Siem Reap - last stop in Cambodia!

We arrived in Siem Reap after a 3 hour minibus ride - made more interesting by a couple of chickens travelling behind us. The heat hit us as soon as we stepped off the bus, so we spent the afternoon by the pool cooling off and settle in. That evening, we wandered to the local food market for dinner and made the most of the $1 mojitos. Cambodia uses both US dollars and riel, which was a bit confusing at first but you get the hang of it.

The next day was all about Angkor Wat. We’d planned a full day exploring the temples, but unfortunately woke up with upset stomachs (the mojitos might have played a part…). Most of the morning involved running to each toilet we could find lol but thankfully, there are quite a few scattered throughout the park.

Despite that, we had a great day. We hired a tuktuk driver who took us around and waited while we explored each temple. Angkor Wat itself is huge and really impressive.

We visited many temples including Angkor Wat, the following, and some others:

• Bayon – known for the giant stone faces everywhere you look.
• Ta Prohm – half-reclaimed by the jungle, with tree roots growing through the stone (this is the one from Tomb Raider)
• Angkor Thom –  with the ancient city walls and big gates.
• Phnom Bakheng – where we ended the day watching the sunset over the forest and temples!

The afternoon heat was intense, but the whole place was so beautiful it didn’t really matter!

The next day we stayed closer to town. We visited Artisans Angkor, which showcases traditional Cambodian crafts, and then stopped by a local makers market. In the afternoon, we went to a café to escape the heat for a bit, and ended up at the cinema to watch the Minecraft Movie - silly film, but fun !

That evening we went to Pub Street. It’s busy, loud, and full of bars, but it was a fun night - beers, lots of music, and a good way to round off our time in the city.

On our last day, we just relaxed by the pool before heading off to Vietnam in the evening .

Siem Reap was a mix of ancient history, busy streets, and chilled-out moments. A really lovely time :)