient splendor of her temples with a little less fanfare and with fewer crowds than most places (just make sure to go to the Angkor temples on a weekday when the locals are in school or working, as it's a big family outing site). For humanitarian reasons, I also suggest devoting more time in Cambodia. The country and the people need your compassion AND your money more than some Thai gem or silk mogel does!!!! Your tourism dollars would be greatly appreciated and well-spent. If I could have planned out our recent tour to Cambodia and Thailand (we got back tonight), I would have spent an extra day or two in Cambodia and bypassed some of the cheesy tourist traps in Thailand such as the inhumane elephant training camp (just saw PETA's video of a "training" session), and the uninteresting orchid and butterfly farms. A grave disappointment for anyone with any anthropological interests whatsoever in Thailand are the trite hilltribe excursions of northern Thailand and Laos. They are nothing more than organized begging and indigenous outlet shopping--or perhaps even a human zoo. The only cultural exchange is that of currency! I wasn't naively expecting a National Geographic real-life experience, but to have the "tribal" children que up to receive sweets from the tourists, or to sing a song in unison asking for money is sickening! In fact, I heard that some of the suspiciously neat "tribal" children pleading for a paid photo shoot are actually children of locals dressed to play the part!!! In summary Siem Riep has natural, man-made and human treasures. (I hope my soapbox song and dance didn't deter...)