Siem Reap is the tourist town where hordes of foreigners come to visit the magnificent temples of Angkor. What we did not know was that this is also where all the locals from Phnom Penh, the Country’s capital, come to celebrate New Years’ Eve. The town which is normally crowded, was busting at the seams.
In 802, this area was part of the most powerful kingdoms in Southeast Asia. This era was marked by giant construction projects of temples and palaces, irrigation systems, and the development of walled cities. As Angkor grew is became a target for attacked from neighboring lands. By the 15th century the city was abandoned to the jungles. There are more than 100 Angkorian monuments spread over 3,000 square kilometers. It is an impressive site that left Jon and I awestruck. It is sad to hear that this historical site was sold by the government to a private party. Expect the tickets to increase significantly.
We did one afternoon sunset tour and one morning sunrise tour lasing about 6 hours each which is a lot of temple time. I highly recommend a guide who speaks English to help understand the history of these structures. Unfortunately, we never actually saw the sunset because it was cloudy that day. After waiting in line and reaching the top of the temple an employee came around saying. “No sunset today, time to go.”
Jon feeling like a king on top of one of the temples and helping out the headless warriors.
Me enjoying the temples (seen for the last time in my favorite coat).
Trees wanting in on the action.
Lines for the sunset and view of the “no sunset today”
At least we got to see the sunrise from the famous Angkor Wat temple, with about 4,000 other people. Thankfully I snuck inside the temple before the sun was fully risen and enjoyed a few blissful moments crowd free. I was even able to get some spectacular sunrise photos from the inside.
The sunrise from inside Angkor Wat and magnificent view from the top of Angkor Wat.
Jon and I were lucky enough to have an officer take some “wedding” type photos for us for a small donation of course.
No he did not ask, just practicing for our photo op.
For New Year’s Eve we were going to just hang out on Pub street but decided to stop at a quaint French restaurant when we found out they could fit us in. It has by far been the best, only, upscale dinner we have had. We managed to squeeze ourselves into the thick of the action on Pub Street just in time for the New Year’s countdown. What better way to start the ear off than with aa good fish-foot cleaning and a free beer. The next day we spoiled ourselves with $12 massages. My masseuse was so tired she fell asleep several times while working on me.
French meal in Cambodia, trying to squeeze onto Pub St and fish foot cleaning with a local brew.
I did lose my debit card, my favorite coat and cut my finger trying to open a beer within the first day of the new year. I hope it is not a sign of what is to come for the rest of the year.
Where we stayed, Le Tigre, we had a room with air and a bathroom for about $30 a night. The property had great breakfast had some pretty good food at the restaurant. The best part was the small pool surrounded by leafy greens where we could take a dip after touring the temples.
Journey with Christina 