Immersing in the temple world of Angkor

For our transport from Bangkok to Siem Reap, we had booked a direct bus through a state-owned company, meaning no change of vehicle at the border to Cambodia. We would actually recommend this to every traveler and at the same time discourage any shady offers by minibus or anything else. We had never enjoyed such perfect service on our entire journey, including the necessary documents for visas and entry into Cambodia, checking of completed forms, lunch, as well as care and entertainment throughout the journey by our "travel companion". The border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia is not without its challenges and it is full of strange characters, so we were very happy to be able to enjoy the all-inclusive package. After walking from the Thai border to Cambodia through the famous Angkor Gate, we were even able to successfully prevent the customary bribery money of 100 THB (approx. 2.50€) that is usually demanded by the corrupt officials from every tourist for the processing of the visa form with the help of our favorite steward. After a short discussion, the officials reluctantly distributed the visas for our group, of course without any extra earnings.

Nevertheless, it was shocking to see how obvious corruption is here and how little can actually be done against it. So, a visa to Cambodia actually costs 30 USD per person, but a handwritten note indicates that an additional 100 THB must be paid. On the bus, the company Transport Co. Intl. (which we absolutely recommend for this transport) pointed out to us, saying, "Do you know why they are asking for extra 100 THB?? - You know Cooooooorrrruption!!!!" =D

After safely arriving in Siem Reap, we were able to walk directly to our booked accommodation and were grateful for some movement after the long bus ride. For the next 4 nights, we had booked the Fancy Boutique Hotel, which not only offered beautiful rooms but also a pool and a free fish spa, all for less than 20€ per night in a double room including breakfast. Of course, we immediately used the pool for refreshment and stylishly enjoyed our first beer in Cambodia =D.

The location of the hotel also turned out to be optimal, as the night market was only a 5-minute walk away. Here, we quickly found a restaurant that convinced us on the first evening with delicious food and draft beer for 50 US$ cents, and quickly became our local during our stay in Siem Reap ;-).

We then took the next two days relatively easy to recover from the travel stress. We visited a hairdresser again for Tobi, with amazing service for 2 USD, visited the night market often, made extensive use of the pool and fish spa in the hotel, and also bought our admission tickets for the most famous sight in the world and temple complex, Angkor Wat, one day in advance. We chose the last day of our stay in Cambodia for this, as the weather forecasts were best.

We wanted to explore the impressive temple complex in a style fittingly via tuk-tuk, for which we had booked a driver for the whole day through our hotel. A tip to all travelers: If you have the time and opportunity to get the admission tickets in advance, you should definitely do so, as the ticket office is located a bit outside and only opens at 5:00 in the morning, when the best spots for the incredible sunrise are already taken by countless tourists.

On our day of visit, the alarm clock rang at 4:00 a.m. sharp, so that we could set off for the temple site half an hour later. To our surprise, our tuk-tuk driver had apparently spent the night in a hammock directly in front of our hotel. Not quite sure whether he was struggling with fatigue or whether one or two cups of beer the night before were too much, we set off towards Angkor Wat.

Arriving at the main temple of Angkor Wat, we had the best seats for a truly sensational sunrise, which left us speechless. We only realized how many tourists had watched this spectacle, even though it was not even the peak season yet, when it became daylight.

We then had a small breakfast on the temple site, which we had packed beforehand. For our temple tour, we had chosen the Bayon Temple with its famous towers with meter-high chiseled faces, the Ta Prohm Temple, which presents a unique image with its spectacular parts of buildings overgrown by strangler figs, and the main temple Angkor Wat.

By now, we were also sure that our driver was indeed struggling with the remains of the previous evening, but despite everything, he was super friendly and funny, and you couldn't be mad at him. He did his job perfectly and even managed to avoid a payment to the corrupt Cambodian police with a clever maneuver =DD.

The temples of Angkor impressed us incredibly, as we had not seen anything comparable on our journey so far. They date back to the 12th century and their stone reliefs, terraces, and towers are a masterpiece from the Khmer period. The many spectacular temples and sanctuaries in a relatively small area result from the fact that the rulers of the Khmer Empire successively built several capital cities, each with a main temple at its center. Each individual temple is reflected in a water basin, which served as a water reservoir but also symbolically represented the primordial ocean. Since 1992, the entire ruins of the region have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and in our opinion, they should definitely be included in a Southeast Asia trip. Angkor Wat is now an outstanding national symbol and is also featured on the national flag, representing the culture of the Khmer people and today's Cambodian people.

Unfortunately, we had comparatively little time for the impressive country of Cambodia with its incredibly friendly population, so we only visited Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor, both of which we liked very much. Siem Reap has a nice night market, countless restaurants, a pub street, and many hotels in a cozy atmosphere.

In a future visit, however, we still have to visit the capital Phnom Penh to learn about the very dark recent history of Cambodia through the rule of the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot and the associated brutal genocide of over 1-2 million people.

Fortunately, the area around Siem Reap was largely spared from this, and so our short stay in Cambodia remains in very good memory. The historical temples of Angkor will definitely remain one of our highlights on the world trip. =)