Looking back at our time in Cambodia and as I am writing these recaps, I have a hard time describing my feelings on our time there. On one hand the temples were amazing and totally worth seeing and experiencing, the food was some of our best on the whole trip and we had some very lovely and memorable experiences while there. On the other hand, the heat and humidity really got to me and made it so unbearable at times that it was hard to focus on the positives, our hotel was somewhat problematic (which I’ll touch on in the hotel review when I get to it) and I was also sick at that point in our trip, which didn’t make things any easier. In all honesty, we did really like Cambodia the longer we were there, though I’m not sure it’s a place I’d go back to in the near future, which totally threw me for a loop, because after hearing so many amazing things about it, I thought I’d love it. And maybe that was the issue, maybe my expectations were too high and maybe the combination of that and all of the things mentioned above just got the better of me. I’m still not quite sure how I felt about Cambodia and I think it will take me a while longer to work out exactly how I feel about the country and our time there. Exploring the area of Siem Reap though was really a unique experience, especially seeing the most popular ruins at Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm.
Our last full day in Siem Reap started early at 4 in the morning as we left the hotel to make our way to Angkor Wat to get a place to watch the sunset. This was something Nick had really wanted to do to get a photo of the famous sunrise, and after 2.5 hours of sitting in the dirt crowded by people on all sides, the sun rose and we were somewhat disappointed with a less than spectacular show. Honestly, though, it was interesting to experience, I would recommend going to one of the other temples to see the sun rise, the crowd at Angkor was somewhat overwhelming and I got really claustrophobic toward the end as I was in the very front, with the water at my feet and there was literally about 10 rows of people behind me all crowded in. I finally got up and went back to where there was more space while Nick finished up. I’d recommend seeing Bayon or Ta Prohm at sunrise, something I wish we would have done.
Anyways, we then wandered around Angkor Wat a little more, then headed over to Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for many of the scenes in Tomb Raider and is overgrown by trees. I wasn’t expecting it to be as big as it was, which kind of threw me off and there is a lot of construction going on there currently to restore it, which kind of ruined the “intimate feel” that you envision. However, it was really interesting to see and walk around because it has such a different feel than the other major temples.
By mid morning it was so warm and humid, and we were exhausted from being up so early, that we retreated back to our hotel, had breakfast and then spent a few hours in our room, just cooling off and resting for a while in the air conditioning.
Another tip if you’re planning on visiting Angkor Wat, we hired a guide for the sunrise visit thinking that he might have some special places to show us and instead, he wasn’t really any help for us that we couldn’t do ourselves and we felt like it was a waste of money in the end. I would recommend just taking in the temples by yourselves and exploring on your own, which we ended up doing later this day (post coming tomorrow) at Bayon and really enjoyed it so much more.
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Traveling to Cambodia? See all of my posts on the country! |
Helene in Between says
wow is is so enchanting!!! i;m sorry it didn’t necessarily meet expectations, hate when that happens!
Casey Martin says
It really is like a different world in those temples!!!
Blush and Barbells says
I absolutely agree that hiring a guide for the day was kind of a waste of money. I suppose if I’d had a better guide, I wouldn’t think that way, but my guide was hungover and I feel like I did a lot of waiting around for him. He didn’t show me or tell me anything that wasn’t in my guide book.
I did go on a group guided tour and that was much, much better (and cheaper).
Casey Martin says
Yes totally, ours left us for like 45 minutes and was like, “I’ll be back.” We were so disappointed in the quality of the guide and he had come highly recommended which is so lame. Anyways, we had so much more fun just wandering around on our own.
Margo @ gutenblog yall! says
Oh, guides and guided tours are always such a tricky thing to figure out. I swear I read a million TripAdvisor reviews but somehow we ended up with a driver in Morocco, not the ‘guide’ that was advertised. His narration of the towns we passed “yeah, it’s really old…”. Eh, fail. Anyways, sorry it wasn’t what you hoped but your pictures are fantastic, but that’s nothing new. 🙂
Casey Martin says
Totally, we’ve had some incredible guides (like in Iceland) and some horrible ones, it’s always up in the air I guess.
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Casey Martin says
Thank you!
andrea says
So I felt the same way about the heat there (and in Laos), it was so stifling that it was very uncomfortable. I was miserable in the heat. But it is such a magical place that it was worth it, although I am not sure I would go back. Did you guys go out to Beng Melea? That was actually our favorite part of Cambodia.
Casey Martin says
Totally. I feel like looking back I remember it much more fondly than when were there. The heat really got to me and made me feel a little physically sick on a couple of occasions. We didn’t go outside of Siem Reap area really, and I’ve heard lovely things about other areas if we go back sometime, I’d love to check out other parts of the country.
Jenn @ A Country Girl's World says
The temples look incredible! As an Archaeology nerd, I totally want to visit Cambodia just for the temples
Casey Martin says
The temples really are pretty amazing, Bayon especially was so intricate and lovely.
Jessica @ Independent Travel Cats says
Hi Casey, we’ll be in Siem Reap later this month! Pics are amazing although I’m now a bit worried about the heat/humidity. Did you guys just have 2 full days in Siem Reap or more? We’re planning 3 full days/4 nights. Any quick tips for us?
Casey Martin says
Hi Jessica, yes, it’s very hot and humid. I don’t do well with extreme heat and there were a number of times, it really got to me. Make sure and drink lots of water and plan your days around exploring in early morning and evening as it really helps. We had actually only 1 full day in Siem Reap, but the day we arrived, we got in at 11am, so had pretty much 2. I would skip the major spots, like Angkor Wat at sunrise, and explore some of the lesser known temples. Also, Bayon was incredible and by far our favorite and was basically empty at sunset. Hope that helps!
Jessica @ Independent Travel Cats says
Thanks Casey, this is helpful! The heat is going to be rough for us but since we have more time we can pace things a bit. Very excited!
{dara} says
It stinks to read about your mixed feelings towards Cambodia but I can understand why you do. I spent a entire month there with my parents and it was life changing probably because I traveled through out the whole country during my stay. I want to go back but I’m afraid it has become touristy especially when you talk about all the people that were waiting for the sun to rise.
Casey Martin says
Yes, I’ve heard of so many people having stories like that and I honestly wish I would have just fallen in love with it though like you said, I think I’d like to experience other parts of the country as well. Siem Reap was really touristy and moments like the sunrise at Angkor really spoiled my experience because it was so jam packed with people. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a good experience there because we look back on our time there fondly, I think more than anything me being sick and the heat were not good for me personally.
{dara} says
If you ever go back my family lives through out Cambodia I would be happy to give you tips and others places to visit that are less crowded
Casey Martin says
Oh thanks for the info! Someday I would like to see more of the country!