Temple fever and more in Siem Reap - Cambodia!

Based on a recommendation, we did not book a complete package for crossing the border to Cambodia, but rather a bus from the Cambodian border to Siem Reap. The advantage of this was that we didn't have to hand over our passport to a stranger and saved a few dollars, but the disadvantage was that we had to find our way to the border. However, since the company that offers this is Cambodian, Laotians undermine the whole thing by not offering buses to the border anymore. Instead, only expensive tuk-tuks are available, which of course have coordinated their prices. After several rounds of price negotiations, during which the drivers didn't budge, we had to pay the money due to the advanced time... without a discount despite 4 people in the tuk-tuk, because while looking for a means of transport to the border, we also met Silvia from California. Unfortunately, we negotiated for so long that the buses from the package deals overtook us on the way to the border. Therefore, everything was considerably delayed. Also because some of the tourists didn't want to pay the $2 for the exit stamp and thus held up all the traffic. We were well aware from the beginning that there would be no receipt for such "fees", but apparently this was not clear to others. On the Cambodian side, we had to pay another $1 for a health check, which consisted of being given a yellow slip of paper with an emergency number. Then pay for the visa, give fingerprints, and we were through all the checks in 2 hours, unfortunately always under time pressure because we were half an hour later than our mini-bus was supposed to leave. But that was not a problem, because it waited for us without making any fuss and also for others, so it didn't leave until it was significantly delayed. Now we only had the 7-hour drive to Siem Reap ahead of us... passing countless burned fields or still burning fires, while the cows continued to stroll leisurely in between. And next to us in the uncomfortable van were a few Germans (once again of the annoying sort) who talked incessantly, so it was impossible to read or sleep.

Arriving in Siem Reap, the city that has apparently become rich through the world-famous Angkor temples, we were welcomed by very comfortable tuk-tuks - the best in Asia so far! These took us to our beautiful hostel for free, which looked more like a hotel than anything else. In search of dinner, we walked half of the city center, which is very touristy. Glowing signs of night markets, other markets, a big pub street, and countless restaurants can be found everywhere. However, Carsten was more in the mood for street food, so we sat down by the roadside and ordered our first Cambodian meal: fried rice with pineapple in a pineapple, Khmer curry, and Khmer noodles with egg. It was incredibly delicious and so the day was saved after all! Welcome to Cambodia :)

Time to sleep in... which means that we and Georgi always get started around 2 pm... we rented bikes for the remaining half day to explore the city, go to a 3D museum, and buy entry tickets for the Angkor temples for the next day.

The Art-Box Museum in Siem Reap has its price (15$ admission is quite expensive in this country), but it's worth it! Here, pictures are shown on a huge area that create a 3D effect. From themes like Ocean, Animals, Europe, and History, to the ubiquitous and beloved Angkor, the museum is very diverse and fun! See for yourself in some of our photos ;)

Afterwards, we had to hurry to reach the ticket office for the temple complex at the other end of the city, which closes at 5:30 pm. >Note that you can only buy the tickets in the city and not at the temples further out!< When we arrived there, they wanted to close the counter right in front of us, but by chance Silvia was right in front of us and asked the lady to open it again. Luckily, our bike sprint wasn't in vain! The 3-day passes cost a proud $62 per person and are personalized with a photo. Finally, we had the ticket in hand and went back to the city center where we went to eat with Silvia and her hostel friend Irina and looked for a dance performance, but there was none. However, we did find a nice young tuk-tuk driver who also spoke good English and wanted to pick up all 5 of us tomorrow morning at the hostel and drive us around Angkor all day - and all that for only $35! That sounded like a good deal, so we happily walked back to our accommodation to be fit for the next day.

At a really merciless time (4 am), the alarm clock rang to quickly have time for a shower and to prepare the vesper (we had found real bread, cheese, and small tomatoes yesterday)... at 4:45 am, as agreed with the tuk-tuk driver, we stood in front of the hostel, dead tired. But the driver didn't show up... at 5:10 am, another one quickly arrived and said he was the replacement for the other one who overslept. Well, then we continued with this driver, who didn't even know that we had to pick up the other two. By now it had gotten quite late and we were afraid that getting up early to get a good spot for the sunrise at Angkor Wat temple wouldn't be worth it. Nevertheless, we finally arrived with hundreds of other people, walking past the crowds with flashlights in a quick pace and squeezing ourselves into the second row in front of the left lotus pond (best spot for the sunrise according to Esther and Katha). And then we waited and waited and waited... Tina was initially disappointed because the photos didn't turn out nice in the little light. But eventually, the sun emerged more and more and bathed the world's most famous temple in wonderful colors. The first people quickly gave up and ran to the entrance of the temple at 6:30 am, and the photos turned out much better later on (it's worth enduring)! We also seemed to be very lucky with the sunrise because according to an employee, there hadn't been one in the last 10 days due to heavy cloud cover.

We continued with the tuk-tuk on the big temple tour, which included all the smaller temples in the vicinity. >For this, a tuk-tuk is actually the best, most relaxed, and cost-effective alternative compared to a scooter or bicycle, as the temples and the heat demand everything from you.< According to our travel guide, the whole area is about 1000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Berlin.

After an endless discussion with our driver, who suddenly realized that he had picked up the wrong people for his colleague, he stayed with us for the rest of the day for $30. Finally, we could begin with Ta Prohm, the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. This temple is slowly being reclaimed by nature, with magnificent roots and trees winding around the old stones and walls. Truly one of the most beautiful temples in the entire Angkor complex!

The tour continued through several small temples, some of them beautifully located in the shade. Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, Mebon, Ta Som, Preah Neak Pean, and Preah Khan followed. The many small details in the stone are truly astonishing for the time of their construction! Then we drove through the grounds of the largest temple, Angkor Thom, which we wanted to visit the next day, to the temple mountain of Phnom Bakheng. The temple itself is not much of an experience and is currently being restored, but supposedly the sunset behind Angkor Wat is best seen from there, which is why you have to arrive hours before, as only 300 people are allowed on this temple. We managed to get an admission bracelet almost 3 hours in advance and gave our feet a break. Later we realized that we have definitely experienced many better sunsets and that the sun didn't set behind Angkor Wat (which is only very small from up here anyway), but on the other side of our view in the misty haze. >So we wouldn't necessarily recommend this spot for the sunset.<

Back in the city, we urgently needed something to eat, as well as a cold Angkor beer (yes, there are temples everywhere) and a foot massage. At the night market, Georgi and Tina got their cheap-cheap-lady-I-can-discount-for-you t-shirts and pants, temporarily sponsored by Carsten. After a great, eventful, and impressive day at the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest religious monument in the world, we could really use our beds now.

We took the next day a little more slowly and didn't start until 8:30 am, this time with another tuk-tuk driver who provided chilled drinking water all day long. The second day at Angkor was waiting for us, this time with a relaxed little tour of the largest temples, Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat.

The Bayon temple of Angkor Thom has impressive huge faces in its many towers. Unfortunately, we lost track of Silvia and Irina right at this temple... So we continued separately to Baphuon. There are many steep stairs to climb here. Once you reach the top, you have a nice view over the green area. From up there we even spotted the others again. Then we went to the Elephant Terraces, a wall adorned with elephants and monkeys, and back to the tuk-tuk. After waiting some more until Silvia and Irina arrived, we finally went to the famous Angkor Wat. This very well-preserved temple with 5 towers looks really beautiful from the outside. Inside, there isn't much new compared to the other temples, except for the longest flat relief in the world (800m) - a German restoration project. But the view from the towers is also very beautiful here.

For the relaxation of our feet, we found a fish spa in the city. There are countless ones here. You put your feet in an aquarium and immediately hundreds of small fish nibble the calluses off your feet. Allegedly, you can relax during this, but it's such a strange feeling and it tickles a little, so initially you are anything but relaxed. If you imagine bubbles bubbling up, like in a whirlpool, instead of fish, then it's actually fine and you slowly get used to it. With soft baby feet, we then went to the buffet with Apsara Dance Show that we had booked in advance - a traditional Cambodian dance performance. The food wasn't particularly good, but the dances were very beautiful. These dances must have been around for a very long time, as these dancers are depicted everywhere on the walls of the Angkor temples.

Since this was our last evening in the party metropolis of Siem Reap, we went to the Angkor What? Bar and the Temple Club on Pub Street. Both are located directly opposite each other, which is why the party gradually shifted to the street in between as the night went on, with music coming from both sides. But we didn't stay too long because the next morning our boat to Battambang was already leaving.