Siem Reap: All About that Angkor

Second and last day on our journey in Cambodia — absolutely the "must-see" place here - is Siem Reap. The name of the city might not be famous, but the site it holds definitely is: It is the home to the biggest religious temple in the whole world, Angkor Wat. This monument is so significant that it brings in more than 50% of all tourists coming to Cambodia. It’s the ultimate pride of the nation, so much so that it features right in the centre of their national flag!

To get to Siem Reap, we took a bus from Phnom Penh - which was supposed to be a 5-hour trip. I wasn't really surprised by how "old school" the bus was—that's just typical local transportation around here! However, the driver kept stopping every hour to check "something" under the bus... which made us very suspicious. Then, finally, only one hour away from our destination, the poor bus just gave up. We made a hard stop at a gas station that looked completely abandoned and watched the driver making a series of phone calls with a very anxious face—the situation was quite clear, we were stuck there.

Probably seeing our frustrated faces, a Cambodian passenger who knew English approached us. He said a new bus was coming to rescue us, which was such relieving news! After one hour of waiting (and playing hide and seek with the cockroaches in the station!) and another hour of driving with the new bus, we finally arrived in the city late in the evening. Even though how exhausted we were at that point, I kept laughing as it was exactly the 'adventure flavour' we needed and felt like this was meant to happen at some point. It could've been much worse, so I embraced and enjoyed a little bit of drama - perfect scenario for a 30+ age traveller!

Siem Reap actually means "Siam Defeated", and here is a bit of background to it: The name refers to a massive battle between two big empires: Khmer Empire and Siam Empire (now Thailand) in 14th century. Khmer was the biggest empire in Southeast Asia between the 9th and 14th centuries — it was basically the Roman Empire of this region. They built thousands of temples, with Angkor Wat as the capital and the center of it all. However, as the years passed by, Siam (Thai) grew stronger while the Khmer were slowly losing power. A huge battle happens between them - which, guess what? Khmer actually won! To celebrate their victory, they name this place 'Siem Reap' (a bit of a 'hair flip' to Siam, haha!) However, eventually, in the following years, Siam took over the entire area, leading to a full collapse of Khmer, tragically. The fact that they still keep the name today—basically as a 500-year-old diss track—gives you an idea of how proud the Cambodian people still are of their history!

What I found even more interesting is that Siam didn't destroyed Khmer, they embraced and adopted the culture. They took all the 'brains' of the empire (artists, scholars, teachers) and moved it to their capital 'Ayutthaya', then shaped what we know as the world-famous Thai culture. This makes so much sense! Because today, Cambodia and Thailand cultures (food, language, dance, everything!) seems super similar. To me, they look like 'siblings with a lot of traumatic history and emotional baggage'.

When you look at where these two neighbours are today, it’s a huge contrast. Thanks to Siam’s imperial power and some very smart diplomacy during the era of Western colonialism and the Cold War, Thailand managed to stay independent - they were never colonised! It might be one of the reasons why they became the global tourism giant they are today and grew rapidly in global arena, maybe?

Cambodia, however, had a much, much harder path. For a long time, it feels like they were stuck navigating one "toxic relationship" after another. After the Khmer Empire collapsed, they were so weak they had to seek "protection" from the French, which just turned into full-time colonialism. Then the Japanese occupation in WWII hit... then they were caught in the crossfire and heavily bombed during the Vietnam War. And then, of course, the absolute worst nightmare: the Khmer Rouge.

It is truly heartbreaking to think about it all. After centuries of losing power and struggling through so much darkness, it definitely feels like it's a wind of change for Cambodia for a brighter future (hopefully!). This was more clear to me in Phnom Penh, with the massive construction projects in the city with heavy Chinese investment. Siem Reap, on the other hand, seems to be picking up speed through its tourism. It has such a charming town centre that really knows how to welcome visitors before they head out to the breathtaking Angkor Wat.

After all that loooong historical info, getting back to where we are :) Once we finally arrived late in the evening, we did our usual routine: drop the luggage and hunt for a late-night dinner spot. We ended up at a mega-touristy corner restaurant. It was super cheap (only £1.50 for chicken noodles, and Matt actually tried a crocodile burger - which wasn't too bad as taste!).

Our first day was a slow start: We found a nice cafe for brunch for the usual egg/avo/toast/coffee combo, the most expensive meal of the day like anything non-local. We spent the day just chilling before heading to the lively Pub Street in the evening. The streets are full with live music and bright lights. For dinner, we went to Tevy’s Place. The owner is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge and reading the family's story brought us back to what I wrote back earlier. Fish Amok (a traditional Cambodian curry) is now one of my absolute favourite dishes!

The next day was the big one: the Angkor Wat tour. We booked through GetYourGuide, and it turns out almost everyone chooses the sunrise version. I get it—it’s the most photographed thing in Cambodia—but here was my train of thought:

1. I am NOT a morning person: 4:00 AM wake-up call to stand in a massive crowd of tourists, even for a world-famous temple? Absolutely not my cup of tea.

2. Perfect Shot is Rare: I found out that the perfect sun alignment only happens a few days a year, so the whole thing might not worth at all!

   
   

The tour agency actually tried to push us to join the sunrise group, but we pushed back. AND ended up getting a private full-day sunset tour - wohoo!

Our guide, Mr. Makara, was a total character. He knew everything there is to know about the temples, but he had such a funny, quirky way of interpreting the history. We absolutely loved his energy all day and we ended up becoming a trio-in-crime whilst wandering around the Angkor!

We started the tour with the big one: Walking through the massive grounds of Angkor Wat and the endless galleries was surreal. One thing I didn't realize until I got here is that the Angkor Archaeological Park is absolutely massive. There are actually hundreds of temples and ruins, so it's a bit tricky to see everything. While some people spend 3 to 5 days here, given our limited time (and to avoid being totally overwhelmed by "temple hopping" fatigue!), our one-day tour covered only the "Greatest Hits." You can purchase your tickets easily through the Angkor-Pass app now. We just bought the 1-day pass, but there are also 3-day and 7-day passes available.

We spent a lot of time at the "Churning of the Sea of Milk" gallery—the carvings are incredible. What’s really unique about Angkor Wat is that it started as a Hindu site and later converted to Buddhism. Because of this, there are carvings from both religions in the same place. It reminded me a lot of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was both a church and a mosque (though sadly it moved being a full mosque recently)

After a quick snack break in a nearby village to try a local treat, Palm Cakes (we actually watched them being made by boiling palm juice mixed with coconut sauce - it was sooo good!), next stop was Ta Prohm, famously known as the "Tomb Raider Temple" because of the Angelina Jolie movie. It is a literal "force of nature." It’s unbelievable to see these massive trees "eating" the temple—the roots and the stone are basically one now.

We had our lunch at a local Khmer restaurant and headed to the closeby Angkor Thom, the old royal palace grounds. We walked along the Terrace of the Elephants and the Leper King Terrace, then checked out the famous face-carvings at Bayon. It feels like hundreds of giant stone eyes are watching you everywhere you walk!

To end our private tour, we climbed up Phnom Bakheng just in time for sunset. Looking down at Angkor Wat from above for one last time before heading back to the hotel was the perfect ending to the day.

The following day, we visited the Angkor National Museum to do a real deep dive into Khmer history. If you visit, I highly recommend going here! It is incredibly well-curated and it explains a lot about the complicated timeline of Khmer, the many, MANY gods of Hinduism and Buddhism, and even the engineering of how Angkor Wat was actually built. It also have a really cool wide-screen video showing both the sunrise and the sunset over the temples. So, technically, I can now say I’ve also seen the sunrise... just from a big room with an AC, lol! Joke aside, I really enjoyed the museum as it gave us the "complete picture" and made everything we saw at the temples feel so much more meaningful.

Our time in Cambodia was only one week, but it was such a massive learning experience for me. Honestly, I didn't know much about this beautiful country or this ancient empire before I arrived.

At the end of our trip, on our way to the new Siem Reap airport, I couldn't help but think about why I love travel so much. This is exactly it. It’s about learning about a part of the world you never knew about, right there on the ground. Being there, seeing it, exploring, watching how people live, and truly understanding their history and their background. Even the food—learning where it comes from and what influenced it—adds so much.

Reflecting on all of this, you realise you are adding layers to yourself. Looking back at the journey, you see how it ultimately changes you in a good way.

Next stop: Back to Thailand, but this time we are heading South. It’s finally time for the sea: Phuket, here we come! 

Wrapping up Siem Reap:

Local recommendations:

• Breakfast or Lunch: Asagohan Cafe & Eatery, The Source

• Dinner: Tevy's Place, Family Rice Noodle & Chives Cake, Station b, Pub Street area

• Coffee: The Bean Embassy, E D C

• Ice Cream: Amami Gelato

• Hotel: The Night Hotel

  
  

Quote of the trip: "The point of travel is to be constantly reminded of how much you don't know, and how much there is to love in the unfamiliar." Suleika Jaouad, Between Two Kingdoms.

Podcast of the trip: "Frenemies: The Long History Between Thailand & Cambodia", The Bangkok Podcast [S8.E25]