Siem Reap, Cambodia, is of course best known for Angkor Wat. In reality there are numerous temples in the Angkor area that were constructed between the 9th and 14th centuries during the Khmer Empire. It’s interesting to see a sampling of these temples, especially with a guide that can help explain and describe the history when exploring the Siem Reap area.
There is of course more to Cambodia than temples, and many will add the capital Phnom Penh and maybe some of the coastal areas to their itinerary. In our case we had opted to add a stopover in Istanbul (a city we’d been trying to get to for a while) and since we were flying through Bangkok, we added some time for scuba diving in Phuket instead.
Overall we spent 4 days visiting temple structures, including the famous Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm (Also known as the Tomb Raider temple!). We had a little extra time to also look around the city of Siem Reap, and we did a tour of Tonle Sap Lake where we visited a community living in stilt houses.
Getting there
We flew into the new SAI airport in Siem Reap that opened in October 2023. While it’s about 45 mins from town, the older airport REP was said to have been too close to the temples and this was creating issues with the vibrations caused by rumbling jet engines taking off and landing in such close proximity. We’re all for the preservation aspect even if it cost us a few dollars and a few minutes more.
When do I Need to Apply for a Cambodian E-Visa?
Where to stay
We stayed at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap which was close to the famous Pub Street and near many shops and restaurants.
It’s a beautiful hotel with Japanese themes. A great looking pool, multiple restaurants including a mouthwatering pastry shop. The staff, like just about all the Cambodian people we met, were gracious, ever smiling, and helpful.
The hotel also puts on a cultural show dinner which, while short, had some beautiful dancers in Khmer costumes and musicians playing traditional instruments.
What you’ll need
US currency
US cash is happily accepted and even seemed to be preferred. We had some Cambodian riels from a prior trip planed (and cancelled) that we also brought along but you can easily get by with US cash. Credit cards and mobile payments with Apple Pay were readily accepted at all the museums and at most restaurants.
Malaria meds and insect repellant
We did see a fair bit of mosquitos especially around dawn and dusk. You’ll probably be out seeing the sunsets and sunrises like us so pack some bug spray, we did not see this at the hotels. This is a malaria zone, so malaria meds are also recommended.
See our Packing List
Temple pass
A pass to see the temples can be bought for 1,3, or 7 days. It is best to buy this online as it is only sold in town and if you want to hit the temples on the way back from the airport, you’ll need to have it ready. You can download it and show a picture of it on your phone with the QR code.
Each temple has guards outside that check and scan the QR codes. On a funny note, we had just randomly chosen to wear red t-shirts in our park pass pictures and our guide laughed a bit and said that in Cambodia this is the local prison garb making us look like convicts. I guess like a bright orange jumpsuit back home. lol
Should you get a guide?
You can do the temple visits on your own with your park pass. That said, the sites are not well marked and there is little to no information about the temples themselves at most sites. For this reason, it is difficult to know what you are looking at, or what aspects may be unique and significant. If you are interested in learning more about the history and the significance of the temples, we’d definitely recommend hiring a local guide.
Arranging a guide with a driver is relatively inexpensive and the convenience of being chauffeured around alone is worth the expense. Having the guide point out key features at the sites and explain the history and relevance of each temple was great. Our guide pointed out and interpreted carvings and explained statues (or partial statues).
We had a reference to use the Affinity Angkor tour agency which we loved. They provided an experienced guide (Kim) and a great driver (Long) who took great care of us with a private air-conditioned van. Kim knew the best places for photos and was good at taking pictures too. Long pampered us after each temple visit with cold towels and water as we got back into the van.
Kim also knew the best route to take us through the temples and what to see in which order. He took us to some amazing spots for pictures for sunsets and sunrises too. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the temples as well as the mythology and religious significance behind the carvings and monuments, things we would have missed on our own.
What’s more, he took us through a set of temples in what we now know was the perfect order. We started with the older less complete ones first and worked our way up to the masterpieces such as Angkor Wat and Bayon.
Seeing the temples
There was a lot of looting from the temples and most of the original monuments and treasures have been stolen and/or defaced. In some places our guide pointed out bullet holes in the temples from times of war and showed us areas that had been demined! There are unfortunately still many areas in Cambodia that still have landmines.
We were also told that when the King was a Buddhist, the temples were converted to Buddhism and when the King was Hindu, they became Hindu temples. This unfortunately led to many of the carvings being defaced and damaged as temples were converted.
Beng Mealea
The Beng Mealea was a Hindu temple built to worship the god Vishnu but there are also some Buddhist carvings to be found. The architectural style used is similar to Angkor Wat, and experts assume it was built during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century.
The structures are composed of sandstone blocks, many of which have collapsed and much of the area is covered by vegetation. This temple makes for a good first stop from the airport assuming you come with your park pass in hand.
Roluos Group
Roluos was the first capital of the Khmer Empire in the late 9th century. These sites showcase brick and sandstone-based temples of various sizes and in various states of ruin. These impressive structures were built using larger bricks cemented with mortar.
We saw the Lolei temple which was nicely preserved as well as the Preah Ko and Bakong temples. These are the three major temples of this group. Some are completely made with bricks others also use laterite and sandstone. They were built for Jayavarman II, a Khmer prince, in the 9th century.
Pre Rup Temple
Built for King Rajendravarman II to worship Shiva the Pre Rup temple was dedicated to him in the year 962. This is an impressively sized temple and referred to as a temple mountain. The name suggests ‘turn the body’ and it is thought that this mostly brick temple may have been used for cremation.
Banteay Samre Temple
This temple was built during the reigns of Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early part of the 12th century as a Hindu temple. It also has a similar architectural style to Angkor Wat.
This temple was restored between 1936 and 1944 by French archeologist Maurice Glaize.
Banteay Srei
Banteay Srei is a 10th century Hindu temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia, dedicated to Shiva and Parvati. It is built of red sandstone which makes the wall carvings really stand out. Much is well preserved and observable today. There are three towers with an inner sanctuary and two external libraries.
The legend is that the Asura brothers (two monkeys) fought over a misunderstanding. This story is often used as teaching tool. The larger monkey was to fight an ox, and he told his brother to seal the cave if the blood pouring out was red because that would mean that he had died. But if the blood was black, it would mean that the ox had died and in that case the entrance should remain open so he could come out victorious.
However, since it was raining the ox’s blood got diluted and appeared red so his brother sealed him inside the cave. When he finally got out, he returned to see that his brother had taken his place as the ruler. This infuriated him and he confronted his brother. His brother explained that he sealed the cave because the blood was red and he thought that he had died, otherwise he would never have locked him in.
This temple particularly reminded us of some of the temples we had seen in the Chennai area in India.
Ta Som Temple
This smaller temple was built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his father who was king of the Khmer Empire from 1150-1160.
The temple itself is a shrine and the single structure depicting a huge head is surrounded by a moat. The world monument fund has helped to restore and stabilize the structure.
Neak Poan Temple
This beautiful temple with big, intertwined serpent dragons sits on an artificial circular island built during the reign of Jayavarman VII. The grounds with the large water basins make this place very peaceful.
Preah Khan
This huge complex made up of 138 acres was built in 1191 and the name means Royal Sword. It was built for King Jayavarman VII to honor his father. During its zenith it is thought to have been populated by almost 100,000 people, both officials and servants.
The temple itself is mostly flat and had multiple rectangular galleries build around a Buddhist sanctuary. It has been left unrestored and has a lot of vegetation growing in and over the structures.
Phnom Bakheng
Built at the end of the 9th century in a pyramid-like shape reminiscent of the pyramids at Saqqara in Egypt this temple is popular for sunset viewing.
Angkor Wat
We saved Angkor Wat for our last day and our guide brought us out to see the temple at sunrise. We made our way in the dark through much of the complex next to the moat where we would see the main temple come into view as the sun rose.
Originally constructed between 1113-1150 as a Hindu temple during the 12th century and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu by King Suryavarman II, over time it was transformed into a Buddhist temple. Today it is described as a Hindu-Buddhist temple.
It is estimated that 50,000 workers took 37 years to complete this huge complex and some scholars even suggest that it may have been more like 80-100 years. Angkor Wat is an architectural masterpiece, a marvel of engineering and the largest religious monument in the world! It is an amazing place.
The temple structure was designed to represent Mount Meru, the mythological home of Deva, a Hindu god. Angkor Wat is oriented to the west leading many to believe that for this reason is it a shrine. Depicting an exit from life rather than an entry which is generally done from the east where the sun rises.
We loved the animal and aquatic bas-relief carvings covering the wall of one of the outer corridors.
Our guide explained the expansive hydraulic system built of sand, clay and the water in the moat that included irrigation to keep the sand moist to uphold the massive structure.
It is hard to put into words the beauty of this place and the impression it left on us more than to say that we wish that everyone gets to experience seeing it once in their lifetime.
Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple
This massive complex or city of Angkor Thom, meaning “Great City” was the final capital city of the Khmer Empire. Built in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII this city was said to have supported one million residents inside and outside its walls with 150,000 people living inside the moated main area. It was abandoned in the early 1600s.
The site is massive and larger than a huge modern airport. There is 3 km of man-made moat around 4 sides enclosing a 9 km squared area. There are 5 bridges across the moat, with various meanings or uses. The famous churning of the sea of milk scene is depicted in huge statues on the bridges.
Inside, the Terrace of the Elephants platform is huge and something to see.
The Bayon Temple itself was built in the late 12th or early 13th century and was the state temple for King Jayavarman VII. The towers with huge faces of Buddha (some say modeled after the face of the king) on all four sides are just amazing.
Ta Nei Temple
This small temple built for King Jayavarman VII was interesting to see due to the huge trees that have overgrown the site.
Ta Prohm Temple
This temple was originally a quiet place but became a popular tourist attraction after the famous Tomb Raider movie was filmed there featuring Angelina Jolie.
It was founded by King Jayavarman VII, as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and was a university or center for learning dedicated to the king’s mother.
The huge outgrowths of roots and the recognizable scenes from the movie are fun to see.
Our guide picked out a good selection of temples for us to see in three days. Depending on how long you stay you may decide to add more temples further afield or spend more or less time at each site.
Beyond the temples
Pub Street
Staying in Siem Reap, one should visit Pub Street just to experience the hustle and bustle and the booming dance music.
However the sad scenes of shoeless 5-year-olds dragging heavy trays of fruits or hand-woven trinkets for sale are hard to see and will not leave you indifferent. And the multitude of stores selling the same t-shirts for between $1 and $3, the restaurants and raw markets trying to pull you in, and the tuk-tuk drivers trying to get you to ride is a shock to the senses and the emotions.
Yet, despite all the poverty and hardship everyone we met was kind and welcoming!
Angkor National Museum
This beautifully laid out museum is definitely worth a visit, and you should expect to spend 2 hours or more. The Gallery of 1000 Buddhas taken from the Angkor Archeological Area is amazing. There are many interesting videos also.
Tuk-tuk rides
We had some reservations about riding around in these tuk-tuk carriages drawn by motorcycles but in all honesty, it was a fun and cheap way of getting around.
There are literally hundreds of drivers that are happy to get the work. Many survive on just a few dollars a day so taking one even for only a few blocks can make a big difference for them.
One driver waited for us for hours as we visited the museum just to get the next ride which was $3. And on the way back he even stopped at the Wat Bo pagoda so we could have a quick look.
Floating village and boat ride
We did a tour with our guide of the Kompong Phluk floating village. This is one of the largest villages in the Tonle Sap Lake area and home to over 20,000 people that live in huge stilt houses.
They survive primarily on fishing, but the tourist visits and the dollars they bring go towards helping the community. We had someone sell us pens and books which we then gave to young children that ran up to us with big smiles. Not sure if this was a well-orchestrated act or if the children actually got to keep these, but either way it seemed that the money was going to the very poor village in some way.
The average income in Cambodia is only $1600/year or $2-3 a day.
The rat mine hunter museum (Apopo)
African giant pouched rats are light enough not to set off the land mines but smell well enough to detect gunpowder or TNT. The Cambodians have devised a way to use giant rodents to sniff out land mines. This initiative started in Tanzania and is now used in different parts of the world.
It is thought that there are still 4 to 6 million unexploded land mines in Cambodia left after the civil wars that ended in 1998.
Phare Cambodian Circus Show
Easy to get to by tuk-tuk, this Cambodian Circus Show is both an amazing acrobatic performance as well as a funny show. Proceeds go toward a school that helps train acrobats and performers creating jobs. A must-see!
Apsara Dance Performance
This cultural show at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap was a performance of three dances showing off traditional costumes accompanied by traditional music bringing to life ancient Khmer culture. More of an accompaniment to a dinner in the Hyatt’s dance restaurant it was interesting to see the dancers’ hand movements and balance and dexterity.
Conclusion
We ended up spending 4 days in Siem Reap and felt that this was perfect. We could have probably done everything in three days or trimmed back to just the main temples and done it in two. If we would have had more time on this trip, we would have flown to Phnom Penh to see more of the country or maybe the beaches along the Gulf of Thailand for some scuba diving.
We were very happy to have finally seen Angkor Wat after our failed attempt in 2020. And we found the people of Cambodia to be charming and gracious. We never once felt unsafe or unappreciated, quite the opposite everyone went out of their way to be helpful and friendly.