Tips and Things to Know about Siem Reap, Cambodia

siem reap soloflight

Aside from the Tomb Raider temples, I didn’t know much about Siem Reap, Cambodia. That changed when I visited the city last January. All the way from Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Aranyaprathet to Poi Pet to Siem Reap, it took 36 hours of commutes and stops to reach the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Looking back on our trip three months ago, I’ve written so many stories about this quaint city more than any adventure I’ve experienced (so far). In line with my goal to provide insights on the countries I’ve been, I’ve created this definitive guide to share some tips and things to know about Siem Reap based on my experiences.

angkor wat
Angkor Wat Complex

By the way, I’ve interchanged Khmer and Cambodians in my past articles but don’t confuse yourself between the two, they’re one in the same (e.g. Khmer food = Cambodian food).

Tips and Things to Know about Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

Temple Overload

Angkor Wat is the most famous among the lot but Siem Reap has many temples! So many that we weren’t able to tour everything with the three-day pass that we purchased. Angkor Thom Gate, Bayon Temple, Elephant Terrace, Ta Prohm, Pre Rup, Banteay Srei, East Mebon; each of these temples have their own distinction. These were enough to keep our eyes full for the two days that we had available.

siem reap temples
temples with their own characteristics

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Cambodia Trip: Trees in Ta Prohm Temple, Siem Reap

Trees, tall trees are abound in all the temple areas in Siem Reap, Cambodia. But one can noticeably distinguish Ta Prohm from the rest because of how these trees grow from  stone ruins. After Angkor Thom Gate, Bayon Temple and Elephant Terrace, we proceeded to this temple which is known for having a lot of … Read more

Cambodia Trip: Angkor Thom Gate, Bayon Temple and Elephant Terrace

We took advantage of the 2 days/3 nights package of our guesthouse wherein we paid for our room (which includes free breakfast) as well as a tour of the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia. My friend was the one who booked the reservations in advance as I didn’t really give the whole trip much thought except for the expenses. I give props to her for ensuring that we were settled properly.

Siem Reap Temples Tour
January 20, 2011

Angkor Thom Gate
Bayon Temple
Elephant Terrace

bayon temple
elevation

Woke up late in the morning as we were still tired from the travelling during the previous day. Rode the Tuktuk and we started our tour. At around 10:30am, the weather was cold even if the sun was high up. There were a number of trees surrounding the road to the temples which explains the cool atmosphere.

buddha statue
one with the statues

Pon, our tuktuk driver, brought us to the ticketing booth for the temples. In Siem Reap, for you to go inside the temples, you need to purchase Temple Passes. They come in 1-day, 3-days and 7-days tickets wherein you’ll have your picture taken and you can use this pass to enter the temples. This is only good if you want to go inside as guards will check them before you can enter the temple premises.

temple pass
a three-day ticket pass to the temples at 40 USD: don’t forget to smile for the camera

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Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok to Aranyaprathet to Siem Reap

I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.

In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.

clark airport wifi
online at Clark terminal

Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.

7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee

clark airport
Cebu Pacific airlines

Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.

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Siem Reap and Bangkok Chronicles

Siem Reap in Cambodia and Bangkok in Thailand was fun. I’m glad that we didn’t rush into scenes and had time off to retreat. Most of my travels usually were getting to different tourist spots and other famous destinations. Sure, we also did some sight-seeing in Siem Reap and Bangkok but we weren’t in a hurry which made it all the more worthwhile.

temples
temple-hopping in Cambodia

I was able to travel to two cities in two countries over the past week and I thought I could easily update this site with pictures and snippets just to give out glimpses of the places and things we did. However, I’m having difficulty where to start. With so many pending entries and backlogs from different trips, it’s a challenge for me to maintain this site and keep it current. But I’ll figure out a way.

fish spa
fish spa at 3 USD

For now, let me just post a few photos of scenes in these countries. Each place has its own charm and story to tell which enriches one’s knowledge on how people go about their way of life.

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